Editing Messerschmitt Me 210 (section)

==Design and development==
Messerschmitt designers had started working on an upgrade of the Bf 110 in 1937, before the production version of the Bf 110 had even flown. In late 1938, the Bf 110 was just entering service, and the [[Reich Air Ministry|RLM]] started looking ahead to its eventual replacement. Messerschmitt sent in their modified Bf 110 design as the Me 210, and [[Arado Flugzeugwerke|Arado]] responded with their all-new [[Arado Ar 240|Ar 240]]. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Messerschmitt Me 210 Twin-Engine Heavy Fighter / Fighter-Bomber Aircraft |url=https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.php?aircraft_id=1384 |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=www.militaryfactory.com}}</ref>

The Me 210 was a considerable departure from the 110, but used many of the same parts. The main differences were a modified nose area that was much shorter and located over the [[center of gravity]], an internal bomb bay, an all-new wing designed for higher cruise speeds and a highly advanced remote-control defensive armament system that gave the gunner a far wider field of fire. On paper, the Me 210's performance was impressive: It could reach 620&nbsp;km/h (390&nbsp;mph) on two 1,350&nbsp;PS (1,330&nbsp;hp, 990&nbsp;kW) [[Daimler-Benz DB 601|Daimler-Benz DB 601F]] engines, making it about 80&nbsp;km/h (50&nbsp;mph) faster than the Bf 110, and nearly as fast as single-engine fighters of that era.

The Me 210's main [[landing gear]] followed some of the design philosophies that had resulted from the main change in the earlier [[Junkers Ju 88|Ju 88]]'s main landing gear design, where each main gear had a single gear strut that twisted through 90° during retraction, to bring the main gear wheel resting atop the lower end of the main strut when retracted rearwards into the wing. Unlike the Ju 88, however, the Me 210's main gear wheels were inboard of the main gear struts when fully extended, whereas the Ju 88's were outboard of the struts.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-363-2271-21, Frankreich, Flugzeug Me 210, Bomben.jpg|thumb|right|220px|The Me 210 featured a [[bomb bay]], unlike its predecessor, the [[Messerschmitt Bf 110|Bf 110]]]]
[[File:Me 210 and 410 Wing Planform Comparison.jpg|thumb|right|Comparison of the wing planforms of the Me 210 and its successor, the Me 410 ''Hornisse''.]]

The Bf 110 carried its ordnance externally beneath the wings and [[fuselage]], but this created drag; the Me 210 avoided this problem by housing the bombs in an enclosed [[bomb bay]], in the nose of the aircraft. The Me 210 could carry up to two 500&nbsp;kg (1,100&nbsp;lb) bombs. The Me 210 had dive brakes fitted on the tops of the wings, and a Stuvi 5B [[bombsight]] ("Stuvi"-''Sturzkampfvisier'', dive-bombing sight) in the nose, for shallow-angle [[dive bomber|dive bombing]]. In the fighter role, the bomb bay was fitted with four 20&nbsp;mm [[Autocannon|cannon]].<ref name=airpagesru>{{Cite web |title=Messerschmitt Me-210 - Heavy Fighter |url=https://airpages.ru/eng/lw/me210.shtml |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=airpages.ru}}</ref>
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-445-1861-19, Nordafrika, Arbeit an Bordwaffen einer Me 210-410.jpg|thumb|left|The FDSL 131 remote gun turret of an Me 210 being maintained]]

For defence, the Me 210's rear gunner was armed with two 13&nbsp;mm (.51&nbsp;in) [[MG 131 machine gun]]s. Each of these was fitted into half-teardrop-shaped ''Ferngerichtete Drehringseitenlafette'' FDSL 131/1B [[Gun turret|turret]]s mounted on each side of the aircraft, and was remote-controlled from the gunner's position in the rear of the glazed cockpit area with a unique gun-aiming setup. This unit had a pivoting handgun-style grip, trigger and gunsight at its center, to aim the guns vertically—with both turrets elevating and depressing together when operated - and horizontally, in pivoting each gun separately, outward away from the fuselage side when aimed to one side or the other.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/TxzQ4tIVh0I Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200118011701/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxzQ4tIVh0I Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite video |title=Wings of the Luftwaffe: Bf-110 "Destroyer" |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxzQ4tIVh0I |medium=YouTube |publisher=Ryan98063 |access-date=May 22, 2021 |time=16:51 to 17:35 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> The rear of the [[cockpit]] [[Aircraft canopy|canopy]]'s lower side glazing panels were bulged out to allow the gunner to see in almost any rearward-facing direction. The guns were electrically fired, and an electrical contact breaker acted as a form of "interrupter" as used on many forms of multi-engined, turret-armed WW II aircraft, preventing the gunner from shooting off the Me 210's [[tailplane]].

An order for 1,000 Me 210s was placed before the prototype had flown. In time, this would prove to be a major error. The first [[prototype]] flew with DB 601B engines in September 1939, and was considered unsafe by test pilots. Stability was bad in turns, and it tended to [[Hunting oscillation|oscillate]], even while flying level. At first, the designers concentrated on the twin-[[rudder]] arrangement that had been taken from the 110, and replaced it with a new and much larger single [[vertical stabilizer]]. This had almost no effect, and the plane continued to "snake". The Me 210 also suffered from terrible [[Stall (fluid mechanics)|stalls]]. With the nose up or in a turn, the stalls whipped into [[Spin (flight)|spins]] when the automatic [[leading-edge slats]] opened. The second prototype, '''Me 210 V2''', was lost this way in September 1940, when the pilot could not get out of the resulting spin and had to abandon the aircraft. The chief test pilot commented that the Me 210 had "all the least desirable attributes an aeroplane could possess." It took 16 prototypes and 94 preproduction examples to try to resolve the many problems. Nevertheless, the RLM was desperate to replace the Bf 110s currently in service, and ordered full production in early 1941. The type exhibited grossly inadequate handling characteristics, and as a result, several elements of the airframe were redesigned, including lengthening the rear section of the fuselage by 92&nbsp;cm (36-1/4 inches), designated as ''lang'' ("long"). The Me 210C was built with [[Daimler-Benz DB 605|DB 605]] engines, as well as incorporating the changes to the [[airframe]]. The Hungarian authorities were satisfied with the Me 210C in its current state, and purchased a production license for the type, to fill the role of the [[Varga RMI-1 X/H]], designated Me 210Ca (a = ''ausländisch'' or 'foreign') as well as for its DB 605 engines. Several airframes were also purchased, to be completed in Hungarian factories for practice while the assembly lines were set up. Production started in the ''Dunai Repülőgépgyár Rt.'' (Danubian Aircraft Plant) as the '''Me 210Ca''' with the DB 605B engine, under an agreement where the ''Luftwaffe'' received two of every three produced.

The Me 210 was eventually developed into the [[Messerschmitt Me 410]], with [[Daimler-Benz DB 603|DB 603]] engines.