Editing Heavy fighter (section)

==Germany==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-377-2801-013, Flugzeug Messerschmitt Me 110.jpg|thumb|A [[Messerschmitt Bf 110]] in flight]]

The Messerschmitt Bf 110 was a pre-war German fighter design to meet a RLM specification for a long-ranged fighter. Prior to the war, it was considered by the German [[Luftwaffe]]  more important than their single-engine fighters. Many of the best pilots were assigned to Bf 110 [[Wing (military aviation unit)#German usage|wings]], specifically designated as ''Zerstörergeschwader'' ("destroyer squadron", ''Zerstörer'' being the same word as used for naval [[destroyer]]s) wings. While lighter fighters were intended for defense, the destroyers were intended for offensive missions: to escort bombers on missions at long range, then use its superior speed to outrun defending fighters that would be capable of outmaneuvering it.<ref name=z>{{cite book|last=Weal|first=John|title=Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstörer aces of World War 2|year=1999|publisher=Osprey Aviation|location=Oxford|isbn=1-85532-753-8|pages=6–7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PKa9EH5sb9gC&pg=PA7}}</ref>

This doctrine proved to be a costly mistake.<ref>{{cite book|last=Murphy|first=Justin D.|title=Military aircraft, 1919–1945: an illustrated history of their impact|year=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara|isbn=978-1-85109-498-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PW8kvG9wzTcC&pg=PA96|edition=1st|author2=McNiece, Matthew A.}}</ref> In practice the Bf 110 was capable of using this combination of features for only a short time, until the late summer of 1940. It served well against the [[Hawker Hurricane]] during the [[Battle of France]], but was easily outperformed by – and up to 50&nbsp;km/h (31&nbsp;mph) slower in top speed than – the [[Supermarine Spitfire]] during the Battle of Britain. Eventually Bf 110s were converted to [[interceptor aircraft|interceptors]], and were particularly successful in the later marks of the Bf 110G series from 1942 to 1943 onwards as night fighters, serving as the primary aircraft of the Luftwaffe ''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' night fighter wings, using various versions of the [[Lichtenstein radar]] for nocturnal interception of [[RAF Bomber Command]] heavy bombers, as well as finding some use as ground-attack aircraft. The [[Messerschmitt Me 210|Me 210]] and [[Messerschmitt Me 410|Me 410]] ''Hornisse'' were all-new aircraft designs meant to replace the Bf 110, but also could not outrun contemporary single-engine fighters, with the Me 210 having serious aerodynamic problems from mistakes in the design of its wing planform and the initial design of its rear fuselage.

Aside from the Bf 110 and Me 210/410, the Luftwaffe also utilized various [[light bomber]]s, [[medium bomber]]s, and ''[[Schnellbomber]]s'' (German; literally "fast bomber") in the heavy fighter role. Due to their relatively large size, these were mostly used as night fighter-bomber destroyers, as there was ample room to install airborne intercept radar systems as well as heavy armament. Bombers utilized in such a role included the [[Junkers Ju 88]] and [[Ju 388]]; the [[Heinkel He 219]]; and the [[Dornier Do 215]] and [[Dornier Do 217|Do 217]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/the-bombing-campaign-of-world-war-two/german-night-fighters/|title = German Night Fighters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_ju88_night_fighter.html|title = Junkers Ju 88 as a night fighter}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/junkers-ju-388-l-1 |title=Junkers Ju 388 L-1 &#124; National Air and Space Museum |access-date=2019-12-29 |archive-date=2018-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144444/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/junkers-ju-388-l-1 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In addition to light and medium bombers, the ''Luftwaffe'' experimented with the concept of a ''Grosszerstörer'' ("large destroyer"). Different armament packages were tested on the [[Heinkel He 177 Greif]] [[heavy bomber]]. Twelve airframes, designated " He 177 A-1/U2", carried twin 30&nbsp;mm [[MK 101 cannon]] in an enlarged ventral gondola and was intended for ground attack, train busting, and possibly long-range anti-shipping raids. They also were intended for use in a bomber destroyer role, intercepting Allied long-range bombers and [[maritime patrol aircraft]] threatening the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]''{{'}}s submarines. In the field, a small number of He 177 A-3s were also equipped with the 50&nbsp;mm[[Rheinmetall BK-5]] cannon in the undernose gondola. This unofficial modification was intended for use in [[flak]]-suppression attacks. A never-built A-3/R5 variant was also planned to mount a 75&nbsp;mm ''Bordkanone'' BK 7,5 cm cannon. Five A-5 variants were built, armed with up to 33 spin-stabilized 21 cm (8¼ in) calibre rockets obliquely mounted (firing upwards) in the fuselage, designed to break up and destroy the [[combat box]] defensive formations used by [[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]] daylight bombers over Germany. Limited operational test flights were conducted with this variant, but they never made contact with the enemy; with the ever-increasing threat of Allied escort fighters, the variant was abandoned.<ref>{{cite book |title=Heinkel He 177–277–274 |last1=Griehl |first1=Manfred |last2=Dressel |first2=Joachim |year=1998 |publisher=Airlife Publishing |location=Shrewsbury, England |pages=106–111 }}</ref>

Towards the end of the war, the [[Dornier Do 335|Dornier Do 335 ''Pfeil'']] was developed as a twin-engine dedicated ''zerstörer'' (eschewing the usual German wartime practice of assigning multiple roles to heavy fighters), designed with a relatively unique [[push-pull configuration]], which placed its fuselage-mounted twin [[DB 603]] engines' propellers on opposing ends of the fuselage, and potentially allowed much better maneuverability, while essentially using the same engines as the conventional-layout twin-engine Me 410. The centre-line thrust design of the Do 335, the first-ever front-line combat fighter to use it, did allow dramatically higher speeds (just over 750&nbsp;km/h or 465&nbsp;mph) than many other twin-piston-engine aircraft of its era, but was never produced in quantity.

Following the example set by the Bf 110, the [[Japan]]ese built the broadly similar [[Kawasaki Ki-45]] ''Toryu''. Likewise neutral [[Netherlands]] built the twin-boom Fokker G.I, only to be seized by the ''Luftwaffe'' after the German invasion of the Netherlands.