I./ZG1_Panzerbar

Thats a result of latenight editing and translating of the text Of course, there must be Kuhlein.

I want to say big thanks to LeR3_Kanttori and Lukas_from_Hell for help on skins descriptions and translation. And III./JG2_Gustav05, You are the best Way to go!

Any ideas, what we will see today?

Immortal thing. Fork handles/Four candles. 2 Ronnies.

Late war flight suit. Compare it with early one.

New treasure out from nowhere! S9+AM, aircraft of Hptm. Walter von Pokafakve. January 1942, Orel.

Yes.

WHAT?

They are interceptors, same as Bf109G with W.Gr.21 or Fw190A-8/R8 with additional armor and 30mm guns. Who, in their turn, also had crippling losses in the same conditions, then they were jumped in climb by a hordes of P-51/P-47/P-38's. Most times, during 1944, Bf110/Me410 had better kill/death rate compare to Bf109/Fw190 Gruppen in reichdefense.

It may be a surprise for You, but Me210 was poorly recieved in 1941 with short tail. When it returned to the front in autumn 1942 in North Afrika, it prooved extremly capable heavy fighter, fighter-bomber, intercepter and even fighter vs fighter (there were numerous clashes between Me210's of III./ZG1 against Spitfires and P-38's). You may note, that Allied fighters need almost 1,5 month of intencive fighting to shot down first Me210 on 18.11.1942! Overall, III./ZG1 lost only 14 Me210's as write-offs and damaged on various state to allied fighters from early october 1942 to the end of april 1943! The lowest attrition level was never cought by rare Luftwaffe Gruppe in Afrika. As a fighter-bomber, it played critical role in defencive fights in Tunis in winter and spring 1943. Kasserine battle was the example of III./ZG1 close-support of Army. Not that facts You used to read in "Legendary Spitfire" and "P-51 is da best fighter of the world" books, isnt it?

Bf110 as a long range fighter (zerstorer) NEVER had an escort of Bf109 during Battle of Britain. The only Bf110-equipped Gruppe during BoB, wich almost always flew under escort - note - under mixed Bf110+Bf109 escort - was dedicated fighter-bomber Erpr.Gr.210.

Authors name is actually Alfons Schertl, "Peter Henn" is a pseudonim. SCHERTL, Alfons. (DOB: 15.04.20). I have this book. You forgot to mention, that he feared P-47 also a lot (he was shot down by P-47's on several times). "Achtung! Thunderbolts!" cry on radio-chatting usually brokes his gruppe like a wolf breaks rabbits. You may also mention, time when that book was written - Cold War. Americans were superior in ex-Luftwaffe pilots memories books, Russkies were all lame ducks Anyway, 1944 aircrafts were not faster each other in twice or several times. Doesen of km/h faster or slower aircraft dont became guaranteed coffin for its pilot. Hptm. Eckerle, kommander of I./JG54, was shot down over Leningrad in a fight vs I-153, wich is - how many ? - 150 km/h slower? Oblt. Ostermann (first JG54 "centiruon") and Oblt. Kittel (top Fw190 and top JG54 ace) both were killed by Il-2 pilots! Tha fact is, that german interceptors - no matter single-engined ot twin-engined - lost a war over Germany in winter 1943-44, when americans improved their tactiks (sending numerous groups of P-38, P-47 and eventually P-51's of fighter sweep all around known Luftwaffe airfields on the route of bombers. Bf109, Fw190, Me410 and Bf110 - again - all of them - suffered extremly heavy losses before even reaching bombers, just caught in a climb by a large group of Yankee fighters out from sun. Yes, each of us remember january, february and especially march massacres with bloodly Bf110/Me410 losses (wich somebody like to use as an argument of Me410/Bf110 was sh#t), but in same time they just keep silence about same (and usually even worse) level of losses of single-engine fighters! Interceptor need a "vorfeld", a clear field to gain altitude. No matter what aircraft it is - Bf109 or heavy Fw190 or Me410. Cought up in a climb, interceptor had no chance to survive. This was prooven in BoB, this was prooven in Battles over Germany.

Also, I assume You to look closer to P-38 actions in Europe in combats vs Me410. In pure fights Me410 vs P-38 german had (fact !) better kill/death ratio. Not to mention, both Schweinfurth/Regensburg massacres would never happen without Bf110/Me410 with W.Gr.21, wich split "combat boxes" and made many "lame ducks" wich could be finished by 109/190.

Wow really.... Liberator crews, killed on 20 june 1944 (JUNE 1944 !!!!) over Rugen island, not agree with You. And that massacre was not the only single sucсess....

1. If so, We may ask Me410B, bacause there was still II./ZG76 in Grossenhein airfield in december 1944, equipped with Me410B's Not on Western front, but still in combat with P-51's 2. Bf110 and Me410 suffered over Germany mainly in P-51/P-47 hands. Yes, there were several occasions when it was clearly Bf110G vs P-38 combats, with Zerstorer heavy losses (like on 29.01.44, when Hptm. Kiel of III./ZG76 - one of the top Bf110 experten was killed), but on the other hand there were many occasions when P-38 were in combat with Bf110/Me410 and were beaten hard. For example, Hptm. Tratt had two P-38 confirmed by USAAF losses on a single combat: 2/Lt. Leonard S. Smutko (79th FS in P-38J-10-LO 42-67821) 2/Lt. Melvin H. Orr (79th FS in P-38J-10-LO 42-67848) And other examples. We have 3U+AT skin in game, wich belongs to Oblt. Paul Bley, who was one of leading P-38 killer among Bf110 pilots. Zerstorer vs P-38 were never purely one-sided combats.