Me 410 A-1/U2
| This page is about the German twin-engine fighter Me 410 A-1/U2. For other versions, see Me 410 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Me 410 A was the result of the design and development of the Me 210. It featured a better airframe and was overall a much better aircraft compared to the Me 210. At the beginning of the Me 410's life, it was mainly focused on being a high-speed bomber. However, as time went on, Luftwaffe Bomber Command grew more dissatisfied with the Me 410's role as a bomber. This, in combination with the need for heavy fighters, redesignated the Me 410 from a high-speed bomber towards fighting enemy aircraft. The Me 410 A-1/U2 was the beginning of this mindset, and it largely ditched the bombs. It was then fitted with the WB 151A "Waffenbehälter" modification set that added two more MG 151s. In total, the Me 410 A-1/U2 had an impressive armament of four MG 151s and two 7.92 mm machine guns. Production shifted towards building Me 410 A-1/U2s, and even regular A-1s were converted to the Zerstörer standard.
The Me 410 A-1/U2 has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. It is one of many Me 410 variants in the game and is quite similar to the B-1/U2. The A-1/U2 has a very deadly set of guns that will easily down fighters and bombers. However, due to the Me 410's lacklustre performance, climbing up to enemy bomber altitudes will be quite tough. Furthermore, enemy fighters will have far superior performance, making it difficult to engage them. Me 410 pilots should stick to teammates and pick off aircraft that are distracted or in a disadvantageous position.
General info
Flight performance
With its size, heavy arrangement and Armour you could be forgiven for misjudging the Me 410 A-1/U2's agility.
Two Daimler-Benz DB 603A V12 engines produce 1,726 HP each giving the aircraft power to weight ratio of 0.56 Hp/kg (compared to the BF 109 G-6's 0.64 Hp/Kg) which allows it to accelerate extremely well compared to other aircraft of its size and better than many single-engine fighters. Although the top speed of 640 km/h is nothing to brag about (don't expect to get over 600 Km/h during a battle) it is still a capable aircraft speed-wise as it will not rip its wings below 750 Km/h and cannot rip them in a turn. Stall Speed is 130 Km/h and 120 Km/h with Combat flaps extended. Despite what many believe the Me 410 can climb at an average of 20 M/s at 15 degrees up to 4000m, depending on the map and from then forward continues at 10-15 M/s till 7000m where its performance drops significantly.
The Me 410 can also turn well for its size, provided you are between 280 and 600 km/h. Combat flaps at speeds below 400 Km/h improve turn time and low-speed performance greatly. The flaps on the Me 410 provide a lot of lift and this combined with the good acceleration allows you to recover from stalls extremely quickly, or prolong the time it takes to stall by a large amount.
Also tying in with the acceleration is the Me 410's Air brakes, the combination of Air brakes and good acceleration allows you to manipulate your energy more easily than most fighters. The Air breaks allow you to slow down quickly to force an overshoot, avoid exceeding 750 Km/h, give yourself more time to fire at targets or stop an enemy from forcing you to overshoot and then regain your speed faster than your foe.
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 6,700 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 602 | 584 | 10400 | 31.9 | 32.8 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 444 |
| Upgraded | 648 | 624 | 29.6 | 30.7 | 14.4 | 10.8 | ||
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 750 | 350 | 457 | 428 | 280 | ~12 | ~4 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 360 | < 360 | < 460 | > 265 |
| Compressor (RB/SB) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Setting 1 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| 5,300 m | 3,020 hp | 3,330 hp |
Survivability and armour
The aircraft's wings leading edges and critical components are armoured. although this armour will help prevent low energy or small calibre projectiles from damaging the airframe it cannot be relied on to prevent damage from anything other than rifle calibre (7.62 mm, 7.7 mm, 7.92 mm) rounds and even then it is unlikely to come out unscathed. The Me 410's armour should be more or less thought of as a last resort if you know you're going to be hit at least you have some protection.
- 8 mm steel - front of cockpit (either side of the glass)
- 5 mm steel - wings leading edge (in front of fuel tanks)
- 8 mm steel - prop hub and gear bay
- 9 mm steel - top and bottoms of wings (around the liquid cooling system)
- 8 mm steel - plates in the tail
- 8 mm steel - bulkhead aft of gunner
- 8 mm steel - between gunner and pilot
- 12 mm steel - pilot's headrest
- 60 mm bulletproof glass - in front of the pilot (inside aircraft)
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Offensive armament
The Me 410 A-1/U2 is armed with:
- 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, chin-mounted (250 rpg = 500 total)
- 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, cheek-mounted (350 rpg = 700 total)
- 2 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns, cheek-mounted (1,000 rpg = 2,000 total)
When most players encounter an Me 410 of any variant they won't often think past the aircraft's heavy armament, the A-1/U2 is a prime example of this with 4 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons and 2 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns in the nose. Although your armament is very effective for hunting bombers in most scenarios, fighter aircraft should be your primary target.
Suspended armament
The Me 410 A-1/U2 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- Without load
- 4 x Wfr.Gr.21 rockets
Defensive armament
The Me 410 A-1/U2 is defended by:
- 1 x 13 mm MG 131 machine gun, 2 x beam turrets (500 rpg = 1,000 total)
Usage in battles
This aircraft is great for conquering airbases because you can use it to approach very close to the ground and very, very fast up to the very last moment. This is because of the Hornisse's effective airbrake. When running towards the runway, don't hesitate to put the pedal to the metal up to really shortly before touchdown, then push off the air-brake, gear and all flaps (in that order). Ignore all warning and try to touch-down with about 200-240 km/h.
It is also suitable for chasing all sorts of bombers. Due to its heavy nose armament, taking down nearly any enemy is just a matter of seconds.
Your greatest advantage, however, is the planes' speed, certainly not its manoeuvrability.
For this reason, always try to get into power fighting when it comes to taking on single-engined enemies. Try to stay in a group. Your defence weaponry will serve you as well as it will your allies.
For Simulator battle pilots, the aircraft's Cockpit is not clean but allows you to lead your target more accurately due to the hanging gun sight and partially glass nose
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Not controllable | Controllable Auto control available |
Not controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Combined | Not controllable 1 gear |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Heavy armament: 4 MG 151, when you research the belts and use air target belts, you are firing mostly Minengeschosse!
- Nose-mounted armament gives a very dense cone of fire
- Its defensive armament, once fully installed, is remarkably effective, especially when it comes along with a skilled crew
- Good traverse arcs for the 13 mm machine guns
- Can carry bombs even with stock model
- Reasonably fast for a twin-engine fighter
- The Me 410's well armoured fuselage is quite durable and withstands a good punch.
- It can reach amazing high levels of speed within its class, which is especially effective when fleeing from the enemy
- Armament combined with her speed makes her an excellent bomber hunter
Cons:
- Large target for enemy aircraft
- Subpar manoeuvrability; even a few bombers can out-turn it
- Pilot can be vulnerable in a head-on attack
- Like most twin-engine planes, the "Hornisse" is not as manoeuvrable as a single-engined fighter
- When pulling her up, she loses speed extensively
- As with most German heavy fighters, the fuselage durability doesn't extend to the wings
- Lack of large calibre cannons or bombs makes this the overall worst variant of the 410 for ground attack
History
| Archive of the in-game description | |
|---|---|
|
By February 1944, the designation "Hornisse" ("Hornet") was finally assigned to the Me.410A planes, and several "factory conversion kits" (Umbausätze) were developed for them to increase their firepower or ensure that they were able to perform various special missions. The U1 kit, used both on high-speed bombers and "destroyers" (the Me.410A-1/U1 and the Me.410A-2/U1), allowed mounting one Rb 75/30, Rb 50/30, or Rb 20/30 camera onto the central fuselage. The U2 kit, for high-speed bombers, consisted of a WB 151 ventral container with two additional 20 mm Mauser MG 151/20 cannons with 250 rounds each, in drum magazines. The cannon container was installed in place of the Me.410A-1/U2's bomb bay. Me 410 A-2/U2 night fighters had not only WB 151 containers but also a FuG 220 radar with dipole antennas in the forward fuselage and flame arrestors in the plane's exhaust pipes. The need to repel American heavy bombers running daytime raids over Germany forced the Luftwaffe command to search for a way to arm Air Defence Force fighters with powerful large-calibre weapons. And so, an R2 version of the Rüstsatz kit was developed. The Me.410A-2/R2 had its 7.92 mm Rheinmetall-Borsig MG 17 machine guns removed and a pair of 30 mm Rheinmetall-Borsig MK 108 cannons mounted in a WB 108 container in the bomb bay. The planes were also fitted with ZFR 4a telescopic gun sights. An exotic weapon was tested on one Me 410 A-1: a 210 mm, six-chamber WGr 21 revolving rocket launcher. The launcher was assembled in the bomb bay, with one of the launch tubes protruding beyond the contours of the fuselage. Since the drum rotated quickly, all six rockets could be released at the target in one gun run. The first test fire, performed in February 1944, proved to be unsuccessful, but fine-tuning of the weapon continued. The revolving launchers were mounted on several more Me.410 planes for operational service tests, but the idea never progressed any further. | |
Media
- Skins
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the aircraft;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Germany twin-engine fighters | |
|---|---|
| Messerschmitt | Bf 109 Z-1 |
| Me 410 A-1/U2 · Me 410 B-1/U2 | |
| Dornier | Do 17 Z-7 · Do 217 J-1 · Do 217 J-2 · Do 217 N-1 · Do 217 N-2 |
| Focke-Wulf | Ta 154 A-1 |
| Junkers | Ju 88 C-6 · Ju 388 J |
