From the invasion of Poland to the defeat of France, the Bf-110 was the terror of European skies, sweeping away the air forces of Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium with ease. On one memorable occasion, I./ZG 1 destroyed a Danish force of 10 reconnaisance aircraft and 24 Fokker D.XXIs without a single Danish aircraft finishing it’s takeoff.
However, in the Battle of Britain, the Destroyer Groups began to suffer immense losses. On the 13th of August, 14 Bf-110s were lost, with another 106, over a third of active 110s, being lost in the entire month. September was little better, with 9 110s destroyed on the 2nd and the 11th, 16 machines on the 4th, and 19 on the 27th. October saw fewer losses, but this was mainly due to reduced Zerstörer activity - when II. and III./ZG 26 sortied on the 7th, they lost a further 7 aircraft. Losses had been so heavy that the entirety of ZG 2 was disbanded.
The pilots flying the Bf-110 were by no means inexperienced. Many were already aces. Yet, forced to escort bombers in the face of modern fighter opposition, their experience counted for little.
But, I was wondering, did Bf-110 fighters have more success in the BoB during freijagd missions, where they weren’t forced to keep pace with the bombers, and could fly at higher altitudes?
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