Corgi 1/72 AA29701 Messerschmitt Me 410A-1/U4, W.Nr 429263 / 3U+EN, Oblt Friedrich ‘Fritz’ Stehle, 5./ZG26, Hildesheim, Germany, 6th March 1944, Defence of the Reich bomber killer operations

The culmination of Germany’s vaunted ‘Destroyer’ concept, the Messerschmitt Me 410 was the intended successor of the Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter. Despite entering service almost two years late, it was arguably the Luftwaffe aircraft which most closely matched Britain’s magnificent de Havilland Mosquito in terms of role and performance. Unquestionably one of the most interesting aircraft of the Second World War in appearance, the Me 410 was a true multi-role aircraft and could be adapted to perform a number of offensive roles, including that of heavy bomber killer. Equipped with the mighty Rheinmetall manufactured BK-5 autocannon which protruded from the nose of the fighter, this weapon was a development of the 50mm Kampfwagenkanone anti-tank gun found in Panzer III tanks. With 21 shells housed in a magazine in the weapons bay of the fighter and a shell already loaded in the breach ready to fire, the pilot could usually only rely on one round being fired, before this temperamental system jammed, leaving just reduced standard armament to be used during the sortie. A single, well-aimed shell did possess the destructive power to easily bring down an Allied bomber and could be fired at ranges where the attacking Luftwaffe aircraft were effectively impervious to the wall of return fire put up by the bomber stream. However, the additional weight and drag caused by using this powerful gun made the Me 410 incredibly vulnerable to marauding Allied fighters.