Hmm, I think the 110 is waay to much underestimated. It was not a bad plane at all, just not an equal opponent for single engine fighters. Funny I never seen anybody to kick the Ju 88, the Mossie, Beufighter, Pe-2 etc. for the same, and they lacked that ability just as well ! In it`s own class, the 110 was a good plane, easy to fly, good performance (595 km/h max speed for the 110G was not that bad in 1943). It was suited for MANY roles.. as far as it was a *poor* nightfighter.. hmm, the Ju 88 was more suited for this task, being much larger, could carry more fuel and guns, bomblets for nightly intruder raids over england. But not nearly as fast or manouverable, no. And during the daylight raids, the 110s/410s were a force to be reckoned with, until the escort fighters arrived, as have been said. But is it a surprise? Zerstorers were always few in numbers, even the normal daylight fighters found it nearly impossible to win against those odds, those numbers... but they could run away. Zerstorers couldn`t. But when they fell on the undefended bombers, the results were ugly. It happened once over Wien, early 1944, in one very successfull mission according to Galland. They carried big guns, rockets, and were quite resistant to enemy fire. Another thing some forget that this wasn`t their only task, 110s/210s/410s were the forgotten ground pounders of the Luftwaffe on the Eestern front, and they could carry a lot of warload, far more a normal fighter could. So they had good points, they were jacks of all trades, but masters of none. Like the destroyers of the navy...
