>>it was a failure for what it was designed for, and was outclassed by the Hurri and Spit but I could find nothing more specific. <<
You can read just about any account (specifically books written on the subject) and learn that it was savaged by .303 armed Hurris and Spits. It was initially used as a fighter and was too slow and not nearly manueverable enough to fight single engine Brit fighters. The Nazis removed them and then used them as fast attack bombers, and had a bit more success but, they had to be escorted by the overtaxed Me-109s.
Later, they were used a night fighters to combat British night bombers and had a lot of success. They were even used some as fighters against American daylight bombers; for this they had to be more heavily armored.
