Does anyone know where I'd find picture(s) of Bf-110 B, preferably
from a combat unit? I know some B were used during Polish campaign,
not sure about Norway or France. All I could find was one small photo
of a B from a training outfit.
TIA,
Chris
The following from Wiiliam Green's "Warplanes of the Third Reich":
Total production for Bf 110B (B-0, B-1, B-2, B-3): 45 aircraft.
Operational units using the B: I(Z)/LG1, I/ZG1, I/ZG76, Ergänzungs
(Zerstörer) Staffel [a training and replacement unit]. This last is the
only quasi-operational unit for which I've seen a picture of a Bf 110B;
aircraft number Red [an educated guess] 42 (outline in white).
By the time the Polish campaign began, there were only 27 Bf 110B on
inventory with the Luftwaffe, as compared to 65 Bf 110C, and some of the
B were in the training and replacement staffel, so combat use in the
Polish campaign would have been limited. The B was certainly out of
front-line service by the end of 1939. The only operational version was
the B-1. The B-2 was an unarmed PR bird that may or may not have been
used operationally, and the B-3 was a trainer conversion, with the
cannon or all guns removed. After removal from operational squadrons,
all surviving Bs were converted to B-3 standard, except those used
experimentally. B-3 were used as trainers through the end of 1940, and
perhaps for a few months beyond.
Mark Schynert
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