11. The Messerschmitt 110 – Details of Germanys Mass Production Fighter
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Paper
Abstract
The Messerschmitt Me 110 long-range fighter is an airplane designed for ‘blitzkrieg production’ as well as blitzkrieg warfare. A brief examination reveals that its designers gave careful attention to the basic factors governing mass production practicability and economy – design simplification; e1imnation of close limits and clearances; practical assemblies, and installations; and a minimum variety or structural shapes and sheet gages. Examination reveals that this airplane lacks nothing that a high-grade military airplane should possess. Its performance is good; armament heavy; instruments and controls are adequate. Long and short-wave CW and phone radio equipment is provided.
Production economy has largely been achieved by loosening up manufacturing limits as much as possible by ingenious design. Interchangeability of wing fillets is a troublesome prob1em in aircraft production, as it is necessary to hold close dimensional limits on the attachment screw holes in a part that is curved in three dimensions, and extremely flexible. This problem is solved by piercing large attachment holes in the fillet itself, and using attachment strips that clamp the fillet edges between strip and wing or fuselage. This design permits drilling of attaching screw holes in strips and wing or fuselage with matched drill-jigs to insure perfect alignment, and the large holes in the, fillet itself permit considerable dimensional variation of this part.
A similar problem of dimensional variations between ring tips and panels is met by special washers, screwed down over attaching holes in the skin. The attaching holes in the tips are large enough to compensate for variations in the location of mating holes in either section of the wing.
An unusual design permits considerb1e fore-and-aft and vertical adjustment of the nose-section wing fittings for alignment at final assembly. The fitting mounting face and pad are finely serrated, and the mounting bolt holes are oversize to permit adjustment of the fitting – with shear loads being transmitted through the serrations, rather that through the bolts.
