Messerschmitt Me 310

The Messerschmitt Me 310 was a prototype German heavy fighter of World War II. It was a project to save the troubled Me 210.

Design and development
The armament was to be the same as the Me 210 A-1: two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons, two 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns, and two remotely-controlled, rearward-firing 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns. A single aircraft was built by converting a Me 210. It had a pressurised cockpit and was powered by two 1,380 kW (1,850 hp) Daimler-Benz DB 603A inline engines.

The Me 310 first flew on 11 September 1943, but the project was cancelled later the same year as it showed hardly any improvement over the Me 210. It was only the Me 410 that showed improvement enough over the Me 210 that it was put into production, although the Me 310 was more sophisticated.