Dragon Models 1/48 5556 Cyber-hobby German Messerschmitt BF110D-1 DACKELBAUCH

The original Bf110 aircraft built by Messerschmitt was a twin-engine heavy fighter, a type referred to as Zerst�rer (�Destroyer�). It's greatest success was early in WWII but its innate weakness, a lack of aerial agility was dangerously exposed during the Battle of Britain. The Bf110D, based on the preceding C model, was a Zerst�rer specially designed for long-range missions. It came about at the time of the Norwegian campaign, where the need for a long-range anti-shipping aircraft became apparent. The Bf110D-1/R-1 was the first attempt at creating a long-range shipping patrol aircraft and its key characteristic was the addition of a huge 1,200-litre external belly tank. Appearing in May 1940, the performance of the Bf110D-1/R-1 was adversely affected by the weight of this Dackelbauch (�Daschund belly�) fuel tank. Only the poor quality of Allied aircraft during the Norwegian campaign staved off disaster for this version, although later variants incorporated improvements.