Christer Bergström states in his book on the Battle of Britain that the Bf 110 was much more successful than stated in many books. The main reason for being retired was that it was needed to equip night fighter units, but it did score better than Bf 109 units. The issue is that very often, authors focus on the unsuccessful missions carried out with long range tanks that limited it’s performance. When operating high and fast it was a dangerous enemy.
Some numbers provided in another discussion. The source is his book in Swedish, ”Luftstrid över kanalen”
Confirmed victories versus actual air battle losses, from July to October 1940
Bf 109 780 victories to 534 losses – a ratio of 1.5:1
Bf 110 340 victories to 196 losses – a ratio of 1.7:1
Sign In
