Hi Hood,
Well, the Ta 154 was originally conceived as a high-speed bomber, not a night fighter, so the poor visibility probably wasn't seen as a problem. There was also the Ta 154A-4, Ta 154C and Ta 254 line of development with a revised nose in which the pilot sat higher (and the main armament was mounted below the cockpit floor). However, even in that configuration, visibility was a still limited, especially compared to the He 219's very wide field of view.
I wouldn't necessarily say Milch was wrong in considering the He 219 overly expensive in its role, but on the other hand, it was available, and it was effective. Was the Ju 88 lineage as effective, and how long would it have stayed so? That's probably a question that could only be answered by having a long and hard look at operational statistics.
Heinkel argued in mid 1944 that the He 219, when fitted with the same engines, was 30 km/h faster than the Ju 388. It was also already in production, while the Ju 388 was still being introduced to the production lines, and He 219 production could be ramped up quicker than Ju 388 production according to Heinkel. Against the Ta 254, which by that point apparently had replaced the Ta 154 in Luftwaffe planning, Heinkel argued that the Focke-Wulf type's introduction time was uncertain, and that the He 219 could be switched over to wooden wing with a low-risk development his design office had already considered, and which would reduce the aluminium requirements for the He 219 from 3900 to 1400 kg. His presentation includes a weight breakdown, and a bit to my surprise, about one third of the fuselage structural weight consisted of steel. For the wings, it was only 20% steel, and 80% aluminium, roughly. (I'm relying on the reproduction of Heinkel's presentation in Luftfahrt International 16 for all of this.)
So, maybe Milch's reservations against the He 219 were misguided, even if the type might have been more expensive than the potential competitors. However, in the end it wasn't up to Milch to make a decision anymore, as he had been removed from his post, and other people were calling the shots.
Regards,
Henning (HoHun)
