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Night Fighter

"Night Fighters" redirects here. For the 1960 film also known as The Night Fighters, see A Terrible Beauty (1960 film).

Night fighter / All-weather fighter

A night fighter, a term that eventually evolved into the more encompassing "all-weather fighter" or "all-weather interceptor" after World War II, represented a specialized class of fighter or interceptor aircraft. These machines were meticulously adapted or purpose-built to operate effectively under the cloak of darkness, through challenging meteorological conditions, or any situation where visibility was severely compromised. This stood in stark contrast to their daytime counterparts, the day fighters, which were designed primarily for combat in clear skies and daylight. While the nascent concept of the night fighter was explored during the First World War, it was the crucible of World War II that truly saw its widespread implementation and development. The relentless march of technological advancement in the post-war era, particularly in avionics and detection systems, eventually rendered the distinct "night fighter" designation largely obsolete, as most modern fighters became capable of all-weather operations.

During the Second World War, night fighters typically fell into two categories: those conceived from the drawing board as dedicated night combat platforms, and a more common adaptation of heavy fighters or light bombers. These adapted aircraft were often retrofitted with radar or other sophisticated systems to grant them the crucial ability to detect and engage targets in low-visibility environments. Many of these wartime night fighters also incorporated early instrument landing systems to facilitate safe landings in the dark, a critical feature given that runway lights, essential for navigation, presented an obvious and dangerous beacon for enemy intruders. While some experimental efforts involved modifying day fighters for night missions, these were generally only successful under exceptionally favorable conditions and never achieved widespread operational deployment. The war did, however, mark the debut of the first aircraft conceived and built from its inception with the explicit purpose of night fighting: the Northrop P-61 Black Widow.

The evolution of avionics has been nothing short of revolutionary. Over time, these systems underwent significant miniaturization, paving the way for the integration of increasingly sophisticated technologies. This included the incorporation of radar altimeter, terrain-following radar, vastly improved instrument landing system technologies, microwave landing system, Doppler weather radar, LORAN receivers, GEE navigation systems, TACAN, inertial navigation system, GPS, and GNSS receivers. The synergistic effect of these advanced landing and navigation aids, coupled with highly capable radar systems, led to the widespread adoption of the term "all-weather fighter" or, depending on the aircraft's specific offensive capabilities, "all-weather fighter attack." Consequently, the term "night fighter" gradually receded from common usage as aircraft transitioned to a state where night operations were simply a standard capability, rather than a defining characteristic.

History

Early examples

At the dawn of the First World War, the aerial capabilities of most belligerent nations were rudimentary, particularly concerning night operations. The strategic landscape was such that the idea of attacking cities at night was largely unthinkable, and the prevailing assumption of a swift conflict negated any perceived need for strategic bombing campaigns. The initial focus was on tactical engagements in daylight.

However, this perception shifted dramatically on September 22 and October 8, 1914, when the Royal Naval Air Service launched audacious raids targeting the Zeppelin production facilities and hangars in Cologne and Düsseldorf. Despite the presence of defensive measures, they proved remarkably ineffective. As early as 1915, a pivotal development occurred when several B.E.2c aircraft, infamously dubbed "Fokker Fodder" for their vulnerability, were modified to serve as rudimentary night fighters. Initial attempts to attack Zeppelins with darts and small incendiary bombs from above proved largely unsuccessful. The breakthrough came with the mounting of a Lewis gun angled upwards at 45 degrees, loaded with a novel type of incendiary ammunition. This configuration allowed the aircraft to attack enemy airships from below, a tactic that proved surprisingly effective.

Operational B.E.2c with RAF 1a engine, "V" undercarriage, streamlined cowling on sump, and cut-out in upper centre section to improve field of fire for gunner.

Following over a year of these night raids against Zeppelins, a significant victory was achieved on the night of September 2–3, 1916. A BE2c, piloted by Captain William Leefe Robinson, successfully downed the SL 11, marking the first German airship to be destroyed over Britain. This remarkable feat earned Robinson the Victoria Cross and a substantial sum in prize money. This was not an isolated incident; five more German airships were brought down in similar fashion between October and December 1916, effectively curtailing the Zeppelin bombing campaign and diminishing the frequency of raids over the subsequent year.

The limitations of airships eventually led the Luftstreitkräfte to deploy long-range heavy bombers, beginning with the Gotha G.IV aircraft, which gradually assumed the offensive role. While their initial daylight raids in May 1917 easily bypassed London's weak defenses, the subsequent strengthening of the home defense fighter force prompted the Germans to shift their focus to night raids, commencing on September 3, 1917. In response, Sopwith Camel day fighters were repurposed for the night fighter role. To address the issue of flash blinding pilots when firing their Vickers guns, these were replaced with Lewis guns mounted above the wings. Synchronized guns were deemed too risky for use with incendiary ammunition. Further modifications involved repositioning the cockpit rearward, leading to the aircraft being nicknamed the "Sopwith Comic." For squadrons operating in the northern UK, Avro 504K trainers were converted into night fighters by removing the front cockpit and installing a Lewis gun on the upper wing.

Interwar period

The interwar years, particularly the period of the Great Depression, were characterized by severe financial constraints that limited investment in aircraft development. Consequently, night-fighting techniques saw little significant advancement until the immediate prelude to World War II.

During this time, aircraft performance experienced a dramatic surge. Compared to their World War I predecessors, modern bombers could achieve roughly double the speed, operate at more than twice the altitude, and carry significantly larger bomb loads. Their increased speed meant that the window between detecting an incoming bomber and its arrival at the target was drastically reduced, leaving little time for interceptors to be scrambled and effectively engage them. The higher altitudes at which bombers operated also necessitated the development of exceptionally large and heavy antiaircraft guns, severely limiting their deployment. These challenges were amplified considerably under conditions of darkness or poor visibility. This era gave rise to the pessimistic assertion that "the bomber will always get through". In response, the Royal Air Force concentrated its efforts primarily on developing a potent night bomber force, while the Central Flying School undertook a crucial development in the period by introducing "blind flying" training.

In a less conventional application, the Spanish Republican Air Force employed some Polikarpov I-15s as night fighters. Pilot José Falcó notably equipped his fighter with a radio receiver, enabling him to receive land-based guidance for interception missions. One of these specially configured I-15s, armed with tracer and explosive .30 caliber rounds, achieved a notable daylight double victory against Bf 109s during the final stages of the war.

Despite the general stagnation, new technologies began to emerge, offering potential solutions for enhancing night-fighting capabilities. Throughout the 1930s, significant research and development were dedicated to infrared detectors by various major military powers. However, in practical application, these systems proved almost entirely unusable. The sole infrared system to achieve any semblance of widespread operational deployment was the Spanner Anlage system, utilized on the Dornier Do 17Z night fighters of the Luftwaffe. These aircraft were frequently equipped with a large infrared searchlight to amplify the return signal, a crude but necessary measure.

Immediately preceding the outbreak of the war, radar technology made its operational debut. Early radar systems were cumbersome, and development of infrared systems continued in parallel. However, the realization that radar offered a far more practical solution to the night-fighting problem led Robert Watson-Watt to task 'Taffy' Bowen with developing an aircraft-suitable radar system in the mid-1930s. In September 1937, Bowen successfully demonstrated the concept when a test aircraft managed to detect three Home Fleet capital ships in the North Sea amidst inclement weather.

The profound implications of this successful test were not lost on military planners, who subsequently reorganized radar efforts and elevated their priority. This spurred intensive development towards an operational airborne radar system for aircraft interception (AI). The sheer size of these early AI radars necessitated a large aircraft to carry them, and their complex controls demanded a multi-person crew for operation. This practical reality naturally led to the adoption of light bombers as the preferred platform for carrying these nascent aircraft interception radars. The first experimental flight of such a system occurred in May 1939, aboard a Fairey Battle.

Second World War

The war commenced on September 1, 1939, by which time the RAF had already made significant strides in planning for a radar-equipped night-fighter fleet, utilizing what was then referred to as 'RDF' in Britain. The Aircraft Interception Mk. II radar (AI Mk. II) was undergoing experimental fitting to a small number of Bristol Blenheim aircraft. The Blenheim was chosen for this role due to its sufficiently spacious fuselage, which could accommodate the additional crew member and the bulky radar apparatus. The first prototype system entered service in November 1939, well in advance of major British offensive operations. Despite these advancements, these early radar systems suffered from significant practical shortcomings. While continuous efforts were underway to rectify these flaws, the night fighter force remained in its nascent stages when the Blitz began in August 1940.

Throughout this critical period, the RAF experimented extensively with various aircraft types and interception methodologies in their quest to establish a viable night fighter force. One notable approach to compensate for the scarcity of operational radars involved equipping a Douglas Havoc bomber with an AI radar and a powerful nose-mounted searchlight. These Turbinlite aircraft were intended to locate enemy bombers and illuminate them with their searchlights, enabling visually-guided attacks by modified Hurricanes. This strategy, however, proved exceedingly difficult to implement effectively in practice, and the "Cat Eye" fighters achieved minimal success during the latter months of 1940. Consequently, the Turbinlite squadrons were disbanded in early 1943.

By early 1941, the first production-quality radar systems, the AI Mk. IV, began to arrive. This coincided with the introduction of the Beaufighter, an aircraft that offered substantially superior performance compared to the pre-war Blenheims. It was the highest-performing aircraft capable of carrying the bulky early airborne interception radars required for night fighter operations and rapidly proved indispensable in this role. Over the ensuing months, as more Beaufighters entered service, the success rate of night fighters effectively doubled each month, until May, when the Luftwaffe significantly reduced its bombing efforts. Although night bombing never ceased entirely, its intensity diminished considerably, affording the RAF the crucial breathing room to introduce the AI Mk. VIII radar, which operated in the microwave frequency band. This advanced radar was subsequently integrated into the de Havilland Mosquito, which became the premier night fighter platform until the war's conclusion.

As German offensive operations waned, the RAF's own bombing campaign intensified. With the Mosquitos having relatively little to do over the UK, several squadrons were formed within No. 100 Group RAF and equipped with specialized systems, such as Perfectos and Serrate, designed for homing in on German night fighters. The British also conducted experiments with mounting pilot-operated AI Mark 6 radar sets in single-seat fighters. The Hurricane II C(NF), a dozen of which were produced in 1942, holds the distinction of being the world's first radar-equipped, single-seat night fighter. It saw brief and largely unsuccessful service with 245 and 247 Squadrons before being transferred to India for service with 176 Squadron, where it remained until the end of 1943. A similarly radar-equipped Hawker Typhoon was also developed, but it never progressed beyond the experimental stage.

Luftwaffe instrument landing system indicator, built 1943.

German efforts in airborne radar interception lagged approximately two years behind those of the British. Unlike in Britain, where major targets were within a short flight time from the coast, targets within Germany, particularly after the occupation of France in 1940, were far from Allied airbases. This provided German air defenses with extended periods to counter intruding bombers. Rather than relying solely on airborne radar, German defenses primarily utilized ground-based systems. Targets were initially detected by radar assigned to specific "cells." This radar data was then used to direct a searchlight to "paint" the target, illuminating it and enabling fighters to engage without the need for onboard detection equipment. Subsequently, short-range radars supplanted the searchlights, tracking both friendly fighters and enemy bombers, allowing ground controllers to vector fighters onto their targets. By July 1940, this system, known as the Kammhuber Line, was well-established and proved effective against the smaller, isolated bomber raids conducted by the RAF at the time.

Prompted by the strategic insights of R.V. Jones, the RAF altered its raid tactics, consolidating all its bombers into a single "stream". This strategic shift proved overwhelming for the ground-based interception system. With only one or two searchlights or radars available per "cell," the system could effectively handle perhaps six interceptions per hour. By directing all bombers through a cell within a compressed timeframe, the vast majority of aircraft bypassed detection and engagement. Consequently, German success against the RAF plummeted, reaching a low point on the night of May 30–31, 1942, during the first 1,000-bomber raid on Cologne, which resulted in the loss of only four aircraft to German night fighters.

The Ju 88R-1 night fighter captured by the RAF in April 1943. A restored Bf 110G night fighter displaying the VHF-band SN-2 radar antennae.

In 1942, Germany began deploying the initial B/C version of the Lichtenstein radar, operating in the low UHF band. These early units were produced in extremely limited numbers and utilized a 32-element Matratze (mattress) antenna array. The late introduction of this system, coupled with the capture of a Ju 88R-1 night fighter equipped with it in April 1943, which defected to RAF Dyce in Scotland, allowed British radio engineers to develop effective jamming equipment. This initiated a technological race, with the Germans striving to introduce improved radar sets and the British working to counter them. The early Lichtenstein B/C was succeeded by the similar UHF-band Lichtenstein C-1. However, following the defection of the Ju 88R-1, the C-1 radar was quickly rendered ineffective by British jamming. The subsequent low VHF-band SN-2 unit, which replaced the C-1, remained relatively secure until July 1944. However, its effectiveness was hampered by the requirement for large, eight-dipole Hirschgeweih ("stag's antlers") antennae, which significantly reduced the speed of German fighters, making them vulnerable to British night fighters that had transitioned to an offensive role. The capture in July 1944 of a Ju 88G-1 night fighter from NJG 2, equipped with an SN-2 Lichtenstein set, which mistakenly landed at RAF Woodbridge, revealed the technical details of the later, longer-wavelength replacement for the earlier B/C and C-1 sets.

The Luftwaffe also employed single-engined aircraft in the night fighter role, commencing in 1939 with the Arado Ar 68 and early Messerschmitt Bf 109 models. These operations were later designated as Wilde Sau (wild boar). In this tactic, fighters, typically Focke-Wulf Fw 190s, were equipped only with a direction finder and landing lights for navigation. To locate targets, other aircraft, guided from the ground, would drop strings of flares ahead of the bombers. In other instances, the fires from burning cities provided sufficient illumination for visual targeting. Messerschmitt Bf 109G variants, specifically the G6N and similar models, were fitted with FuG 350 Naxos "Z" radar receivers. These allowed them to home in on the 3-gigahertz band H2S emissions from RAF bombers. However, the combat debut of the American-designed H2X bomb-aiming radar in April 1944, operating at a higher 10 GHz frequency, rendered the Naxos equipment obsolete as it could not detect the H2X emissions. The Bf 109G series aircraft equipped with Naxos radar detectors were also fitted with low- to mid-VHF band FuG 217/218 Neptun active search radars. Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6/R11 aircraft similarly served as radar-equipped night fighters with NJGr 10 and NJG 11. A unique Fw 190 A-6, Werknummer 550214, fitted with FuG 217, is a rare surviving example.

The effective Schräge Musik [N 4] offensive armament configuration was a German innovation adopted by the Luftwaffe, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, and the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service during World War II. This involved installing upward-firing autocannon in large, twin-engined night fighters. The first successful combat applications by the Luftwaffe and the IJNAS occurred in May 1943. This ingenious tactic allowed night fighters to approach and attack bombers from directly below, an angle outside the bomber crew's field of view. Few bombers of that era were equipped with defensive armament in the ventral position. An attack employing Schräge Musik was typically a complete surprise to the bomber crew, who would only realize a fighter was present when they came under fire. Particularly during the initial phase of its operational use, up until early 1944, the sudden fire from below was often misattributed to ground fire rather than an aerial attack.

A wartime P-61A in flight.

The US Army Air Forces, conversely, dedicated their efforts to daylight bombing operations over Germany and its Axis allies, which yielded statistically superior results. [33] British night-bombing raids demonstrated a success rate of merely one hit in every hundred targets. [34] At the urging of the British, who were seeking to procure American-made aircraft, early US day fighters were adapted for night operations. These included the Douglas P-70 and later the Lockheed P-38M "Night Lightning". The sole purpose-built night fighter design introduced during the war, the American Northrop P-61 Black Widow, first saw service in Europe and subsequently in the Pacific. However, it was assigned such a low priority that the British had ample supplies of their own designs by the time it reached full production. The first USAAF unit to operate the P-61 did not deploy to Britain until February 1944, with operational use commencing in the summer and remaining limited throughout the war. Colonel Winston Kratz, the USAAF's director of night-fighter training, deemed the P-61 adequate for its role, stating, "It was a good night fighter. It did not have enough speed." [35]

The United States Navy (USN) initiated Project Affirm at Naval Air Station Quonset Point on April 18, 1942, with the objective of developing night fighting equipment and tactics. The selection of aircraft was restricted to single-engine, single-seat planes due to the operational requirement of launching and recovering from aircraft carriers. [36] The urgency for effective night-fighting capabilities escalated following successful Japanese night raids against naval forces in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese Navy, conversely, had long screened new recruits for exceptional night vision, deploying those with the best visual acuity to their ships and aircraft rather than investing in new equipment for this role. [37] VF(N)-75 was established as the first USN night fighter squadron on April 10, 1943. Six pilots with six aircraft were dispatched to the South Pacific on August 1, 1943. A Night Fighter Training Unit (NFTU) was established at Charlestown, Rhode Island, on August 25, 1943, utilizing radar-equipped Douglas SBD Dauntless training aircraft to enable instructors to accompany student pilots. USN carrier-launched fighter combat missions commenced in January 1944 with six-plane detachments of single-engined Grumman F6F Hellcat [N 5] and Vought F4U Corsair fighters equipped with compact, microwave-band radar sets housed in wing-mounted pods. Night Air Group 41 (NAG-41), comprising specially trained night fighter and torpedo plane squadrons, began operations from the USS Independence (CVL-22) in August 1944. NAG-41 achieved full night operational status on October 1, 1944, in time to participate in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Night fighter patrols proved highly effective in countering kamikaze attacks timed to coincide with the twilight conditions of dawn or dusk. [36] In several instances, these USN aircraft were also employed in offensive raids. [37]

Postwar

Even as the war drew to a close, the advent of the jet engine profoundly reshaped aircraft design, making the need for dedicated jet-powered night fighters a clear imperative. Both British and German engineers dedicated considerable effort to this challenge, but with Germany on the defensive, their work was accorded a higher priority. The Messerschmitt Me 262, the world's first operational jet fighter, was adapted for the night fighter role, featuring installations such as the onboard FuG 218 Neptun high-VHF band radar and Hirschgeweih ("stag's antlers") antennae. Interceptions were primarily conducted using Wilde Sau tactics rather than radar-controlled interception. Several Me 262 pilots achieved considerable success in this role, with Oberleutnant Kurt Welter claiming a total of 25 Mosquitos downed during nighttime missions. [citation needed]

Other air forces did not face the same immediate pressure to transition to jet propulsion. Britain and the United States were confronting adversaries employing aircraft with performance characteristics inferior to their existing night fighters. [citation needed] Nevertheless, the need for new designs was evident, and preliminary development work commenced in the final stages of the war, including a US contract for the Northrop F-89 Scorpion. Following the Soviet Union's successful atomic bomb test in 1948, which signaled a new era of geopolitical tension, this project was still far from producing even a prototype. Consequently, in March 1949, development was initiated on both the North American F-86D Sabre and the [Lockheed F-94 Starfire] as interim solutions. All of these advanced fighters entered service during the early 1950s.

An F3D from VC-4 DET44(N) landing at K-6 airbase in Korea.

During the Korean War, the Lockheed F-94 Starfire proved to be relatively ineffective against the latest Soviet-supplied aircraft. In contrast, Marine Corps Douglas F3D Skyknights achieved notable success, downing six enemy aircraft, including five Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s, without suffering any losses. While the MiG-15s were formidable against bomber formations at night, they lacked the radar capability to effectively counter individual fighters like the Skyknight.

In the immediate post-war period, the RAF embarked on studies for new fighter designs, though these projects were assigned relatively low priority. [44] By the time of the Soviet atomic test, dedicated night-fighter designs were still largely conceptual. The existing Mosquito fleet was generally considered inadequate for intercepting the Tupolev Tu-4 bomber, which was anticipated as a primary threat. This necessitated accelerated programs to introduce new, interim night-fighter designs. These efforts culminated in several night-fighter variants of the ubiquitous Gloster Meteor, intended to replace the Mosquitos during the early 1950s. [45] A similar conversion of the de Havilland Vampire was also introduced. This aircraft was initially developed by de Havilland as a private venture and ordered by Egypt. However, the RAF assumed the order to serve as an interim measure between the retirement of the Mosquito night fighter and the introduction of the Meteor night fighter. [46] These aircraft types were also widely exported; Meteor night fighters were acquired by nations including France, Syria, Egypt, and Israel, among others. [47]

These early jet night fighters were rapidly superseded by a more capable design, the de Havilland Venom, with the initial variant entering service in 1953. [48] More advanced night-fighter versions of the Venom followed, alongside the navalized de Havilland Sea Venom, which served with the Royal Navy and other international operators. [49] [50] A truly advanced night-fighter design was eventually introduced into RAF service in 1956: the Gloster Javelin. This delta wing aircraft possessed exceptional climb performance and could attain altitudes of 45,000 feet. [51] Due to the rapid pace of technological advancement in aircraft capabilities, the Javelin was quickly deemed outdated and was retired from service in 1968. [52] In Canada, Avro Canada developed its own indigenous night fighter, the CF-100 Canuck, which entered service with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1952. [53]

As the 1960s progressed, night fighters still existed as a distinct category of aircraft. However, with the continuous enhancement of interceptor capabilities, radar-equipped interceptors began to assume the role traditionally held by dedicated night fighters, leading to a decline in the specialized class. Notable examples of these latter-generation interceptor/night-fighters include the Avro Arrow, [54] [55] the Convair F-106 Delta Dart, [56] [57] and the English Electric Lightning. [58] [59]

During this transitional period, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II was offered to the US Navy. At that time, the Vought F-8 Crusader had already been accepted as a "day" dogfighter, while the subsonic McDonnell F3H Demon served as the Navy's primary all-weather fighter. The Phantom was developed as the Navy's first supersonic, all-weather, radar-equipped fighter armed with radar-guided missiles. [60] [61] Compared to earlier air-superiority designs like the F-100 or F-8, the substantial Phantom, powered by twin J79 engines, proved highly adaptable. It became the preferred platform for engaging agile MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighters over Vietnam, [62] [63] and also replaced the US Air Force's Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and Convair F-106 Delta Dart for continental interception duties, as well as supplanting the Republic F-105 Thunderchief as a medium fighter-bomber. The inherent need for dogfighting capabilities led to the discontinuation of the specialized Grumman F-111B, which was armed solely with long-range AIM-54 Phoenix missiles for fleet defense against bombers. [64] The Navy instead opted to develop the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, which, in addition to carrying the formidable Phoenix missile, retained the Phantom's versatility and offered improved agility for dogfighting. [65] [66] The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle was also designed as an interceptor with enhanced agility, but it did not carry the Phoenix missile, prioritizing its role as an air-superiority fighter. [67]

The significant reduction in the size and cost of avionics has enabled even smaller modern fighters to possess formidable night-interception capabilities. Within the US Air Force's lightweight fighter program, the F-16 was initially conceived as an economical day fighter but was swiftly adapted for an all-weather role. The similar McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, in its CF-18 variant for the RCAF, was ordered with a 0.6 Mcd night-identification light to enhance its night-interception capabilities.

First World War

Second World War

Germany

Italy

Japan

Hungary/Romania

Soviet Union

United Kingdom

United States

France

  • Mureaux 114/CN2
  • Morane-Saulnier M.S. 408/CN
  • Potez 631 C3/N

Post-war

Canada

United Kingdom

United States

See also

References

Notes

  • ^ "October 13th 1915... [Second Lieutenant John Slessor] lifted his BE2c into the blackness to search for the intruder." [4]
  • ^ By 1918, only four Zeppelin raids against London were mounted. [7]
  • ^ The Mosquito increased German night-fighter losses to such an extent the Germans were said to have awarded two victories for shooting one down. [21]
  • ^ Schräge Musik was derived from the German colloquialism for "Jazz Music" (the German word " schräg " literally means "slanted" or "oblique"; it also has a secondary meaning of "weird", "strange", "off-key", or "abnormal" as in the English "queer")
  • ^ The Hellcat proved to be the best single-engined night fighter deployed in World War II. [38]

Citations

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  • Robinson 1988, p. 28.
  • Moyes 1966a, p. 6.
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  • Cotton, Frederick Sidney and William Helmore. "An improved method and means for intercepting night flying hostile aircraft." GB Patent 574970, 29 January 1946.
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  • a b Odell, William C. (Winter 1989). "The Development of Night Fighters in World War II". Naval History. 3 (1). United States Naval Institute: 33–35.
  • a b Gunston 1976, pp. 112, 183–184.
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  • "William F. Barns Archives". This Day in Aviation. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
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  • Williams Aeroplane Monthly June 1995, p. 12.
  • Birtles 1999, p. 72.
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  • Gunston 1981, p. 56.
  • Allward 1983, p. 6.
  • Wixley Aircraft Illustrated September 1984, p. 422.
  • Dow 1997, p. 72.
  • Peden 2003, p. page needed.
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  • Winchester 2006a, p. 55.
  • Converse III 2012, p. 241.
  • Pilot's Notes, Lightning F Mk.1 and F Mk.1A. Warton Aerodrome, UK: English Electric Technical Services, February 1962.
  • Beamont (1996), pp. 51–52.
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  • "Phantom 'Phirsts'", Phabulous 40th, Boeing, archived from the original on 29 June 2011, retrieved 27 November 2012.
  • Dorr & Bishop 1996, pp. 48–49.
  • Knaack 1974, p. 274.
  • Gunston 1978, pp. 8, 10–15.
  • Spick 2000, pp. 72–74, 112.
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  • Neufeld 2007, p. 49.

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Further reading

  • Shulenberger, Eric (2005). Deny Them the Night Sky: A History of the 548th Night Fighter Squadron. E. Shulenberger. ISBN 978-0-9767355-0-2.

External links

  • Wikimedia Commons has media related to Night fighter aircraft.
  • Luftwaffe Night Fighter Control methods
  • Conquering the Night: Army Air Forces Night Fighters at War

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