| A night fighter can be best defined as a | | | | day and night fighting, day and night |
| fighter aircraft that - either by design or | | | | bombing, anti-shipping attack, and photo |
| by adaptation - could fly at night or when | | | | reconnaissance. The bomber version of the |
| other aircraft were grounded due to poor | | | | Mosquito could deliver the same bomb-load to |
| visibility. To be able to fulfil its role, a | | | | distant targets as the four-engined Boeing |
| typical night fighter would be a twin-engined | | | | B-17.Mosquitos were also used as high-speed |
| aircraft with the nose section crammed full | | | | transports by British Overseas Airways |
| of electronic equipment, typically radar, | | | | Corporation (BOAC) to maintain communication |
| direction finders to find the airbase at | | | | with neutral Sweden and bring back strategic |
| night, a variety of communications equipment | | | | items such as ball-bearings. Passengers, if |
| plus special lighting inside the cockpit.The | | | | any, rode in the bomb bay. Because of the |
| early night fighters were conversions of | | | | glued-and-screwed wooden construction, early |
| either heavy fighters or light bombers. The | | | | Mosquitoes were not suited to the tropics |
| Bristol Beaufighter was an early example and | | | | where exposure to high humidity and rain |
| the de Havilland Mosquito came later on. A | | | | caused the airframe to warp and the glue to |
| few types were later designed from the start | | | | dissolve.The Mosquito Nightfighter with a |
| for the role of night fighters, as in the | | | | crew of two was powered by two Rolls-Royce |
| P-61 Black Widow.The Luftwaffe also | | | | Merlin XXI engines. With a wing span of 54ft |
| experimented with single-engine planes in | | | | and a length of 50ft, it was capable of a |
| this role, which they referred to as Wilde | | | | maximum speed of 380mph with a ceiling 36,090 |
| Sau (wild boar). In this case the fighters, | | | | ft (11,000m). Armed with four 20mm cannon, |
| typically Focke-Wulf Fw-190s, were equipped | | | | or four 7.7mm machine guns, it also had a |
| only with a direction finder and landing | | | | rack for two long range fuel tanks, or two |
| lights. Lacking radar they were not that | | | | 500 lb bombs or eight rockets. The Mosquito |
| efficient in their role.One of the main | | | | also carried out some famous operations, like |
| functions of night fighters was to act as | | | | the attack on the Gestapo head quarters in |
| Pathfinders. Entire squadrons of Mosquitos | | | | The Hague. In that raid a 5 story building |
| were assigned this task. Pathfinders flew | | | | was leveled by 3 "waves" of 2 aircraft, using |
| ahead of the heavy bombers such as Lancasters | | | | incendiaries and high explosives, and |
| and Flying Fortresses at low altitudes (this | | | | destroying all records the Gestapo had |
| in the dark of night) located the targets and | | | | collected over the years on resistance |
| dropped flares and small incendiary bombs | | | | fighters and their families, and hiding |
| over the designated targets. These would | | | | addresses of Dutch Jews. Another famous |
| light up the sky for miles around and were | | | | attack was the break out of more than 250 |
| readily visible to the bombers flying at high | | | | prisoners in the prison of Amiens, France. |
| altitude.The de Havilland Mosquito was a | | | | The first bombers destroyed the guard houses, |
| twin-engined aircraft of plywood monocoque | | | | and following aircraft breached the walls to |
| construction, designed originally as a fast, | | | | enable the men inside to break free. This |
| unarmed light bomber. This concept was | | | | remarkable feat was put in progress because |
| regarded as an aberration by the authorities, | | | | the French Resistance had mentioned the |
| but the performance of the Mosquito silenced | | | | planned execution of numerous resistance |
| the critics. At night it operated pretty | | | | fightersIt was fast, and it was small: the |
| much with impunity over Germany to the end of | | | | recipe for a hard target. The Mosquito |
| the war, because the Luftwaffe never had a | | | | bomber saw the lowest loss rate of all Allied |
| night fighter fast enough to intercept it.The | | | | bombers. It astounded the brass in its |
| Mosquito also served with distinction as | | | | maiden flights (it was faster than the |
| fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. | | | | Spitfire Mark of the time by 20mph) and kept |
| It was one of the finest aircraft of WWII, | | | | the enemy very busy indeed. For the enemy to |
| with versatility only matched by the German | | | | get a Mosquito down in a dogfight they had to |
| Junkers Ju 88. The night fighter versions | | | | get lucky. They couldn't catch it in level |
| remained in production until 1947. The | | | | flight and they couldn't climb higher. |
| amazingly adaptable design was effective for | | | | |