Page, Neil / Roba, Jean-Louis Luftwaffe Night Fighter Aces 1943-45

The week-long Allied bombing campaign against Hamburg at the end of July 1943 was not only extremely destructive, but also had a significant impact on the German night fighters. From now on, the "boxes" of Kammhuber's "Raumnachtjagd" were the starting point from which the fighters were led into the bomber stream as early as possible, a tactic known as "tame sow". The night fighters quickly had to get used to new "freelance" procedures and were also increasingly deployed in daylight operations. These missions led to heavy losses - especially among experienced pilots - who could hardly afford to fly night fighters and were difficult to replace. The winter of 1943/44 saw a series of major attacks on Berlin. Although they were under heavy pressure, the night fighter aces were still able to achieve some heavy tactical victories. Over a thousand RAF "Viermot" aircraft were shot down - more than twice as many as expected - before the campaign was cancelled. New night fighter aces appeared on the scene, often former transport and reconnaissance aircraft, and the upward-facing armament of the Bf 110 and Ju 88 was able to cut a swathe through the bomber stream. However, as the Allies advanced in mid-1944, the night fighter aces were forced into new roles, including strafing tanks and troop concentrations on the ground, a role for which they were clearly unsuited. A small number of Me 262 jets were used in a new NJG 11, but exclusively against the fast twin-engined Mosquitos of the RAF's Light Night Striking Force. Heinkel He 219s were never available in significant numbers and roving Mosquito intruders posed a constant threat to night fighter crews. While the surviving night fighter aces continued their defence actions practically every night, night fighter operations were in terminal decline by March 1945. Of the 1,100 night fighter pilots and crews who had achieved at least one victory, 669 were lost, a loss rate of around 74 per cent. This book is a chronological account of the Luftwaffe's night fighters in the second half of the war, fully illustrated and containing newly translated personal accounts. It covers the major campaigns, the biographies of individual aces and the details of their aircraft.