Miranda - Cats Eyes NIGHT FIGHTERS: Air War in the Darkness - Volume Two

- "Cat's Eyes" Night Fighters

Air War in the Darkness

Volume Two

CONTENTS

Caudron R.XI C.3

Breguet XIV CN2

Breguet XIX CN2

Hawker Woodcock II

Gloster Gamecock

Bristol Type 95 Bagshot

Westland Westbury

Boulton Paul P.31 Bittern

Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter

Vickers Type 161

Messerschmitt M.22

Nieuport-Delage NiD 622 C.1

Morane-Saulnier M.S. 225 EVN

Dewoitine D.501 CN

Bleriot-Spad S.510 CN

Arado Ar 68 E-1

Dewoitine D.510

Canadian Car & Foundry G-23

Koolhoven FK. 51

Polikarpov I-15

Heinkel He 51 B-1

Gloster Gauntlet Mk. II

Morane-Saulnier M.S. 405

Arado Ar 68 F-1

Morane-Saulnier M.S. 406 C.1

Bristol Blenheim Mk. IF

Bristol Blenheim Mk. IVF

Gloster Gladiator Mk. I

Gloster Gladiator Mk. II

Hawker Fury Mk. II

Hawker Hurricane Mk. I (Early production)

Hawker Hurricane Mk. I (Late production)

Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I (Early production)

Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I (Late production)

Boulton Paul Defiant Mk. I

ANF Mureaux 113 CN2

ANF Mureaux 115 R2B2

Potez 631 CN3

Gloster F.9/37 (L7999)

Gloster F.9/37 (L8002)

Messerschmitt Bf 109 B-2

Messerschmitt Bf 109 C-1

Messerschmitt Bf 109 D-1

Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-1

Bristol Beaufighter NF Mk. IF

Bristol Beaufighter NF Mk. IIF

Douglas Havoc I

Douglas Havoc II

Douglas Havoc II Turbinlite

Hawker Hurricane Mk. IF

Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIB NF

Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIC NF

Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V

De Havilland Mosquito NF Mk. II

Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-4/B

Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-4 with Peil G. IV

Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-7 with Peil G. IV

Messerschmitt Bf 109 T-2

Messerschmitt Bf 110 C-1

Messerschmitt Bf 110 C-2

Messerschmitt Bf 110 C-6

Messerschmitt Bf 110 D-1/U1 with Spanner Anlage I

Messerschmitt Bf 110 D-2 ( Dackelbauch )

Messerschmitt Bf 110 D-3

Messerschmitt Bf 110 E-1/U1 with Spanner Anlage I

Messerschmitt Bf 110 F-4/U1

Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-2/U1

Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-4/U1

Dornier Do 17 P-1

Dornier Do 17 Z-2

Dornier Do 17 Z-7

Dornier Do 17 Z-7 Kauz I with Spanner Anlage I

Dornier Do 17 Z-10 Kauz II with Spanner Anlage III

Dornier Do 215 B-5 Kauz III with Spanner Anlage III

Junkers Ju 88 C-2

Bristol Beaufighter NF Mk. VIF

Dornier Do 217 J-1

Junkers Ju 88 C-4

Junkers Ju 88 C-6b

Junkers Ju 88 A-4

De Havilland Mosquito NF Mk. XIX

De Havilland Mosquito NF Mk. 30

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6/U4N with Naxos

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-2 with Spanner IIA

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4/U2/U8

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4/U2N

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5/U8

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 with Spanner IIA

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8/R11

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-5/U2 with Spanner II

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6/U2 with Spanner II

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6/R6 with Eberspcher

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-10/R6

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-14 with Schrge Musik

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-14/AS with Spanner II

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-14/U4/MW/AS

Messerschmitt Bf 109 K-4/R6

Focke-Wulf Fw 58 B-2

Focke-Wulf Fw 58 G-1

Junkers Ju 87 D-7 (N)

Heinkel He 45 C

Focke-Wulf Fw 189 A-1

Heinkel He 50 A

Henschel Hs 123 A-1

Heinkel He 46 D-1

Henschel Hs 126 B-1

Junkers F-13

Junkers W 34 Hau

Siebel Si 204 D-0

Siebel Si 204 D-1

Siebel Si 204 E-0

Arado Ar 66C

Gotha Go 145 A

Gotha Go 145 B with Panzerschreck III

Bcker B 181 C-3 with Panzerfaust 100

Fieseler Fi 156 C-3

Fiat CR.32 CN

Fiat C.R. 42 CN Series IX

Fiat C.R. 42 CN Series XII

Fiat C.R. 42 CN Series XIII

Fiat C.R. 42 LW

Caproni-Vizzola F.5 CN

Caproni-Vizzola F.4 CN

Macchi M.C. 200

Reggiane Re. 2001 Series III

Reggiane Re. 2001 Series IV

Dewoitine D.520 CN

Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 CN

Savoia-Marchetti S.M. 91

CANT Z.1018 M

I.M.A.M. Ro. 58 CN

CANSA FC.20 Quater

Caproni Ca.331N

Dornier Do 217 J-1

The night fighter was developed by the British during the First World War to counter the German air raids made against the British mainland.

Between January 1915 and August 1918, eighty-four Schtte-Lanz and Zeppelin German airships made fifty-one bombing raids on Britain, 557 people were killed and 1,358 injured.

Between December 21, 1914 and January 28, 1918, German bombers Friedrichshafen FF.29 and FF.33, Gotha UWD 120 and G.IV and Zeppelin-Staaken Type R made fifty-two bombing raids on the British Isles, using bombs of up to 1,000 kg.

Although the human and material losses were relatively modest, compared to the massacres occurring on the Western Front, social pressure forced the War Office to create the Home-Defence (HD) organization in 1915.

At that time most of the available combat planes were fighting in France and night fighter operations were considered a secondary duty.

The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) could only use some tired trainers Blriot XI (47 mph), Esnault Pelterie REP-2 (72 mph), Morane-Saulnier Type L (78 mph) and Bristol Scout C (93 mph) rejected by front-line units, for Home-Defence.

The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) had several Sopwith Schneider and Sopwith Baby seaplanes, with insufficient speed and climb rate to be useful against the Zeppelins, due to the extra weight and drag of its bulky floats.

For night patrols the Home-Defence experiment with Bristol T.B.8 (70 mph), Short 184 (88 mph), Caudron G.3 (66 mph), Sopwith Tabloid (87 mph), Vickers Gunbus (70 mph) and Royal Aircraft Factory BE2C (72 mph) fighters.

The BE2C was outclassed in the Western Front because its poor maneuverability, but the type providing a stable gun platform for night fighting and by the end of 1915 it was the standard night fighter used by the RFC and RNAS.

During the first fighting it was shown that the Ball solid ammunition fired by the standard 0.303-in Vickers machine gun was insufficient to achieve the destruction of a Zeppelin.

The Royal Laboratory Woolwich developed two types of Hales incendiary bombs of 20 and 60 lbs. And RN Engineer Lieutenant Francis Ranken developed the Ranken Explosive Dart designed to go through the outer lining of an airship and burst inside.

Another anti-Zeppelin device was the Fiery Grapnel , fitted with an explosive charge.

The problem with these weapons was that these weapons had to be launched from a height higher than that flown by the German airship, a ceiling practically unattainable for the British interceptors of the time.

A Zeppelin that was attacked at low altitude could throw ballast and quickly ascend to 20,000 ft. in a matter of minutes, but the BE2C taking 53 minutes to reach 10,000 ft.

In 1916 some Royal Air Factory BE12a fighters were armed with eight Le Prieur air-to-air rockets that had proved useful against the German Army observation balloons in the Western Front but proved ineffective against the airships because of their limited range of only 126 yards.

Some attempts to use Davis and C.O.W. recoilless guns also failed, because the cushioned recoil and its blast were still too powerful and caused structural damage to the aircraft.

The answer, developed in 1916, was a mixture of Brock explosive bullets and Buckingham incendiary/tracer bullets, but the belt-feed, synchronized Vickers gun was considered unsafe for firing incendiary ammunition and tended to dazzle the pilot when were fired by night.

A single air-cooled, drum feed, 0.303-in Lewis gun, with the new ammunition, was mounted at an angle of 45 degrees upwards in front of the night fighter pilots cockpit, to attack the airship from below.