As machine guns and bombs were loaded onto the plane, the fierce history of air combat began. At first, the showdown between pilots on both sides of the war was basically held during the day. This was because of the better visibility during the day, and the pilots and machine gun

[Military Martial Plane] Author: FriedrichLau

As the machine gun and bomb were loaded onto the plane, the fierce history of air combat kicked off. At first, the showdown between pilots on both sides of the war was basically held during the day. This was because of the better visibility during the day, and the pilots and machine gunners could visually discover the target and make moves. However, as the battle became increasingly fierce, conflicts between the two sides would inevitably break out at night. So at this time, countries also began to study the techniques and tactics of night air combat.

▲Zepplin

The recorded night war broke out for the first time during World War I, when the German Zepplin troops often used the cover of the night to bomb the important British targets. The British Thorves Camel Fighter fighter will also take off and intercept it. During the battle with , which lacks the necessary night vision equipment, pilots often cannot see the target clearly with the help of the naked eye, and the moonlight often makes the attack very little effective.

▲The Camel Fighter of the Royal Air Force

With the outbreak of WWII , the significance of night air combat continues to be amplified. A large number of heavy bombers often use dark covers to breeze into the opponent's airspace for missions, while protecting their bulky and fragile fuselages from attacks by fighters and anti-aircraft guns . Such battles are everywhere, which are reflected in British Air Battle , US air raids against Japan and Allied air raids against Germany. The technology at this time has been slightly improved compared to World War I. The bright searchlight can turn night into daylight. At the same time, the use of ground radar allows both sides to quickly identify incoming fighter jets and guide their planes to intercept. But at high altitudes, pilots often hope that the starlight and moonlight will illuminate enemy fighter jets and launch attacks in the night sky where they are unable to see their fingers.

▲In 1944, soldiers of the British Local Auxiliary Defense Forces (ATS) were manipulating searchlights. The urgency of the war prompted the United States, Britain and Germany to speed up the development of technologies that could change the rules of the war game, and then airborne radar was born. Aircraft equipped with this technology will be able to aim and shoot down without the pilot visually detecting the target. In this technology, the British were at the forefront, and then they quickly modified the Blenheim light bomber , which was crushed by the German Bf109 fighter during the day, installed it with the radar as a night fighter and put it into combat. In July 1940, they successfully shot down a German Do17 bomber for the first time. At this point, the night air battle has entered a new chapter.

▲Blenheim light bomber

Improvement and upgrading based on existing fighters is a step in development, but it is also a general trend to develop a fighter dedicated to night air combat, and the use of radar will bring huge advantages to pilots. Soon, the British took the lead in launching a high-performance dedicated night fighter on the basis of their successful modification of Blenheim. This is the Bristol "Handsome Soldier" heavy fighter, the world's first fighter with radar installed, and the heaviest fighter at that time. The aircraft is equipped with 4 20mm cannons and 6 7.7mm machine guns, and can carry 454 kilograms of bombs, with a maximum take-off weight of 9.5 tons. The aircraft is equipped with a maximum illumination distance of up to 4 miles, which can effectively assist pilots in finding targets.

▲Bristol Heavy Fighter assigned to the RAF 404 Squadron

Although the Bristol "Handsome Warrior" heavy fighter jets were produced for specializing in night combat, they are only improved variants based on existing models, and the first independently designed and put into use night combat aircraft comes from the United States. This is the Northrop P/F-61 "Black Widow" night fighter. The aircraft was put into production in late 1943 and first put into the battlefield in July 1944. It shot down four German aircraft in Europe in its debut. Almost at the same time, the aircraft also put into Pacific battlefield and also achieved success. During the development of this aircraft, the US military adopted the Douglas P-70 fighter as a temporary replacement and partly used the British Bristol heavy fighter.

▲In November 1943, the first YP-61 "Black Widow" night fighter (Part 1) arrived at the Orlando Army Aviation Base. It was greeted by a Douglas P-70 (Part 2) of the 349th Night Fighter Squadron. Although it was ahead of the Allies in many military technology fields, the Germans lagged behind the United States and Britain in the competition for airborne radar, making Luftwaffe able to rely on day fighters, ground radar and searchlights to conduct night air combat in the first few years of the war. This dilemma was not improved until the summer of 1942. Like the British, the Germans also chose to develop their own night fighter jets in the form of improved existing fighter jets. The Germans were interested in the Bf110 fighter and Junker Ju88 bombers, which performed well in the early stages of the war but were soon out of date. The modified Bf110F-4 night fighter was equipped with 4 machine guns and 2 machine guns, and the Ju88 bomber was equipped with several inclination guns to attack high-altitude bombers from bottom to top. The use of both greatly improved the German army's night air interception capabilities.

▲A Messerchmitt Bf 110G-4 night fighter equipped with Lichtenstein "Akashi" night fighter radar

▲Bf 110 G-4

As combat in the night sky becomes increasingly fierce, how to fight against night fighter jets has also become a research topic in various countries. For example, the British used the method of bomber to release large amounts of aluminum strips to interfere with the German radar, forcing it to be difficult for them to launch an attack. But despite this, it cannot stop the intensity of night air combat. With the inauguration of various night combat equipment and anti-night combat equipment, the night sky of World War II is destined to be difficult to calm down.