Which was the best night fighter?

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by syscom3

How can spiral painted prop spinners spoil the aim of a bomber gunner when the fighter is flying at night and couldn't be seen clearly anyway?

I was thinking the same thing.

Unless light is shining right on the aircraft it shouldn't make a difference. I've been in formation with a 172 that had an alternator failure. To save the battery for the landing lights and radios when we arrived at our home airport my buddy shut off the master switch. We kept flying into the night and without nav lights I was barely able to see him when there was say 1000 feet between us. His plane was white and red trim....

[pbfoot]

Probably in the same way carrots would enhance your night vision

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by pbfoot

Probably in the same way carrots would enhance your night vision

Maybe....

[Marcel]

Originally Posted by pbfoot

Probably in the same way carrots would enhance your night vision

Well at least that's true in some cases.

[mhuxt]

Marcel:

Check my reply in your "Plane crashed at Hedrik Ido Ambacht The Netherlands" thread.

Cheers,

Mark

[fat flyer]

Erich,

I am very interested in learning more about the ejection seats on the He-219.

1) What was the reason for failure?
2) Was it a common problem that was shared by ejection seats of other German planes?
3) Can you provide any sources, especially via internet for further reading?

Thanks in advance.

Also, did the Do-335 which also had ejection seat actually become operational as a nightfighter? I do not believe so, but at another forum someone selected the Do-335 as the best nightfighter.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Originally Posted by fat flyer

Also, did the Do-335 which also had ejection seat actually become operational as a nightfighter? I do not believe so, but at another forum someone selected the Do-335 as the best nightfighter.

No it did not. At most the Do 335 became operational only in defense of the factory but it never saw combat.

[Heinz]

Originally Posted by pbfoot

Probably in the same way carrots would enhance your night vision

I actually read in a book recently that the whole carrot thing is a crock.

Was a propaganda thing staged by the RAF saying their Nightfighters ate lots of carrots.

Australian nightfighter pilot said this in the book called FLAK.

This may also be old news to you all, if so sorry guys,

[mosquitoman]

Carrots contain a high amount of something called beta-carotene, this is converted into Vitamin A (retinal) by our bodies. It is then converted to a molecule called retinal which essential for a protein called rhodopsin to work. Rhodopsin is found in rods in your eyes and it converts light into an electrical gradient.
It's more a case of eating no carrots and not getting any beta-carotene causes night-blindness.

I knew my degree would prove useful somehow

[Heinz]

Ah,

very nice

Carrots are a very average vegetable when it comes down to it though.....

[mosquitoman]

I quite like them myself
Anyway, back on topic:
If The Luftwaffe had Mosquito's, would they have operated as well as, worse or better than the Bf110s and Ju88s in service?

[Heinz]

Mossies easily would have performed better than the Bf 110 if the Luftwaffe had them.

[Marcel]

Originally Posted by mosquitoman

Carrots contain a high amount of something called beta-carotene, this is converted into Vitamin A (retinal) by our bodies. It is then converted to a molecule called retinal which essential for a protein called rhodopsin to work. Rhodopsin is found in rods in your eyes and it converts light into an electrical gradient.
It's more a case of eating no carrots and not getting any beta-carotene causes night-blindness.

I knew my degree would prove useful somehow

Ah another Biologist.

[Marcel]

Originally Posted by Heinz

Mossies easily would have performed better than the Bf 110 if the Luftwaffe had them.

I disagree, I think the whole nightfighterconcept in WWII depended a lot on the system and less on fighter performance. I you can't find the bomber, you cannot shoot it down. If you're on his tail, performance doesn't matter, just shoot the bastard. In the LW, nightfighters were guided to their targets by ground radar. The bombers usually never knewe what hit them, so no fancy flying.

[Glider]

Whilst you are right in saying that success in WW2 depeded to a large degree on ground control I believe the LW would have been better served with the Mosquito instead of the 110.

The Mosquito had three almost priceless advantages over the 110.

Range. The Mosquito had it in spades and would have made the aircraft a much better nightfighter for the German Defence

Performance. The LW found it very difficult to shoot down aircraft of the Mosquito's performance. Obviously the Mosquito had the performance to shoot down any intruder.

Independence. The Mosquito had the performance, range and equipment to operate against German N/F over Germany away from ground control enabling them to 'hunt' the 'hunters'. Can you imagine the damage that could have been done if the LW aircraft like this operating over the UK on a regular basis, when bombers were taking off, forming up and returning to base?