Best Nightfighter of WW2

[cheddar cheese]

Piaggio108

who are you plane stealer only jokig mate, see guys! im not so stupid now!

[kiwimac]

Hmm,

what about everyone's pick for the most unusual nightfighter?

Kiwimac

[Gemhorse]

Hi Team , I'm the new kid on the block , quietly watching - But this topic's got me going ! The Mossie came in abit later than the others apart from the He 219 & the BlkWidow - the Beau did alotta work initially, but wasn't fast enough , especially against the Ju88's , which if it came to a vote for German Nightfighters , I'd vote for - The Uhu was grossly underpowered , unfortunately and was specifically developed to counter-act the Mosquito, and would have been awesome but they dicked around too long putting suitable power-plants in . The Me110 was good and like the Beau did alot of the early work but wasn't fast enough either . So , the Mossie being indeed 'THE Wooden Wonder' for what it was, and did in all the roles it was used in , was the supreme Nightfighter , breaking in the Radar developments the Beau started with - Furthermore it could take punishment the others couldn't , being wooden. On the Pacific side , you have to respect the Corsair , single-seater , did what was asked , as did the Beau in that ballpark , the Black Widow was obviously a specific design based on everything already achieved by the others and may well have been the best , but it didn't do the hard work to earn the distinction .In a way the Ju88 and the Mossie were the best ' Jack of all trades' , many allied pilots underestimated the 88's , the 'T' model was apparently the fastest , like the Mossie PR's .-But my money's definately on the wooden Mosquito guys-[ P.S.- I'm a N.Z.'er too...]

[kiwimac]

The development of aircraft specifically for the nightfighter role came quite late in the war. A large number of bomber-types were used on both UK and German sides as early night fighters (and some fighter types that were past their "best before" dates)

Even the Mosquito was not originally developed for the nightfighter role, it simply turned out to be excellent at it as did the JU88 /188 /388.

Kiwimac

[cheddar cheese]

most unusual nightfighter?

no idea

[duggi4]

Originally Posted by Andrew

In your opinion what was the best Nightfigher of WW2 .

the best nightfighter is not on the list: he 219
they shot down more mosquitoes we would know about
mostly because the british crews in mosquitoes never expected to be intercepted.just as fast and maneouvrable but too few too late.

[cheddar cheese]

interesting

[Gemhorse]

As previously stated , the He219 had a successful ' debut' after Kammhuber got onto it and it's production got under way - But it wasn't the 'Mossie-slayer' it was designed to be. It was very innovative & punchy but it was woefully under-powered and if it caught out the odd Mossie, it was by chance more than design. I would say more He219's got wasted by Mosquitos than the other way around- It was designed more as a Nightfighter, and they thought it would make a good torpedo-bomber too, but it was on the drawing-board from 1940 until Kammhuber heard about it on a chance visit to Marienehe a year or so later when he was General der Nachtjagd, and got it rolling- it was supposed to have Daimler-Benz DB603G engines[1900hp for take-off], but ended up with DB603A's [1750 hp for take-off] but even this wasn't really grunty enough-It did some damage, yeah, but I feel the Mosquito was the best , both in top-scores and performance. I actually like the He219, very 'vulture'-looking, and purpose-built, but probably better with jet engines maybe....

[GermansRGeniuses]

The Uhu was grossly underpowered

yea and im an albino pigmy monkey!
the thing was bloody faster than a Fw-190!!!!! how is it underpowered!??!! Two Engines=DRAG! TWO BIG ENGINES=MORE DRAG! Skinny Body=LITTLE DRAG! Skinny Body+2 1,900HP(!!!) Engines=Less Drag Than Mossie's smei-fat body+less powerful engines=FAST! even with 8(!!!!!) cannons of differing sizes, it hauled more ass than the mossie (and looked better too) dont mess with my Uhu M8! Two Mk108s(30mm) firing ahead from the wingroots, two of the same firing upwards ala Schrage Muzik, and two Mg151/20s(20mm) and two Mk103s(30mm) in the ventral tray firing forward! and it did 416mph! how can you call that underpowered?!?!??!?!? neither in gunpower NOR engine power!!

Reichsmarschall Batista

[GermansRGeniuses]

It did some damage

do you know why it only did SOME?!?!?! THE BLOODY LEADERS OF THE RLM DIDNT LIKE IT!! they preffered the slower and worse Junkers design so they delayed the bloody thing if they hadnt been stupid and reluctant many more lancs would have gone down! like i said, DONT MESS WIHT MY UHU!!!!

Reichsmarschall Batista

[bronzewhaler82]

Yep - the Blackwidow was good (blimey Viper we actually agreed on something! shame you've left now! )

[Crazy]

Originally Posted by GermansRGeniuses

yea and im an albino pigmy monkey!
the thing was bloody faster than a Fw-190!!!!! how is it underpowered!??!! Two Engines=DRAG! TWO BIG ENGINES=MORE DRAG! Skinny Body=LITTLE DRAG! Skinny Body+2 1,900HP(!!!) Engines=Less Drag Than Mossie's smei-fat body+less powerful engines=FAST! even with 8(!!!!!) cannons of differing sizes, it hauled more ass than the mossie (and looked better too) dont mess with my Uhu M8! Two Mk108s(30mm) firing ahead from the wingroots, two of the same firing upwards ala Schrage Muzik, and two Mg151/20s(20mm) and two Mk103s(30mm) in the ventral tray firing forward! and it did 416mph! how can you call that underpowered?!?!??!?!? neither in gunpower NOR engine power!!

Reichsmarschall Batista

do you know why it only did SOME?!?!?! THE BLOODY LEADERS OF THE RLM DIDNT LIKE IT!! they preffered the slower and worse Junkers design so they delayed the bloody thing if they hadnt been stupid and reluctant many more lancs would have gone down! like i said, DONT MESS WIHT MY UHU!!!!

Reichsmarschall Batista

Bit touchy, eh mate

[MP-Willow]

thanks Piaggio108- I have liked the Pe.108 and thought it was not loved by the Italians or Germans, but that is for another post. As for Lanc, I think any RAF plane would be his favorite!

Just remember the black widow was the first USAAF design night figher! Most of the others we are talking about were daylight bombers that could not make it as daybombers any more!

[Gemhorse]

The Mosquito was the most successful. It was first used operationally as a Nightfighter the night of 27 April 1942. It may not have had 30mm's poking out everywhere but it ground-down Luftwaffe Night Defence, both as NF and Bomber. After the War, Ernst Heinkel himself stated he wished he could have designed the Mosquito, and had a picture in his Boardroom of it. - To answer Kiwimac's suggestion of the most unusual Nightfighter, I feel the Fw189 was unique - UNDERpowered , and fitted with a light version of 'Schrage Muzik' , it did service in this role.

[kiwimac]

The HE 219 was almost the quintessential nightfighter, its big problem was that the RLM didn't like it! But then again they also didn't like the FW187 and HE280. At least they were consistent, I suppose.

FW189, fascinating machine!

(Germany)

This was an twin-boom tactical reconnaissance aircraft with an extensively glazed nacelle. The Fw 189 was a very effective aircraft, maneuverable and sturdy. A few were used as nightfighters. There was also a Fw 189C five-seat trainer (few built), and a Fw 189B anti-tank aircraft with a small armored nacelle (The Hs 129 was preferred). Total production was 864.

Type: Fw 189A-1
Function: reconnaissance

Year: 1940
Crew: 2
Engines: 2 * 347kW Argus AS 410A-1

Wing Span: 18.40m
Length: 12.03m
Height: 3.10m
Wing Area: 38m2

Empty Weight: 2805kg
Max.Weight: 3950kg

Speed: 335km/h

Ceiling: 7000m
Range: 670km

Armament: 4-6*mg7.92mm 4*b50kg

Source:http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~pettypi/elevo.../FW189UHU.html

Just one of those machines I really like. Sturdy as heck, could take a LOT of damage including Russian ram attacks, pleasure to fly, what more could you ask?

Kiwimac