Night Fighters: A Development and Combat History

by Bill Gunston

From its beginnings during the First World War, the role of the dedicated night fighter aircraft and its pilots in the 21st century has evolved almost out of recognition. The Second World War proved to be a hot house for development in aircraft technology and fighting tactics, honing the night fighter into a deadly combat machine. Featuring an updated glossary and appendix, and with new illustrations throughout, this new edition reflects the massive changes in technology, specifically today's radars and air-to-air missiles, and in tactics in recent years. Legendary aviation author Bill Gunston shows the problems of tracking aerial targets by radar, and the even greater problems of guiding a fighter into the right patch of sky at night to make an interception. As well as being an accurately detailed technical account of the problems and their resolution, the book is also an exciting narrative that actually puts the reader into the cockpit.

Genres: World War II

276 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2013

About the author

Bill Gunston was a British aviation and military author. He flew with Britain's Royal Air Force from 1945 to 1948, and after pilot training became a flying instructor. He spent most of his adult life doing research and writing on aircraft and aviation. He was the author of over 350 books and articles. His work included many books published by Salamander Books.

Reviews

[Roger Burk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1976 book has been sitting on my shelf for decades, and I finally took it down and read it. There is an interesting story here about the time when air combat was so different by day and by night that fighters had to be specially equipped, or even specially designed, for the latter mission. It's especially dramatic during WWII, when the technology and techniques of radar-controlled air interception were being invented and immediately applied. But the book often deteriorates into unilluminating lists of equipment names, aircraft types, and technical specification.