German Twin-Engine Night Fighters
Research By; Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
I am adding to the information below as I research it.
I am currently reading the story of the Night-Fighters written by none other than Wolfgang Falck. This is just one of several books I have read about the defense of Germany from the R.A.F. bombers.
Donier Do-217 Night-Fighters
The Do-217 had a wingspan of 62 feet, powered by two big engines I am researching right now.
Messerschmitt Me-110 Night Fighters
It was on July 20, 1940 Night-Fighter Pilot, Werner Streib shot down a British Whitley bomber to officially become the first aerial victory of the organization that Wolfgang Falck had put together with the blessing of both Goring and Adolf Hitler. He was flying a converted Messerschmitt Me-110. Originally Streib was not supportive of the night-fighter element in the very beginning but he became one of the greatest converts. He was a double Ace by October 1940.
The Bf-110 had a wing span of 53 feet. It was powered by two 1,100h.p. Daimler-Benz engines giving the twin-engine fighter a speed of 350 m.p.h. at 23,000 feet. The armament of the Bf-110 was two 20mm Oerlikon MG FF cannon and four Rheinmetall 7.9mm MG 17 machine guns.
The Me-110 had two and one half the range of the Bf-109. That is why it was to be the Hero of the Battle of Britton. History tells a different story however.
To see many other profiles, photos and artworks of the Me-110 Night-fighter please go to the Me-110 link.
Messerschmitt Me-110 Night Fighters Page
Junkers Ju-88C
This was the master of the skies when it came to night-fighter kills.
This heavy-fighter was equipped with forward firing guns as well as cannon that were installed in the top of the fuselage right behind the cockpit that fired upward. Not all of the Junkers had the upward firing guns. That was experimental but boy how they worked. The upward firing guns were devastating to the under wing and fuel tanks of the British bombers.
The Ju-88's wingspan was 65 feet. It was powered by two 1,880h.p. Junkers Jumo 213E twelve cylinder inverted V liquid cooled engines. Military speed was 389m.p.h. at 30,000 feet. Armament was four 20mm MG 151 cannon firing from a gondola bubble on the bottom of the bombers mid-section.
Additional armament was two 20mm MG 151 cannon firing up and slightly forward from the fuselage behind the crew canopy.
Firing to the rear was the Junkers defensive gun, a 13mm MG 131 flexible mounted machine gun.
Heinkel He-219
The Henkle He-219 was to be the only aircraft developed by the Luftwaffe for the sole propose of being a Heavy Night-Fighter.
The Junkers 88 and the 188 were out-classed by the Henkle He-219 which was specifically designed to be a night interceptor.
To read more about the He-219 please visit it's own web page;
Messerschmitt Me-262 Night-Fighter
I got this out of a generic WWII airplane book. These are great illustrations. It gives the viewer enough information to imagine the airplane in their minds in a three-dimensional display.
Old Xerox instructions for a Messerschmitt conversion I did in High School. This was a conversion for a 1/72 scale night-fighter. At the time there were two 1/72 scale Me-262 kits on the market. Revell had one and Airfix made the other. I used the Revell which was a slightly better kit. But I kept the instructions for some reason. As a matter of fact, I kept everything from my modeling era.
I got these old Xerox instructions when I was in the 10th grade. This was on of the first conversion kits that were marketed in the very beginning.
This looks so cool. With all the pictures I have here at this one place one must remember that of all the Me-262's that were used as a night-fighter, there were only ten of the two man fighters ever made and they were divided between training squadrons and night-fighter squadrons where they actually saw little action before they end of the war.
I got this profile out of an Osprey Book on German Night-Fighters. Great book. You should consider buying a copy. The book helped me confirm all the info I had researched in the past with the books and materials that I had available and through my many interviews.
Isn't this beautiful. My heart sores when I see such excellent artwork of the subject I love so much.
Here is an artist conception of an Arado Ar-240. Several of these aircraft were experimenting with radar. A few of the Arado's were equipped with aerial radar for night fighting. They also used air-to-land or air-to-sea radar on the Ar-240. This was the type of Arado that saw combat and it was in an anti-shipping capacity.
This would have made a good small and fast heavy-fighter. This could have been the German "Mosquito" if somebody and developed the Ar-240 further. This is exactly what the German airforce needed but it was neglected or over looked. Not neglected by the staff that developed the aircraft, but by others in Berlin. The moral of the story is that the painting above never happened.
As to the Arado Ar234 bomber it was tried as a night fighter. They had at least one model which I will display here shortly. The Ar-234 had potential but again they spent too much time fiddling with small stuff and not getting the aircraft into the fight.
If Germany was ever to put up 100 fighters from single seated Bf-109's and Fw-190's to all the Me-110's and 410's that were available along with the Heinkel He-219 and the jets the Germans would have shot down at least 100 enemy bombers in one night which would have put a sever dent into the R.A.F. Bomber Command.
The Germans fought hard but they needed to fight harder. They waited too late to fight harder. Their arrogance fouled their possible success. Thinking that the bombing of German cities was mealy a nuisance, how stupid! Having someone bomb one of your cities is more that a mosquito bite. It is an assault. The Germans in the Luftwaffe should have never let the invasion of their skies grow to an incomprehensible battle the German planners could not figure out.
They should have strove to have shot down every enemy airplane that entered their skies. That would have saved the German citizens. But thinking that the British bombing was merely a nuisance was inexcusable. That was the brain of Herman Goering.
One city should have been bombed, no more. This was possible.
American Night Fighters
British Night-Fighters
Japanese Night-Fighters
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I am seeking special commissions. I am unemployed and disabled. I am an honest American citizen that has been caught up in our economic turmoil.
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Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
Aviation Artist/Historian
107 Arthur Moore Drive
Green Cove Springs, Florida 32043
Phone Number; 1-904-406-5791
Internet Address; aviationartstore@peoplepc.com
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Posted on August 2, 2011
Counter Started August 2, 2011