Nachtjager, Volume Two: Luftwaffe Night Fighter Units 1943-1945 (Luftwaffe Colours)
by David P. Williams
Category: History

In the style of the successful Jagdwaffe series, which concentrated on German day fighters, this concludes a two-part history of the Nachtjager, the Luftwaffe's nightfighter force, in World War II. The Luftwaffe used many aircraft in the nightfighter role, primarily to combat RAF Bomber Command's nocturnal heavy bombing raids against German targets from 1940/1 onwards. Both sides engaged in a 'cat and mouse' development of aircraft enhancement, weapons, guidance systems and radar. In this volume, the later versions of the Ju88G, Fw 190 'Wild Sau', Do 217, Me 262, Ta 154 and others are examined in depth. The text is accompanied by a wide range of photographs, many of which are published here for the first time, together with color profiles and biographies of top nightfighter aces. This volume and its predecessor, published in July 2005, will provide the modeler and historian with a detailed examination of the Nachtjager forces deployed by the Luftwaffe during the war and will be required reading for all interested in the subject of the nightly battles over the skies of the Reich during the conflict.