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Yup. True.Some data can be found here:
View attachment 781446
Seems, that his "Nachtjagd Combat Archive" should be the most comprehensive source.Google: writer, Theo Boiten , nachjagd.
I've been able to preview 6 pages of Boiten's Nachtjagd Combat Archive - 1943 - Part 3, and it seems to contain exactly the info, that I'm looking for. Unfortunately there is no single copy of this book in any public library in Poland. I will have to check with Polish Aviation Museum in Cracow, if they have one by any chance.Google: writer, Theo Boiten , nachjagd.
Untill now un surpassed.
Losses and victories
Yes , it can be done.
Thank you very much, those are generally the numbers, that I've been looking for. Claims seem seriously exaggerated for 1944 and 1945, should we assume something close to 60% of losses to be caused by the night fighters, putting the real kills at ~1.4k? Also would you know, if daylight sorties of night fighters are included in those totals?Published figures for night fighter losses, claims and allied losses have been around for decades, for example Adders The German Night Fighter Force. Sorties are another matter. E.R. Hooton in Eagle in Flames has night fighter sorties for the year of 1944 taken from Luftwaffe activity Volume I (Imperial War Museum Air Historical Branch 6, Tin 192, frame 1052, reporting 20,284 sorties by Luftflotte Reich taking 664 losses, and 3,091 sorties by Luftflotte 3 taking 142 sorties, which would mean about a claim every 11 sorties based on Adders.
The Luftwaffe night fighter claim system became less rigid in the late 1943 period, the list of kill claims versus RAF losses in Adders gives the Bomber Command night losses versus Luftwaffe kill claims as year / RAF losses / RAF write offs / Luftwaffe kill claims / % of RAF total losses + write offs claimed by night fighters
(...)
1944 / 2349 / 85 / 2235 / 91.8%
(...)
The effectiveness of the Flak force did not decline that much, and Bomber Command still had accidents resulting in write offs that had nothing to do with combat. The accident rate declined during the war but the number of sorties per month went up. Also Bomber Command did not go as deep into Germany, on average, after March 1944 and the loss of the early warning Atlantic Coast radars hurt interception chances.
(...) A good book for what you want is German Night Fighter Force 1917-1945, by Gebhard Aders which also lists a lot by year and month losses/kills etc It has lots of tables and data in back of book.
So Nightfighter losses 1944 were 664 + 142 = 806.Sorties are another matter. E.R. Hooton in Eagle in Flames has night fighter sorties for the year of 1944 taken from Luftwaffe activity Volume I (Imperial War Museum Air Historical Branch 6, Tin 192, frame 1052, reporting 20,284 sorties by Luftflotte Reich taking 664 losses, and 3,091 sorties by Luftflotte 3 taking 142 sorties, which would mean about a claim every 11 sorties based on Adders.
Ie 2434he Luftwaffe night fighter claim system became less rigid in the late 1943 period, the list of kill claims versus RAF losses in Adders gives the Bomber Command night losses versus Luftwaffe kill claims as year / RAF losses / RAF write offs / Luftwaffe kill claims / % of RAF total losses + write offs claimed by night fighters
1940 / 271 / 124 / 42 / 10.6%
1941 / 756 / 333 / 421 / 38.7%
1942 / 1390 / 89 / 687 / 46.5%
1943 / 2255 / 94 / 1816 / 77.3%
1944 / 2349 / 85 / 2235 / 91.8%
1945 / 507 / 61 / 529 / 93.1%