Best Nightfighter of WW2 (Continued) (1 Viewer)

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good grief I just did a quick search on over 30 sites. There wer no A-5's or A-7's. NJG 3 were to recevie A-5's and they were given to the unit and left there on the tarmac, and the NJG did not use them preferring the Ju 88G-6. Again only I./NJG 1 operated the Uhu, and the word potential used on several sites is appra-po. It is a huge what if if the a/c was upstaged with more depenedable engines. I have the losses for I./NJG 1 and no others besides the A-0 and A-2 exist on the documents. AGain applicable to the net old research from back in the 19060's and 1970's using William Greens book as the standard reference. The Smithosonian bird which has had it's fusleage painted in the underside black Schlacht scheme is an A-2 bird with two 2cm's in the wing roots, two 2cm's in the ventral tray and two 3cm's in the Schragwaffen installation.

Erich ~
 
David it was not the king of the night and as I said all the prodution figures for the A-5 upward were just plans that never took off on operations or ground depending how you look at it. Only in the last 10 years was I aware of this as I had studied or so I thought every conceiveable piece of evidence and book publicized until I received official German documentation from Germany on the a/c and the unit it was involved with

E
 
AS for the thoughts that the Me 110G and Ju-88 and Mossie were good for the night, whey were but they started from proven irframes.

The He-219 and P-61 were from the start to be night fighters. The P-61C would have and did correct a lot of the problums and if jets had not upstaged props it was ready and able to cleanse the night. ;)

Eric, was the He-219A-5 used in combat at all? Or as you have posted just delivered but left sitting? ;)
 
The DH Mosquito was irrevocably the ''Best Nightfighter of WWII''....
-This is a documented fact, and it was a part of the unique configurations this aircraft was developed to undertake, very early in it's career...and one it carried-out from it's inception as a Nightfighter, throughout the War and beyond into the fifty's when replaced by jets...

It's role as a Nightfighter and it's service was unsurpassed by any other aircraft and a contributing aspect to it's legendary status....

Germany tried unsuccessfully to copy it in the form of the Fw-154, and the He-219 was another attempt and although it's initial success was a half-dozen Mossies and some bombers, we may find that they were Mosquito Bomber or Pathfinder variants...

If those who believe the He-219 was the better aircraft and want to read up on it, you'll find that Capt. Eric Brown CBE,DSC,AFC,RN; wrote most illuminatingly of it's real performance after extensively testing it [and other German aircraft], in his book 'Aircraft of the Luftwaffe', and it's also reprinted in Air International July 1975 ' Viewed from the Cockpit'.....

While I feel the He-219 was a great looking aircraft with some special features, it was underpowered, [Brown only coaxing a max speed of 378mph out of it], not receiving the correct engines due to shortages, it was supposed to be fitted with DB-603G's but got mostly DB-603A's, a difference of 150hp, but it was also a very heavy fighter in comparison to the Mossie....Although well armed, it was not as manoevrable, had a lousy climb-rate and like many German aircraft it was too little, too late, a common feature of RLM's role of aircraft selection processes....this aircraft was on the drawing-board in 1940, and they dragged their heels on it for a good part of the War......

Northrop's P-61 was the only aircraft of this era specifically built as a Nightfighter, and it too suffered similar faults, being too heavy and not as manoevrable, although it performed good service in the Pacific towards the end of that conflict....Perhaps the P-38 NF variant's service was probably more successful there, but I don't have any figures to support this......

Personally, I feel the Ju-88 was the closest contempary to the Mosquito, and both the Bf-110 and Do-217 also did good service to Germany in this role also, but all said and done, the superlative Mosquito was and still is heralded as the ''Best Nightfighter of WWII''..............
 

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Oh, my pleasure MM, we're 'brother's in arms' when it comes to the DH Mosquito, not enough folk out there can comprehend the real marvel this wooden aircraft was during WWII.....
Cheers...
 

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The Mossie XXX was the best the RAF had to offer. The Me 262A-1a was the best German Nachtjäger, although my love for the Ju 88G-6 is strong it did not compare to the Mossie XXX. The Ju was just an old airframe and was counted on even with the latest electronics to do to much. Besides trying to take on RAF Mossies and 4-engine jobs it was the stable mount for many an evil night and day ground attack mission(s)...

E ~
 
Gemhorse, thanks for the good arguments. I am still baffled that the USAAC dragged its feet with night fighters. The P-38M was the NF and it did do a good job. Not that the P-38 did a bad job at what ever it did.

A questio for all you Mossie lovers, are any still around airworthy? ;)
 
the P-61 was a dog...............sorry Addi or whatever your real name is

The P-38 did frankly nothing in the pacific as we have already chatted about the M that never flew as a nf in the orient till after the war. I already gave the information on the P-38, please check the old threads

Erich
 

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