Creating Hitler's Germany by Heath Tim;

Author:Heath, Tim;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / world War II
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books
Published: 2019-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

The Luftwaffe did not have things entirely their own way during the initial phase of the Blitz. The anti-aircraft batteries took a heavy toll on the night attackers. In the daytime, the RAF made concerted efforts against the Luftwaffe, along with the anti-aircraft defences and barrage balloons. Night fighting tactics in the RAF were thankfully fairly advanced by the ‘Baby Blitz’ of 1943. Reliable Air Interception [AI] radar had been developed in the form of the AI MK.IV. This had a range of 20,000ft down to a minimum range of 400ft. The radar had been fitted to a number of RAF single-seat fighters such as the Hawker Hurricane and the Bristol Blenheim twin-engine light bomber. These were, however, interim measures replaced by the purpose-built night fighter versions of the Bristol Beaufighter. The Beaufighter was a twin-engine fighter with a heavy armament of four 20mm Hispano cannon and six .303 Browning machine guns. The two-man crew consisted of the pilot and his radar/AI operator. The AI operator was positioned behind the pilot within a perspex observation dome. The radar/AI operator was also responsible for loading fresh magazines into the four 20mm cannon. Interception of an enemy aircraft was a complex process. The night fighter had to be vectored into the vicinity of the enemy aircraft before its AI radar could detect it. The AI operator would have a small CRT [Cathode Ray Tube] display before him. He would use all his skill to decipher the information from the CRT screen and relay it to the pilot. The AI operator effectively guided the pilot into visual range of the enemy. This sounds relatively simple in theory, but the reality was very different; it was an incredibly dangerous undertaking. Having guided the pilot onto the target, it was then up to the pilot to make a visible identification. This was achieved by looking for signs of an enemy aircraft up ahead. Turbulence from propeller wash was one indicator that an enemy aircraft was up ahead and the dull light from engine exhausts was another. The pilot would then approach the enemy aircraft from astern and slightly below. He would actually position his aircraft beneath the enemy, looking for the tell-tale signs such as shape, engine configuration and, of course, the black crosses beneath the wings. Having established the identity of the enemy aircraft, the intercepting night fighter would throttle back until the target was a few hundred yards in front. The pilot would then switch on the light of his gunsight and fire a full two- to three-second burst into the enemy aircraft, which was often enough to bring them down.

For the crew on the receiving end, escape from their burning plane was more often than not impossible. Some Luftwaffe aircrews managed to bail out and survive to tell the tale, but the German Military Cemetery at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire is testimony to those who didn’t make it. The people of Britain were elated every time a German plane was brought down. There were no tears for the corpses of the dead crews.

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