Nightfighters

[McCoy]

Junkers Ju88 G-6, note the Schräge Musik installation in the fuselage

[McCoy]

Messerschmitt Bf110 G-4

[Whiterook]

I've never read up on nightfighters before, and recently, I've been seeing reference to them in pictures. The massive antanae are night radar, I take it.

[JohnnieB]

Antenna sometimes vane shaped, sometime enclosed in a faired nose, dependent on radar type.

There is, of course, the Mossie

img_1320e11jpegmossie2.jpg

and the Beaufighter:

Beaufighter%20MK%20VIC.jpg

and if you're partial to overkill, the P-61 Black Widow

p61_large.jpg

You want antenna, here's antenna, on a Ju88

ju88withaerials.jpg

[JohnnieB]

One more time

mosquito_bnf-4.jpg

[Geek44]

Originally Posted by Whiterook

I've never read up on nightfighters before, and recently, I've been seeing reference to them in pictures. The massive antanae are night radar, I take it.

Indeed they are mate. The 'antlers' on the German aircraft are for several types of radars and sometimes, multiple kinds. For example, one radar may be able to tell the pilot the height of a target, but only be able to guide the fighter to within 500 metres...too far away for visual at night. The senond, usually smaller array wasn't able to give height, but could guide the fighter to within 250 metres with a better chance of a visual and thus a possible kill. The 'electronics' war over night time Germany became quite sophisticated. The Allies adopted their own tail-warning radars that could spot nightfighters but of course the Germans developed a device that homed in on the Allies 'Monica' tail-warning devices.
The P-61 Black Widow above was one of very few aircraft designed as night fighters from the start. Most other types such as the Ju 88, Me 110, Bristol Beaufighter et al were modified from aircraft designed to fill other roles. It had a more conventional looking radar 'dish' housed in the radome in the nose...a system still used today.
The Bristol Beaufighters pictured above were developed as a strike aircraft by Bristol and to save re-tooling time, was developed around the existing Beaufort design...retaining wings, engines and tail section. This type was one of Britain's most successful night fighters along with specially modified 'bull-nose' Mosquito aircraft. In the Pacific theatre, the Beaufighter was known to the Japanese as 'Whispering Death.'
The use of the Allied secret weapon known as 'Window', which was aluminium strips cut to half the wavelength of the German radar caused chaos on the ground when first deployed. What it achieved was to basically 'flood' the radar screen with returns. Bombers could hide above the slowly drifting clouds of metal. As far as i know, it had no adverse effect on aircraft radars which operated on different wavelengths.

[Whiterook]

Wow...great write up mate...thanks! Question: how did the aluminum strips work? You said the bombers floated above the drifting strips...were they towed in some fashion? I'm afraid I can't picture it.

[Pirate-Drakk]

Originally Posted by Whiterook

Wow...great write up mate...thanks! Question: how did the aluminum strips work? You said the bombers floated above the drifting strips...were they towed in some fashion? I'm afraid I can't picture it.

Think aluminum snow...

[Wolster]

The length of the strips depended on the wave length of the radar they were trying to jam. These days it is known as chaff.

The most impressive use of window was on D-Day when 617 Sqn Lancasters flew looping relays dropping window across the english channel which showed up on German radar as a large invasion fleet travelling at 5 Knots between Dover and the Pas de Calais.

[salinator]

The Germans had developed their own version of "window", but never employed it thinking it would only work for them one time and then the allies would steal the secret.