This is Casemate's second volume covering the German night fighter force. in many ways, 1943 was the pinnacle of success for the service. While still small in numbers, pilots were quite successful as the British night bombing campaign was still at a somewhat manageable level. As is the norm with this sort of warfare, there was a fairly consistent back and forth electronically where one side would gain an advantage only to have that nullified and a new threat emerge.

Though the Germans were generally on the forefront of radar technology, that did not mean that the Allies were asleep at the wheel. Thanks to several fortuitous 'landing on the wrong airfield' events, the British were able to delve into the Luftwaffe's airborne radar secrets to develop counter measures. As the war progressed, the number of bombers increased and the overall expertise of the Luftwaffe night fighter arm slowly decreased as the skilled crews were lost. This did not stop the Germans from innovating and that was done right up till the end of hostilities.

As with the previous edition, this one covers not only the progression of night fighting and the equipment used, but also the stories of the men who flew the planes. Since this is part of Casemate's Illustrated series, the book includes a lot of nicely chosen period photos. There are also smaller sub-stories and some color profiles of the aircraft used in the period of the book. I particularly liked the coverage of night fighting on the eastern front, something we rarely read about. For instance, I was quite unaware that the Luftwaffe operated trains that carried the ground radar equipment. In all, it makes a great addition to the series and is a book that I know you will find of interest.

May 2025

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