A night fighter is a largely historical term for a fighter or interceptor aircraft adapted or designed for effective use at night, during periods of adverse meteorological conditions, or in otherwise poor visibility. Such designs were in direct contrast to day fighters: fighters and interceptors designed primarily for use during the day or during good weather. The concept of the night fighter was developed and experimented with during the First World War but would not see widespread use until WWII. The term would be supplanted by “all-weather fighter/interceptor” post-WWII, with advancements in various technologies permitting the use of such aircraft in virtually all conditions.
The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter" to meet the RAF requirement for day and night fighters that could concentrate their firepower on enemy bombers which were not expected to have fighter escorts due to the distance from Germany to the United Kingdom. The Defiant had all its armament in a dorsal turret offering the ability to fire in most directions. The same principle was used in the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc which was also built by Boulton Paul.
The Kammhuber Line was the name given by the Allies to the German night-fighter air-defence system established in western Europe in July 1940 by Colonel Josef Kammhuber. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector would direct the night fighter into visual range to target intruding bombers.
Serrate was a World War II Allied radar detection and homing device that was used by night fighters to track Luftwaffe night fighters equipped with the earlier UHF-band BC and C-1 versions of the Lichtenstein radar. It allowed RAF night fighters to attack their German counterparts, disrupting their attempts to attack the RAF's bomber force.
406 "City of Saskatoon" Maritime Operational Training Squadron is a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) unit of the Canadian Armed Forces. Based at 12 Wing Shearwater since 1972, it is responsible for crew training on the Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone since summer of 2016. The squadron was formed during World War II as part of RAF Fighter Command.
No. 515 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force formed during the Second World War. It ushered in Electronic countermeasures (ECM) warfare, jamming enemy radar installations from October 1942 as the only such squadron in the RAF initially. Later in the war 515 Sqn was joined by other squadrons as part of No. 100 Group RAF. The squadron disbanded after VE day, when the need for such a specialised squadron had reduced.
John Randall Daniel "Bob" Braham, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) night fighter pilot and fighter ace during the Second World War.
Wing Commander Bransome Arthur "Branse" Burbridge, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) night fighter pilot and flying ace—a pilot credited with at least five enemy aircraft destroyed—who holds the Allied record of 21 aerial victories achieved at night during the Second World War.
Air Vice Marshal Edward Barker Addison, was a senior British Royal Air Force (RAF) officer who served as Air Officer Commanding No. 100 Group from 1943 to 1945 during the Second World War. The group jammed Axis radar and communications systems from the air and Addison was its only commander.
Predannack Airfield is an aerodrome near Mullion on The Lizard peninsula of Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The runways are operated by the Royal Navy and today it is a satellite airfield and relief landing ground for nearby RNAS Culdrose.
Royal Air Force Fairwood Common, or more simply RAF Fairwood Common, is a former Royal Air Force sector station located on Fairwood Common, on the Gower Peninsula, to the west of Swansea. It is now the location of Swansea Airport.
Operation Steinbock or Operation Capricorn, sometimes called the Baby Blitz or Little Blitz, was a strategic bombing campaign by the German Air Force during the Second World War. It targeted southern England and lasted from January to May 1944. Steinbock was the last strategic air offensive by the German bomber arm during the conflict.
The Fighter Interception Development Unit RAF was a special interceptor aircraft unit of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. It was part of Air Defence of Great Britain and was previously the Fighter Interception Unit (FIU).
Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1) was a German Luftwaffe night fighter-wing of World War II. NJG 1 was formed on 22 June 1940 and comprised four Gruppen (groups). NJG 1 was created as an air defence unit for the Defence of the Reich campaign; an aerial war waged by the Luftwaffe against the bombing of the German Reich by RAF Bomber Command and the United States Air Force. In 1941 airborne radar was introduced with radar operators, and standardised in 1942 and 1943. Consequently, a large number of German night fighter aces existed within NJG 1.
Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 was a German Luftwaffe night fighter and night intruder wing during World War II.
No. 199 Squadron was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron that operated as a training unit in WWI, as a bomber and radio countermeasures unit during the Second World War, and later in the 1950s again as a radio countermeasures squadron.
No. 604 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force noted for its pioneering role the development of radar-controlled night-fighter operations. The squadron was established in March 1930 at RAF Hendon as a day-bomber squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. In July 1934, the squadron transitioned to two-seat fighters. Shortly after the commencement of World War II in 1939, the squadron was reassigned to a night-fighter role.
No. 255 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as an anti-submarine unit in First World War and a night-fighter unit in the Second World War. The First World War squadron was formed from former Royal Naval Air Service coastal flights and was responsible for coastal anti-submarine patrols. It was disbanded after the war.
Operation Gisela was the codename for a German military operation of the Second World War. Gisela was designed as an aerial intruder operation to support the German air defence system in its night battles with RAF Bomber Command during the Defence of the Reich campaign. It was the last big operation launched by the Luftwaffe Nachtjagdgeschwader during the conflict.
United Kingdom 
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