Night Falls, Fighters Fly: The Development and Evolution Of Navy Night Fighters In World War II

It is nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of radar in the Second World War. This piece of Allied technology was one which the Axis were never able to truly overcome. This paper will comprehensively explore how radar was used in the development of U.S. Navy carrier-borne night fighters in World War II. It seeks not just to demonstrate the effectiveness with which night fighters to use, but also the understudied and under-appreciated technological accomplishment that was night fighting. Whereas other works on the subject serve largely as roadmaps or timelines detailing the key moments in night fighter history, this paper differs in that it will attempt to fill in those gaps by including the historical context, technological development, and the evolving tactical implementation of night fighters throughout the war. In addition to drawing on numerous secondary sources it also seeks out the admittedly scarce primary sources in an attempt to convey the stories of the men who lived through it as accurately as possible