The ME 410 definitely looks more like a Mosquito but at night, a Mosquito could look like a Junker or Messerschmidt.
THE key here is “ nighttime” and how hard it is to identify a plane flying at or near you.
Thanks for the infor.
Agree, especially in how quickly a gunner had to react if he was going to have any chance of countering a threat before it began blasting away with 20mm (or larger caliber) cannons.
The participant accounts of the WWII British night bombing effort are quite harrowing. Other than take off or landing, every RAF bomber basically flew the night bombing mission alone in inky blackness. This required very precise flying in terms of speed and altitude and navigation to keep the bomber stream on course to and from the target. To aid navigation, there were also numerous electronic beams that were broadcast to guide bombers a precise weapon release point.
Very strict measures were implemented to cut down on any light being given off by the aircraft while aloft, the most notable of these being the flame dampening shrouds enclosing the engine exhaust manifolds. And, of course, electronic countermeasures were provided to detect enemy nightfighter radars.
However, occasionally there would be flashes of light (exploding bomb flashes, flares, searchlight sweeps, gun fire, etc.) that would dispel the surrounding darkness. At that time, RAF bomber pilots and crew reported being surprised and frightened by the number of other bombers revealed to be flying in their immediate vicinity.
Now, throw into that mix the predatory nightfighter using all the same tricks to hide its presence and track its prey. Heck, it got so bad that both the Allies and Germans eventually developed anti-nightfighter aircraft to hunt down each other’s nightfighters. The night sky over Germany in 1944-45 became a very lethal, technology-driven, cat and mouse game with even the hunters occasionally becoming the hunted.
In addition to reflecting well on his basic decency, the gunner’s regret at being too quick to shot when not absolutly certain reflects a lot on the professionalism and restraint that RAF night bomber crews developed in executing these difficult missions during the war.