Nightfighters and gun cameras

[edwest]

In reply to a few things mentioned here:

The Germans did use a device called "Spanner-Anlage" (or Spanner I) on the Do-17Z-10 (and made by AEG). It consisted of an infrared searchlight mounted in the nose and a viewer in the pilot's wind screen. It was reported that it could see aircraft exhausts but was not very successful, being replaced by radar sets. I have personally seen at least one photo of an aircraft so equipped. It was also tried on experimental Bf-110 D-1/U1.

Then there is the FuG 280 "Kiel" passive IR vision detector made by Zeiss. It had a range of 4000 m and weighed 42 kg.

The company Lorenz built the FuG 226 "Neuling" IFF. Reportedly, British Mosquitoes carried a device called "Perfectos" that could track German IFF.



HTH,
Ed