German Night Fighter Aces of World War 2

When the Luftwaffe entered the war, its nightfighter force was virtually non-existent thanks to its leader, Reichmarschall Hermann Göring, boasting that bombs would never fall on Germany. By mid-1940 his folly was evident; the first nightfighter wing was hastily formed with Bf 110s. As arguably the most consistently effective arm of the wartime Luftwaffe, the Nachtjagd took a steady toll of Allied aircraft - the vast majority of them RAF bombers - throughout most of World War 2. Fighting a tough enemy, as well as a lower priority in aircraft and personnel procurement than it merited, the force never shrank from its task.