Today In History:  02 October  [1940]   --  The first ground-radar-controlled aerial victory at night

The first aerial victory using ground controlled radar at night takes place as the Luftwaffe's dunkele Nachtjagd ("dark nightfighting," abbreviated as Dunaja) technique – in which ground-based radar is used to control night fighters until they come within visual range of a target – has its first success. A Freya radar is used to coach the Dornier Do 17Z-10 night fighter pilot to within visual range of a British Vickers Wellington bomber over the Netherlands, allowing him to shoot it down.

PHOTO: The Do 17Z was the most produced variant of the Do 17 series

See the Historical Aviation Film Unit website at http://www.aviationfilm.com to get a new history tidbit every day.


Photo Attribution:  CC BY-SA 3.0 de  via Wikimedia.