The week-long Allied bombing campaign against Hamburg in late July 1943 was not only hugely destructive but also had a significant impact on the German night fighter arm. From now on, the ?boxes? of Kammhuber's ?Raumnachtjagd? would be the starting point from which fighters would be led into the bomber stream as early as possible, a tactic dubbed ?Zahme Sau.? The night fighters had to quickly adopt new ?freelance? procedures, and also found themselves increasingly engaged in daylight operations. These actions resulted in heavy losses-especially of experienced aces-which the Nachtjagd could ill afford and struggled to replace. The winter of 1943/44 saw a series of huge raids on Berlin. Although hard pressed, the Nachtjagd aces were still able to score some heavy tactical victories. Over a thousand RAF ?Viermots? were shot down-more than double the expected losses-before the campaign was cut short. New night fighter aces emerged, often former transport and reconnaissance pilots, and the upward firing armament of the Bf 110s and Ju 88s could cut swathes through the ?stream.? However, by mid-1944, as the Allies advanced, the night fighter aces were forced into new roles, including ground-strafing armor and troop concentrations, a role for which they were clearly unsuited. A small number of Me 262 jets were deployed in a new NJG 11, but exclusively committed against the rapid twin-engined Mosquitos of the RAF's Light Night Striking Force. Heinkel He 219s were never available in significant numbers and prowling Mosquito intruders were an ever-present danger to Nachtjagd crews. While the surviving night fighter aces continued their defensive actions virtually every night, by March 1945 the Nachtjagd was in terminal decline. Of the 1,100 night fighter pilots and crew who claimed at least one victory, some 669 were lost, a casualty rate of around 74 percent. Fully illustrated and featuring newly translated personal accounts, this is a chronological account of the Luftwaffe night fighters in the second part of the war, covering major campaigns, the biographies of individual aces, and the details of their aircraft. AUTHORS: Neil Page has a degree in Modern Languages and has lived and worked in Germany. He spent eight years at London Gatwick airport in flight dispatch with a major European airline. He has translated the unit histories of JG 2, JG 4 and JG 300 and is one of the team behind the successful Luftwaffe Gallery book series. His web site FalkeEins-the Luftwaffe Blog has garnered over 4 million page views over the last decade. He is the author of Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe 1939?42 and 1943?45. Born in Belgium in 1953, Jean-Louis Roba has a degree in law. Interested in history at an early age, he has met hundreds of Second World War veterans and amassed a large collection of personal accounts, documents and photographs. His numerous visits to archives worldwide have facilitated the writing of some 80 books on this period, mainly related to the war in the air. However, his interest is mainly focused on subjects that are not well known or rarely studied, such as the service history of the Me 323 transport aircraft, the history of JG 53, Beute or captured aircraft in Luftwaffe service and various studies of Belgian pilots in the RAF during the Second World War. He contributed several volumes to the ground-breaking ?Luftwaffe in Colour? Casemate series. Neglected theaters of war are also one of his favorite subjects ? he has compiled books on the Germans in the Aegean, the air battles over Romania and a multi-volume history of Luftwaffe seaplanes. In addition to these books, Jean-Louis Roba continues to publish articles in specialist journals. 100 photographs and artwork profiles