Jet Interceptor by Nicholas Trudgian
Signed by Herbert Ihlefeld.
The eerie world of the night-fighter was a far
cry from the swashbuckling cut and thrust of the day-time aerial
dogfights. It took inordinate flying skills, teamwork, patience, and
nerves of steel to achieve success in the dark when all that could be seen
of the enemy was the tell-tale glow of an engine exhaust.
From the spring of 1940 Germany had developed their night-fighting
aircraft and honed their skills to combat the nightly bombing raids of the
RAF. By 1944 the Luftwaffe had sophisticated electronic range-finding and
navigation equipment fitted to their night-fighters, and their skilled
crews had become adept at intercepting the British heavy bombers under
cover of darkness.
As the war progressed and proficiency increased, the greatest fear of
the RAF bomber crews as they approached their targets was the ever-present
danger of the marauding Luftwaffe night-fighters. Each night a deadly game
of hide-and-seek was played out in the skies above the Reich.
Messerschmitt 110s, JU-88s, and the specifically developed Heinkel 219
would rise up into the darkening skies from bases in the Rühr to await
the arrival of the RAF heavies. Loitering singly and in pairs, they would
infiltrate the bomber streams, each crew using their own individual method
of hunting and attack. They seldom came home empty handed.
Based in the Rühr Valley in 1944, NJG-1 was among the most successful
night-fighter units, being credited with 2173 night victories and another
145 scored in daylight. Nicolas Trudgian's emotive new painting recreates
a scene from one of this successful unit's missions on the night of
November 2, 1944:
Ten aircraft took off to intercept a major raid on Dusseldorf, the
night witnessing a fierce battle high above the darkened city. NGJ-1 crews
assisted with the downing of 19 RAF bombers, one Luftwaffe pilot being
credited with no fewer than 6 victories that night. Seen in Nick's
painting are a Heinkel 219 and a Messerschmitt 110 climbing out from their
base at Münster Handorf, as they set out on their deadly mission. Below
them the spectacular Rühr Valley is vibrant in its mantle of winter's
first snowfall. A moving and evocative rendition, made all the more
poignant by the signatures of 3 leading World War II Luftwaffe
night-fighter aircrew on each print in the edition.