The History Channel Dogfights: Night Fighters

In pitch-black skies, brave pilots put their lives on the line in an effort to gain the ultimate advantage...the ability to attack, kill, and withdraw without ever being detected. It's a risky mission that depends heavily on technology. Night fighters pioneer the tactics and technology and pave the way for the future of air combat. July 4th, 1944. In a daring pre-dawn mission, Fred Dungan is launched from the deck of the USS Yorktown. He flies in a flight of four radar-equipped night fighting Hellcats. Their target is the Japanese base on Chichi Jima. Dungan and Dear make a low-side run on the Japanese Destroyer Escort, sinking the ship with their .50 caliber machineguns. Japanese Rufe floatplanes scramble to the attack. In a hellacious dogfight, Dungan sustains a potentially fatal shoulder wound but manages to down four of the enemy fighters. January 21, 1944. In the dead of night, Lou Luma circles his deHavilland Mosquito over Hildesheim airfield, waiting for German night bombers to return to base. Luma sees a small light pass overhead, an Me410 night fighter. It's now a risky game of cat and mouse, a duel between two of the earliest night fighting aircraft. Luma sneaks in behind the Me410 and puts his gunsight between the enemy's twin exhaust flames. He's only got one chance. He pulls the trigger and sends the German fighter down in flames. Luma escapes undetected.