Boldly into the Night: The Development of the Naval Fighter.
Abstract
In 1941 the United States Navy was preparing for war against Japan in accordance with War Plan Orange. As tensions between the two countries increased, naval leaders recognized that the US Pacific Fleet would have to shoulder the burden of offensive and defensive operations in the Pacific. They also acknowledged that the Japanese Army and Navy air forces posed a serious threat to the safety of the US fleet. The Navy depended on the anti-aircraft batteries of the ships in the formation and fighter aircraft operating off carriers to defend the fleet during the day, but the fleet air defenses were inadequate if the enemy made a bomb and torpedo attack at night. As a result, in September 1941 the Navy issued a requirement for a carrier-based night fighter equipped with radar that could be used to intercept night attackers. 1 But this initiative posed a major problem: no radar set or aircraft, let alone a combination of the two, existed which could satisfy the requirement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA288608
Entities
People
- Lawrence M. Gatti
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology