The Night Stalkers of WW2

John “Cats Eyes” Cunningham: Night Fighter Ace 21 kills

John Cunningham was called “Cats Eyes” by the British press to hide the secret newly developed radar that was being used in night fighters. Given a Bristol Blenhiem as his first fighter, he found it to be unusable as a night fighter and had no kills in it. When upgraded to the Bristol Beaufighter, a highly armed, fast two engined fighter, Cunningham started his killing spree. He went through several different models before being given the DeHavilland Mosquito, a wooden, super fast two engined fighter that was unmatched. Fighting at night was not without its perils as Cunningham found out when he got a face full of glass from a tail gunner of a German bomber. He remains the only night fighter to down an enemy plane without firing a shot (his guns jammed) by flying them into the ground. After the war he was a test pilot but due to debts, died penniless as a bachelor (never married) at age 84. A sad ending for a brave man, but his example lives on.

It takes skill and bravery to fight in the dark. Valor is in you. Set it free.