An illustrated study of the clashes between B-29s conducting night raids on Japan and the Japanese nightfighters protecting the Home Islands from 1944-45.

The USAAF's B-29-led strategic bombing offensive against Japan succeeded when XX Bomber Command switched from high-level daytime precision bombing to low-level night time area bombing. The latter tactic required Superfortresses to attack their target individually, without a formation or escorting fighters for protection. Despite this, Japanese nightfighters proved unable to stop the B-29s.

In this study, Mark Lardas examines the capabilities of the aircraft involved, and reveals the conditions under which both sides fought. He evaluates the cutting-edge technology of both sides and how it affected the outcome of the battle. Maps, tactical diagrams, photographs and specially commissioned artwork bring the action to life as the individual US bombers and Japanese nightfighters fight a classic military duel.

Mark Lardas, educated as a naval architect, worked for more than 30 years as an engineer, space navigator and technical writer in the space, aviation and energy industries. He has an abiding interest in aerospace, maritime, naval, and military history, with an emphasis on ship construction and engineering from the ninth to the twenty-first centuries. He is the author of more than 25 published books on these subjects and lives in Texas.