The gunsight illumination could be switched on and off by means of a flip switch visible here, in the spot to the left of the sight itself. The protruding rheostat could be used to dim the light for night shooting conditions.
The gunsight illumination could be switched on and off by means of a flip switch visible here, in the spot to the left of the sight itself. The protruding rheostat could be used to dim the light for night shooting conditions.
Spitfire as nightfighter! I don’t think so, with those prominent exhaust stubs glowing in your line of sight, not to mention the flames from the exhausts.
@Brian you’re right, and it never was. But let’s not forget that the Spitfire was designed to the specification for a day AND NIGHT fighter. Attempts to use it in the night fighter role were not abandoned before well into 1941.
A bit more about this subject can be found at this site here:
http://spitfiresite.com/2010/06/battle-of-britain-1940-prelude-to-the-blitz.html
http://spitfiresite.com/2010/04/night-fighting-spitfires.html
Many Spitfires ( and Hurricanes ) were fitted with glare shields ( which can be seen in photographs as flat plates fixed to the fuselage sides between the exhausts and cockpit ) to screen the exhaust flames from the pilot’s view.