Wilde Sau (Luftwaffe night fighter tactics)

Wilde Sau (German for wild boar) was the term given by the Luftwaffe to the tactic used from 1943 to 1944 during World War II by which British night bombers were engaged by single-seat day-fighter aircraft flying in the Defence of the Reich.

It was adopted when the Allies had the advantage over German radar controlled interception. The fighters had to engage the British bombers freely as they were illuminated by searchlight batteries, while avoiding their own anti-aircraft fire. After some initial successes, rising losses and deteriorating weather conditions led to the abandonment of the tactic.

In 1943 Allied bombing raids against the German industry and cities intensified significantly. Strained by fighting on several fronts the Luftwaffe was not able to answer those raids adequately. Mismanagement by the Luftwaffe leadership led to stagnant production of much needed aircraft and indecision regarding aerial doctrine worsened the situation.

Another blow was the British capture of a Junkers Ju 88 R-1 night fighter (Werknummer 360 043) when its crew defected and flew to Scotland. The aircraft carried the initial B/C form of the UHF-band Lichtenstein radar, so its existence was revealed to the Allies. RAF Bomber Command began to use a new form of "Window" (or chaff), aluminium strips sized to jam the Lichtenstein B/C radar when dropped. This brought about the need to deploy new night-fighting methods that no longer relied solely on AI radar until the longer wavelength, VHF-band Lichtenstein SN-2 radar could be produced for use in German night fighters. By mid-1943 it became clear that the past approach was not working and a change in the general aerial defensive doctrine was needed. One of those was the introduction of new fighter tactics to counter the increasing Allied bomber threat.

On 27 June 1943, Luftwaffe officer Major Hajo Herrmann proposed an experimental approach to counter Allied night bombing. His proposal, which he had tested in trials secretly, was picked up and expanded by Viktor von Loßberg, by prepared reports from his staff group. Loßberg presented his proposal on 29 July, before the Luftwaffe leadership, Erhard Milch and Hermann Göring. The successful trial runs of the new tactic convinced them and especially Hitler to officially put this doctrine into use.

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