However, the weight of the radar systems needed to effectively track down enemy bombers at night was such that these smaller aircraft simply couldn't carry them given the electronics of the day.
Some lighter designs like the Hawker Hurricane and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 were also adapted to night fighting after a fashion, lacking radar and relying on searchlights or fires on the ground to illuminate their targets.
This led to the late-war introduction of single-engine night fighters like the Grumman F6F, Vought F4U, as well as more agile twin-engine planes such as the Lockheed P-38, with some success.
In the immediate post-war era, designs like the North American F-86 Sabre,[3] Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 and Hawker Hunter typified the day-fighter role.
After winning the contract the F-16 quickly matured into a much more capable multi-role aircraft and can no longer be considered a day fighter.