Unable to conduct ground operations on the European continent until Allied strength was fully marshalled for a full-scale invasion, the British government based its grand strategy on a protracted campaign of aerial bombardment of Germany's cities in order to bring the Third Reich to its knees. At the heart of this strategy was the emerging technology of the heavy bomber, combined with night navigation and precision bombing techniques.

The four-engined Avro Lancaster was the ultimate Commonwealth heavy bomber of World War II, and when RAF Bomber Command began receiving examples in early 1942, it appeared to finally have the war-winning weapon system that was needed. Faced with a burgeoning British bomber offensive, the Luftwaffe created a nightfighter force, of which the Messerschmitt Bf 110 was its star player. Marshalling ll its technological cunning, the Luftwaffe was able to deploy airborne radar and improved weaponry to counter the Lancaster bomber.