Night vision for airmen

You wouldn't be in naval aviation if you didn't have good eyes. But having good eyes and seeing well are as different as having a fine gun and shooting well. This is doubly true at night. Most people do not know the facts about night seeing. Many people don't even know that there is anything to learn about it. But from the moment you climb into a plane until the moment you climb out of it you depend on seeing. The more you see and the faster you see it, the healthier the climate whether you are over the North Atlantic, the Central Pacific, Tokyo-or your home field or carrier. The enemy is already learning the tricks of night seeing. To keep ahead of the enemy we must use all there is to know on the subject. You will never see as well at night as a tomcat, but you can learn to do a better job of seeing at night. Aside from the obvious fact that you can't see as much in darkness as in daylight, there are three reasons why it takes thought and training and practice to get the most out of your night eyes. 1. Your mind and your eyes are a team. To see well, you must concentrate on seeing and put effort into it. If you don't, you don't see. 2. Your eyes are so built that you have to learn to use them in a different way at night. 3. Your eyes tell you so little and familiar things look so different at night that it takes practice to recognize the things your eyes see.