 Dowding 's insistence on waiting for AI led directly to his dismissal on 24 November 1940 . Many historians and writers , including Bowen , have suggested his dismissal was unwise , and that his identification of AI radar as the only practical solution was ultimately correct . While this may be true , the cat 's eye force did result in a number of kills during the Blitz , although their effectiveness was limited and quickly overshadowed by the night fighter force . In May 1941 cat 's eye fighters claimed 106 kills to the night fighters ' 79 , but flew twice as many sorties to do so . 
