pzu,
Your:
".....in theory a pilot with poor night vision could hold on till daylight, whereas an Air Gunner (on Night Bombers) has no choice!!!!....."
One of the more desperate ideas which (I believe) was tried during the war was to train pilots
ab initio to fly only by night, on the logical ground that that was what they'd always be doing operationally, anyway.
I suppose they set up a "pilot" Trial, but the scheme was dropped !
Danny.