Northrop P-61 Black Widow

The Northrop P-61 Black Window was a twin-engine, twin-boom night fighter aircraft used by the US Army Air Forces during the last year of World War II. It was the biggest, heaviest, and most lethal night fighter in that armed conflict. However, it was certainly fast and maneuverable for a warplane of that size, and it was fitted with one of the most advanced radar of that period; a SCR-720. It fought in every theater of WW2, from the Far East and the Pacific to the European Theater of Operations.

The United States had been at war for almost six months, when the prototype, the XP-61, first took to the air on May 21, 1942. The designer was Jack Northrop, who wanted to create a night fighter able to use air-to-air radar to destroy enemy aircraft in the dark after sunset. After two years of test flights, the aircraft finally entered service on May 1, 1944, when a batch of P-61A was assigned to the 6th Night-Fighter Squadron at Hickham Field, on Oahu, Hawaii. On July 6, 1944, the Black Widow racked up its first air-to-air victory; a Japanese Mitsubishi G4M 'Betty' bomber. Meanwhile in Europe, the first unit to receive this night fighter was the 422nd NFS on May 9, 1944, at Scorton RAF Station.

Below, a P-61B flying over Southern California in 1945. It had the Gloss Black camouflage.

Production of the Northrop P-61 totaled 706 aircraft of all versions; P-61A, P-61B, and P-61C, which were the most numerous. The F-15A would become the photographic reconnaissance variant of the P-61C, being fitted with six cameras and a new, clear-view canopy. The difference between the P-61A and the P-61B was that the length of the cone nose was extended in the second version to be able to house the new upgraded radar; the SCR-720. The P-61A had an older radar variant; a SCR-520.

Technical Characteristics

The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was a three-seat, twin-engine monoplane, with a twin-boom configuration. It had an all-metal fuselage and mid-wings. It was equipped with tricycle-type landing gear. Each boom was a continuation of the each engine nacelle, ending up in the tail assembly (empennage), which included the vertical and horizontal stabilizer, with the elevator. The rudder and elevator were made of fabric-covered aluminum alloy.

The wing structure of the P-61 was divided into seven sections; two wing tips of welded magnesium alloy; two outer panels; two inner wing panels; and the spar section (front and rear), which extended through the crew nacelle (pod). The wing trailing edge had long ailerons and short flaps, which were mounted on the wing inner panel, between the engine and crew nacelle fuselage.

Armament

The Black Widow was fitted with four 20mm cannons mounted on fuselage belly; four 12.7mm (.50-cal) M2 Browning machine guns set up in fuselage roof turret; pylons for four 454-kg (1,000-pound) bombs, or rockets.

Specifications (P-61B)

Type: night fighter

Length: 15.11 m(15 ft)

Wing Span: 20.11 m (66 ft)

Wing Area: 61.53 m2 (662 sq. ft)

Height: 4.47 m (15 ft)

Powerplant: two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-65, 12-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engines, each generating 2,000 HP.

Maximum Speed: 589 km/h (365 mph)

Range: 2,172 km (1,350 miles), with drop tanks.

Ceiling: 12,445 m (40,800 ft).

A Northrop P-61 Black Widow flying over England.

Below, the P-61A of the 422nd Night Fighter Squadron at the airbase in England in August 1944.

The P-61C at an English airbase in 1945.

Below, the prototype XP-61 in 1943. Notice that it had only two machine guns in dorsal turrets instead of the four in the production version.

The XP-61B in flight with the identification number 118877.

Below, front view of the Black Widow in action in the skies over Germany in late 1944.

The Black Widow in action in WW2 (video)