Search results
Primary users. United States Army Air Forces. United States Air Force. Number built. 706. Variants. Northrop F-15 Reporter. The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed as a night fighter.
Aug 4, 2022 · Employees of the Northrop Corp. built 706 P-61 Black Widow aircraft. At the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the National Air and Space Museum displays P-61C-1-NO, military serial #43-8330, one of only four surviving Black Widows. May 26, 2022, marked the 80th anniversary of the first flight of the XP-61 prototype. (Smithsonian Institution)
People also ask
What is a Northrop P61 Black Widow?
What is a P61 Black Widow?
Is there a movie about flying a P61?
Where did the P-61 fly?
The heavily-armed Black Widow was the United States' first aircraft specifically designed as a night-fighter. The P-61 carried radar equipment in its nose that enabled its crew of two or three to locate enemy aircraft in total darkness and fly into proper position to attack. The XP-61 was flight-tested in 1942 and the delivery of production ...
A few, plus some special purpose P-61s, stayed in active service until 1950. NASM's Black Widow is a P-61C-1-NO, U.S. Army Air Forces serial number 43-8330. Northrop delivered it to the Army on July 28, 1945. By October 18, this P-61 was flying at Ladd Field, Alaska, in cold weather tests and it remained there until March 30, 1946.
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow in Action. When the Black Widow did work, the results were spectacular. It was the first purposely built night-fighter aircraft, unlike the Douglas Havoc, Grumman F6F Hellcat, Bristol Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito which were adapted for the role. The 422nd Night Fighter Squadron (NSF) was the first to fly ...
- 14 ft 2 in (4.32 m)
- 369 mph (594 km/h)
- 48 ft 11 in (14.91 m)
- 66 ft 0 in (20.12 m)
May 26, 2023 · A rivalry had developed between fans of the De Havilland Mosquito and supporters of the Black Widow and Britain’s Royal Air Force wanted to evaluate the P-61. On July 5, 1944, a fly-off happened between a pilot flying a P-61 and another pilot flying a night fighter version of the Mosquito called the NF. XVII.
The P-61 Black Widow was the first U.S. aircraft designed to locate and destroy enemy aircraft at night and in bad weather, a feat made possible by the use of on-board radar. The prototype first flew in 1942. P-61 combat operations began just after D-Day, June 6, 1944, when Black Widows flew deep into German airspace, bombing and strafing ...
