Northrop P-61 | The Widow And The Spy | The Black Widow

A look at the P-61 Black Widow, but also the P-82 Twin Mustang, and a rare upscaled original video.

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, and the first aircraft designed specifically as a night fighter.

Named for the North American spider Latrodectus mactans, it was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design armed with four forward-firing 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano M2 autocannon in the lower fuselage, and four .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in a dorsal gun turret. Developed during the war, the first test flight was made on May 26, 1942, with the first production aircraft rolling off the assembly line in October 1943.

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Although not produced in the large numbers of its contemporaries, the Black Widow was operated effectively as a night fighter by United States Army Air Forces squadrons in the European Theater, Pacific Theater, China Burma India Theater, and Mediterranean Theater during World War II. It replaced earlier British-designed night-fighter aircraft that had been updated to incorporate radar when it became available. After the war, the P-61 was redesignated as the F-61 and served in the United States Air Force as a long-range, all-weather, day/night interceptor for Air Defense Command until 1948, and for the Fifth Air Force until 1950. The last aircraft was retired from government service in 1954.

On the night of 14 August 1945, a P-61B of the 548th Night Fighter Squadron named Lady in the Dark was unofficially credited with the last Allied air victory before VJ Day. page needed] The P-61 was also modified to create the F-15 Reporter photo-reconnaissance aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces and subsequently the United States Air Force.

In August 1940, 16 months before the United States entered the war, the U.S. Air Officer in London, Lieutenant General Delos C. Emmons, was briefed on British research in radar (RAdio Detection And Ranging), which had been underway since 1935 and had played an important role in the nation's defense against the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. General Emmons was informed of the new Airborne Intercept radar (AI for short), a self-contained unit that could be installed in aircraft and operated independently of ground stations. In September 1940, the Tizard Mission traded British research, including the cavity magnetron, that would make self-contained interception radar installations practicable, for American production.

General Emmons returned to the U.S. with details of the British night-fighter requirements, and in his report said that the design departments of the American aviation industry's firms could possibly produce such an aircraft.

Specifications (P-61B-20-NO)

Northrop P-61B Black Widow 3-view drawing
Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Northrop P-61 Black Widow.

General characteristics

Crew: 2–3 (pilot, radar operator, optional gunner)
Length: 49 ft 7 in (15.11 m)
Wingspan: 66 ft 0 in (20.12 m)
Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
Wing area: 662.36 sq ft (61.535 m2)
Airfoil: Zaparka
Empty weight: 23,450 lb (10,637 kg)
Gross weight: 29,700 lb (13,472 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 36,200 lb (16,420 kg)
Fuel capacity: 640 US gal (2,400 L) internal and up to four 165 US gal (625 L) drop tanks
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-65W Double Wasp 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 2,250 hp (1,680 kW) each
Propellers: 4-bladed Curtiss Electric constant-speed feathering propellers, 12 ft 2 in (3.72 m) diameter
Performance

Maximum speed: 366 mph (589 km/h, 318 kn) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
Range: 1,350 mi (2,170 km, 1,170 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,900 mi (3,100 km, 1,700 nmi) with four external fuel tanks
Service ceiling: 33,100 ft (10,100 m)
Rate of climb: 2,540 ft/min (12.9 m/s)
Time to altitude: 20,000 ft (6,100 m) in 12 minutes
Wing loading: 45 lb/sq ft (220 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (0.25 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns: ** 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano AN/M2 cannon in ventral fuselage, 200 rounds per gun
4 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in remotely operated, full-traverse upper turret, 560 rpg
Bombs: for ground attack, four bombs of up to 1,600 lb (726 kg) each or six 5-in (127 mm) HVAR unguided rockets could be carried under the wings. Some aircraft could also carry one 1,000 lb (454 kg) bomb under the fuselage.
Avionics
SCR-720 (AI Mk.X) search radar
SCR-695 tail warning radar

#p61 #blackwidow #aircraft

[jamesnull]

Really appreciate this video. My father flew the P-61B with the 418th Night Fighter Squadron in Okinawa from 1944-45. Still have his A-2 flight jacket. 🇺🇸

[KC-UTrmAZ]

P-61 is one of my favorite WWII planes not to mention I think it was badass looking.

[WhiteIkiryo-ytit]

The P-61 is one of the most beautiful yet under rated aircraft ever made.

[jayabramson]

My father was an armorer on the P-61 in the Philippines. I built an untold number of models as a child. Their squadron patch was an owl holding a Tommy gun and a candle, while wearing a sleeping cap. It was designed by Walt Disney studios.

I saw the one of the four known remaining aircraft at the Smithsonian a few years ago. Gotta say it was a very emotional experience. Just typing this it still is.

[ruraloregon]

Love this. My grandfather was an engineer & general. Worked on the p61 design. Also the pby and a few other aircraft. One of the reasons I was interested in the p61 as a kid. I still have the model!

[billyfletcher]

I always thought the P-61 was one of the best looking aircraft of the era.

[Imnotyourdoormat]

*_North Americans P-82 Twin-Mustang was a completely different airframe using only 5 actual parts from their legendary P-51D ..._*

[ypaulbrown]

the initial treating area was here in Orlando, Florida but later moved to California to be closer to Northrup....

[DylanBennett-kt]

I know this is absolutely WILD but am i the only guy that has always wanted to get one of those PBY Catalina boat planes and like essentially turn into like a boat home that i can fly away with anytime?? How awesome would this be? I wonder if anyone has done anything of the sort? The Catalina is definitely big enough for a bachelor if done correctly and nice of course.

[blitz]

Idk how people think this plane is ugly. Unconventional, sure. Ugly? No.

[robertsolomielke]

TY-Good first attempt night fighting aircraft. Turret caused buffeting, later deleted. Not yet on par with the best German night fighters. Better than adapted designs.

[tvogel]

Built and painted this plane as model twice - it was a expensive model.
Love this plane...

[melevin]

I got found a P61 on Mount Cyclops in Italian Jaya, Indonesia. It was completely intact and is now being rebuilt by MAAM IN The USA.

[DocShred-ud]

If I had the $ and it could be located, I'd buy and restore this airplane. Second choice would be a PBY Catalina; restore it to flying condition and pimp out the interior. Epic.

[lyleslaton]

Good video, lots of interesting information.

[blackmatterlives]

I don't know why people think it's ugly. I think she is beautiful 😍

[scottyfox]

I've always had an interest in this plane as a curiosity tbh. Ordered when needed but finally flew as redundant.

[gort]

A fascinating and a very innovative airplane. Unfortunately its speed and altitude performance were disappointing despite these innovations. It probably would have helped if the aircraft had an exhaust driven second stage supercharger instead of the 2-speed mechanical 2nd stage blower. And in my personal opinion designing it for a 3-man crew was unnecessary and cost too much in performance. The gunner and the stepped cockpit that let him look over the pilot increased weight and drag. Without this unnecessary crew position the upper guns could have just been locked to forward-firing for offensive use by the pilot, and unlocked for defensive use by the radar operator/gunner, saving weight and drag. Other night fighters of the war with two man crews offered better performance on less horsepower.

[ypaulbrown]

15:52 you mention red cockpit me if wrong, but that was normal for all aircraft I night flying

[jordancoleman]

I remember my brother putting this model together when I was maybe 8 or 9 and thinking it was one of the coolest airplanes I had ever seen, his models got me fascinated with with the air war of WWII and at a young age I knew more about it then any of my teachers in school. Truly the greatest generation, this world is screwed if it happens pretty sure the kid that identifies as toaster oven and shits in a litter box won't do us very well.