P-61 Black Widow | The First American Night Fighter | WW2 Aircraft
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- čas přidán 23. 08. 2023
- 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.
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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.
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 - Věda a technologie
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Awesome video. I salute you.
The guy narrating the WW2 training film was Arthur Kennedy, he was in the USAAF during the war making training films including acting in some not just narrating them, after the war he had a successful acting career in Hollywood and was in some pretty big movie's like Lawrence of Arabia and a lot of really good westerns like Bend of The River with Jimmy Stewart.
It's hard to find one of these USAAF training films that he isn't in or at least he narrates, he passed away in 1990 at 75 year's old.
This is one of my favorite planes. Definitely favorite of WW2. It was just so different compared to its counterparts and one cannot deny that the old girl has some fantastic, clean lines.
This is like an RV in the sky. I really appreciate these old planes and this instruction video so I can have more understanding and appreciation for the pilot's training and procedures. I don't imagine modern planes are this complex.
2 of my favorite planes from World War 2 P38 lightning and the Black Widow. P61
Probably the P-61's finest hour was in mid-1945, when it didn't fire a shot; but served as a distraction to the Japanese, as US & Philippine forces stealthily crept up to the wire of the POW camp at Cabanatuan in the Philippines. The P-61 repeatedly buzzed the POW camp as rescue forces quietly traversed several hundred yards across an open, exposed field. Over 500 US POWs were rescued from a planned execution by their Japanese captors in the surprise raid. The full story is accurately told in the movie: "The Great Raid". However, an actual P-61 was not available for the movie, so a Lockheed Hudson was substituted.
Thanks for that.
That P-61 definitely fired shots. Once the prisoners were rescued it flew over watch and engaged Japanese ground forces
My official source stated no shots were fired at the actual rescue; and as the rescue was at night; the P-61 could not identify friend from foe. It is possible the P-61 returned the morning after the rescue and shot things up, however.@@abitofapickle6255
This is one of my favorite aircraft. Big. Black. Beautiful. Deadly.
Too bad she took so long to get the bugs worked out. That I guess is expected with an aircraft so different in so many ways.
Or in other words, when you push the envelope, sometimes it pushes back in ways you don't expect!
Yeah and the reconnaisance version was also badass
It was also just low priority I would say. Like, if more resources were available for the plane it would have happened faster, but the P-61 has comparatively few revisions for war time birds.
My grandfather hitched a ride on one of these once and said it was one of the smoothest flights hed ever taken. Beautiful plane
Fantastic bit of history, so great footage and well done video!
My uncle Capt. Carl Fritsche experienced a fellow B24 bomber in formation being shot down by a P61 night fighter. He said after that he had no use for the P61 fighter while in the China Burma India campaign. He also bombed the River Kwai Bridge on several missions.
My favorite WW2 planes in order, P38, P61, Mosquito.
Awesome aircraft
❤ 1 of my fav aircraft
Hopefully one day in my lifetime the MAAM in Reading, PA will get theirs up and running.
That will happen. It will be epic, more so than p51 twin mustang.
And so we wait…..🇺🇸
I didn't know they had one that's pretty cool😮
My father often used to mention the Black Widow with some reverence whilst reminiscing about his time on an RAF base during the war.
Other P-61 vids fail to mention that early European widows lacked the top turret. Due to buffering problems.
Sexiest aircraft of WWII in my opinion!
I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or just have a weird taste in planes haha
@@alganhar1 God you're just dripping with bias.
1. At absolute best, they were comparably fast, but the late B models on the 61 were rated for 430 mph, 30 mph faster than the mosquito.
2. The P-61 was absolutely good at several jobs wtf are you talking about? It was famously used to brutal effect in the battle of the bulge as ground pounder, you're off it.
3. Yeah the Mossie was great until it got a whiff of Pacific air and the glue holding it together completely fell apart.
4. The Mossie dimensionally wasn't that much smaller, idk why you're making that sound like it's a big deal.
5. All of this is ignoring that when the two were actually pitted against each other, the p-61 handily out performed the Mossie, which is in line with *literally every pilot that flew a p-61 absolutely raving about its flight characteristics*. It was as big as a b-25 and yet one of the most maneuverable allied fighters.
@@AnaInTh3Skynah the p-61 is an incredibly sexy, thoroughly American plane, with arguably one of if not the most unique profiles from almost every angle.
@@blitz8425 gosh... unique, yes... but I wouldn't go as far as calling it "sexy" 😛
@@AnaInTh3Sky I would, in the same way a rat rod is sexy. Sure it's got big bulky engines, and an unconventional body design, but that's all part of the appeal.
I just wish there could be new "actual video footage" of this beautiful aircraft...
My all time most favourite ww2 era warplane. Also, always remind me to F14 Tomcat, as they have lots of similarities, but for different era.
All was well and good unless you were sitting in the second seat. You couldn't help but notice that you were in the propeller's ark and they cleared the fuselage by about 4", meaning any propeller issues and you were the first one to know about it!
Looks like they did take a lot of the basic p 38 lighting design as inspiration lol. Clean sheet of paper my eye
The p70 was the first u s night fighter by years
A Black Widow crashed on Mt. Stuart South West of Townsville. The wreck has never been found despite numerous searches. A Black Widow was the first model I ever made.
Townsville i’m Queensland or Townsville in South Carolina?
Townsville in North Queensland. Garbutt was the Maim Airforce Base protecting Australia during WW2. At the Airport now there are all the old Photo of the Strip as it was during WW2. @@NS-hs6lt
Wow, you really can read those wik ipe dia articles like no one else.
Yeah. There were some obvious errors and omissions, too.
I come for the footage mostly, if you know about the plane and you expect new information on it. Make yourself a video then.
Saw one several years ago at a local air show doing acrobatic flying. Very cool. I heard the pilot was unfortunately killed in a crash a few yesrs later. Nice to hear the history of this plane.
There are no flying examples of the P-61 currently. There are only three planes in existence and two of them are in museums and one being restored by the Mid Atlantic museum back to flying status. The Air Force museum in Dayton has one and a museum in China has the other one.
I stand corrected. The Smothsonian museum in Virginia also has one on display.
@@johnrosier6256 You must be right! I remember it was black and red and rare, bigger than what you would typically see in any kind of acrobatic display. Now I'm searching to find out what that was. It was in Monroe NC at their airshow maybe 7 years ago. I think he went by something Black Widow, Widowmaker. I'm on a mission. Thanks
@@johnrosier6256 turns out it was an A-26 Invader. 2012 indeed it was black, but in hindsight, looks nothing like a P-61. I think it was the paint job that got me all jazzed up and excited at this video. Cheers
7:48 What activity is going on with the wing, and maybe the roof? What termites eat alloy?
The P-61 had high gloss black paint that showed dirt very well. That looks like foot and heel marks in dust on the wings, probably from those who were working on the turret .50 cals. The photo is of a test fire while zeroing the guns.
All this talk about how great the P-61 was...The beaufighter and the Mosquito were both fitted with centimetric radar and were very successful at intercept and shooting down enemy aircraft....and were probable more manoeuvrable. Mossies even shot down FW 190 intruders who tried sneaking in low and fast...The first the german pilot knew he was being tracked was when his aircraft was hit by a hail of 20mm cannon fire.. Read John Cunningham's exploits in the early part of the war fighting against...'they will never catch me at this speed' intruder pilots..... Plus Germany had a very effective Nightfighter force in the guise of JU 88 and ME 110 using Schrage Musik, even the HE 219 which was purpose designed as a night fighter and far more elegant to look at...used in the later stages of WW2..
Many years ago a P-61 sat on the tarmac here in Tucson. It was there for as long as I can recall. Then it was moved and where it went to I dont know. I believe it was sold to a company to be restored. Does anyone here have in infromatin on what happened to that model?
It's in the Udvar-Hazy Museum.
Thank you!
Airacuda II
I thought the P-47 had perforated air brakes as well.
That was the Dauntless.
In every theater ...Russia ?
Even with two massive, powerful radial engines it was underpowered.
Or oversized. It could and should have been a lot smaller.
Only the very early models. That was pretty quickly alleviated by the time the early to mid B models rolled out.
@@blitz8425 How was the size reduced? They added more power, certainly. But what evidence is there of a size reduction? I've looked at all the published statistics and it appears the weight only rose after the pre-production models and went up still further by the release of the P-61C...
@@simonevans8979 I was addressing it's power issues, not the size 😒 which is why I didn't reply to you.
@@blitz8425 OK.Clarification understood.
Northrup?
But it bears such a striking resemblance to the p38.
Mr Kelly Johnson, would you care to comment?
P-38 but big, fat, overcrowded, late, slow and low.
No relation despite two "intermediate" designs of the P-38. The P-61 is all Northrup. The layout is a smart layout for twin engine single pilot aircraft to keep the crew area as slim as possible. This also give the rear gunner the clearest vison around the aircraft.
It's an interesting plane, but the cockpit has a LOT of gauges and controls for one person to manage, especially when in active combat.
The effect of ergonomics in aviation was not understood during WW2. Errors in switching caused numerous fatal crashes because of fatigue and confusion.
The technology for the magnetron, is the same technology for today's microwave ovens.
It might have been the first US built night fighter but the USAAF certainly used night fighters before the P-61 flew using Bristol Beaufighters and De Haviland Mosquitos both of which had RADAR and the Mosquito though designed as a bomber was easily equal to the P-61 in terms of speed and maneuverability as well as costing far less per unit
You forgot the P-70, a night fighter conversion of the Douglas A-20 attack bomber, it was built as a sort of stopgap whilst the USAAF waited for the P-61 and was used in combat in the Pacific theatre by a couple of squadrons.
@mrjockt Either way my point stands the USAAF used night fighters before the P-61 and if I remember right the p-61 was judged inferior to the Mosquito as a night fighter and only US unwillingness to use foreign aircraft allowed this overpriced over hyped plane to be as famous as it is
@@davidmcintyre8145 When the USAAF actually did a comparison between the P-61 and the Mosquito the P-61 beat the Mosquito in most aspects, what wasn’t mentioned was that the P-61 involved in the comparison had been very heavily “tweaked” by its squadron maintenance people to squeeze out the best performance they could get whereas the Mosquito involved was straight off of the flight line with several hundred flying hours under its belt, and even then the differences between the two wasn’t all that great in the P-61’s favour.
@mrjockt the first night fighter being the Supermarine nighthawk of WWI
@@davidmcintyre8145 The Nighthawk was the first aircraft designed to be a night fighter but never saw service, the first aircraft to actually be used as a night fighter was the B.E.2c which downed a total of 6 German airships in 1916, once the Germans switched to actual aircraft night bombers, the Gotha series, which were capable of outrunning the B.E.2c’s the RFC switched to the Sopwith Camel in the south of the U.K. and single seat Avro 504’s in the north.
Not very good for an interceptor.
Takes far too long before you are ready to go off the runway.
lol. You know this from video games right?
too big, too slow, and two years too late. It was 40 mph slower than designed, it was too heavy and had guns that were amiable by design but usually fixed in combat. The aircraft was needed in '43 but not available in large numbers till '45 when it was just another night fighter. Northrop was making a perfect plane when we needed a "good enough" airplane earlier in the war.
A thoroughly pedestrian retelling of history.