Northrop P-61 Black Widow Night Fighters in Color -1945
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- čas přidán 11. 09. 2024
- Very rare color P-61 night fighter footage shot at the end of World War II. This is an original documentary I put together from unedited, silent archival film. See the 422nd NFS operating out of Florennes, Belgium, where you'll get an up close look at P-61 "No Nothin II." Then you'll move on to the Pacific and the island of Saipan, where you'll see legendary 548th NFS P-61 "Bat Outta Hells." One the highlights of this program is P-61 gun camera film showing a night attack with bombs, rockets and 20mm cannon
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Zeno
My Dad was in the 425th - worked with the radars on these planes. He's alive and well (turns 98 this summer) and finally telling his stories. He's looking for others from the 425th or whose father's/grandfathers may have been in this squadron. We're especially trying to find the pilot of one of the planes my dad took care of, someone from Greensburg PA who flew him around the Eiffel tower while they checked out the radar one morning. Learning all this amazing history has consumed me in the past year.
They usually didn't attack ground targets, but when they did hit ground targets, it was usually a radar vectored target like a ship. For air targets, they would be vectored to an air intercept by a radar station, then when they got close, they'd use their own radar to shoot the enemy down. My grandfather was a turret gunner in the 548th NFS on Iwo Jima and Ie Shima. He flew in Midnight Madness, Bat Outta Hell, and several others and was credited with 2 kills and the longest patrol: 8 hours.
That is amazing! I heard they were great for getting surface subs as well. What a beast, I really think the YF23 Black Widow 2 was a great plane for the name.
Thanks to your grandfather .My grandfather fought in both WW 1&2 . Austro- Hungarian Army in the first one and Canadian army in the 2 one.
Thanks for sharing.
Respect to your grandfather ♡
Korean police action fred!
There mustn't have been much room left in a P-61 after they'd installed the piano -- and the double bass player usually had to sit at the rear of the plane.
Actually each compartment for the rio and gunner could have held two people.
I had the model too.Hung it from the ceiling in my room. Very ominous looking in jet black.
My Granddad was the radar opperator on one of these with 414th NFS, 62 Fighter Wing, in Italy during the spring of 1945. He flew the last combat mission of the 414th on May 2nd when the Germans surrendered their Italian campaign and he remembered watching the GI’s celebrate on the ground as they flew their patrol. VE day was six days later.
To your granddad.... *** Salute!!!! ****
My great uncle was a pilot on a B17 (before he was unceremoniously grounded for an innumerable number of violations - including buzzing his girlfriend's house stateside and drinking while on duty... haha). I love talking to those old guys. Not many of them left. I hope you had the opportunity to hear some real war stories. Godspeed!
Happy Memorial Day to you and your family
My grandma worked at Northrop and helped build these during the war.
AWESOME GLAD SHES ON OUR SIDE!
This was the type of aircarft used to distract the Japanese guards watching the Allied prisoners which were liberated by the first Army Ranger operation, made into a movie, "The Great Raid." Unfortunately, in the movie, they couldn't get any P-61s, so they used a B-25, which the Japanese were familiar with, and it wasn't the same. The Japanese could not take their eyes off the P-61, since it was new, it had radar antennae on the nose, which was unknown by the Japanese, and the pilot put on quite a show, so that the ground troops could crawl the last hundred yards to a ditch without being seen.
I remember reading that and just imagining that scene lol
Great video of a great airplane! Love those Black Widows!👍
Nice job putting this vid together. The jazz music gave it a nice touch!
Thank you for this video. I have always liked the P-61's.
My wife's Grandfather, Garth E Peterson, flew in the 425th NFS in Europe during WWII. His plane was the "Little Nan". His best friend, Robert "Bob" Bolinder, was in the 422nd. Garth was credited with at least two V-1 rocket kills.
Wow. I really liked this. The P-61 is my favorite. My dad was on Saipan in 45 , maybe part of 44. He probably saw some of these. Thanks.
I was going to 3d print a replica, but had not the resources!
Beautiful aircraft.
My Grandpa was a radar operator in one of these planes. They flew at night. Accompany to b52s and other things. Neat aircraft.
My first to see this aircraft; beautiful plane. Will definitely be searching for more footage. Thanks.
Check maam.com They are rebuilding one to fly right now in Redding, PA.
deep scuba Reading, I've actually seen the progress in person back in june. It has a way to go but it is definitely coming together
BobDawg173 You're right... my bad. I saw it a long time ago. I donated a couple of parts and they turned me loose in the caged area when they had the center fuselage in there. Sure is good to see the booms and horizontal stab in place.
Is the aircraft finished today or?
Cant remember what model company(Revell?),but i used to have a model of this bird of prey when i was a kid in the 70's. Wow...watching another vid of a pilot going through the starting and take off of this beast was mind boggling.
Very unique plane, so very few are left.
The P-61... Big brother of the P-38, at least in design. I bet they'd look fantastic flying together.
Hi to TR6RRod! Your uncle recommended my dad to take command of the 418th after his tour. Met your uncle in Colorado Springs at a reunion 1991...one hell of a class act! Still had the pencil-thin mustache he had as the CO. My dad passed in '86. Good to know you're still out there.
Hi DS...........KR here..........is this TR6RRod CS's nephew? Think I know who you are, for sure!
Kevin R Sorry... not the same guy.
deep scuba
Was your dad the CO of the 418th NFS in the Pacific? I'm talking about 1945. My mother's brother, Henry Lee Gurley was a P-61 pilot in the 418th NFS. He left Okinawa at 9:15 p.m. on 8-4-1945 in P-61 number 42-39591 (B-15NO) on a mission to Kyshu Japan......he never returned, and has never been found.
Kevin R Sorry... I got that all confused. The "....is this TR6RRod CS's nephew?" threw me off. Yes my dad was recommended by Carroll Smith. Did you go to the 418th reunion in San Antonio, 2007?
deep scuba Hi again............No, but I sure wish I had gone! I was in the middle of working too many hours, at that time. Once I retired, I had time to do a considerable amount of research. If I understand you correctly, you are the son of Sellers? I think we have spoken before.........??
must have been terrifying to be lit up by those 20mm's at night.
Charles Burnham yeah. They are like anti bombers.
Yes 4 20 mm and 4 50 calibers MA deuces awesome to the max! plus gun mounts in rear of the aircraft! Super powerful for sure and a HUGE AIRCRAFT!
Priceless film.
After seeing it so much with it on, it looks really weird to see it without the dorsal turret.
The p-61 is basically a p-38 on steroids.
HECK YES same design MUCH BIGGER!
Ummm, no. The P-38 was designed and flown in 1939. It was originally a point defense fighter so it was quick on the climb out. The P-61 was a purpose built night fighter equipped with airborne intercept radar and was much more heavily armed than the P-38. One of the biggest difference was the guns used. The P-38 had a 20mm canon and four fifties all in the nose. The P-61 had four 20’s in the belly and four fifties in a turret on top. That was a significant difference! The P-61 was much bigger and much heavier and had a crew of three. One cool thing in the cockpit was a targeting site for the pilot operated like Luke Skywalker’s X-wing fighter.
The Y-wing is just a P-61 in space.
More like the ARC-170 I would say ;)
I did not realize that the P 61 has almost full span flaps.
It's mobile enabled & works on my iPhone. Don't know why you are having a problem.
Well done
Flew like a ballerina, had the technology bar none BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL WOMAN!
Great Video.
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Zeno
I love the sound of this aircraft
this music slaps, good touch
John Anderson, Pilot of "Tennessee Ridge Runner"
Photo Documentary #1 - WWII 422nd Night Fighter Squadron - P-61 Pilot John Anderson
Lovely job on the sound.
Very interesting airplane. I've never seen such an Interesting design before.
I only saw this when I was playing warthunder and I was like "Is this a p38, but better?"
What can you say about this magnificent night fighter. Great video. 👍
were there pianos aboard every P-61?
give me pizza or give me death freakin hillarious dude
Another day at work on the night shift!
Trained at Kissimmee AAF base, Kissimmee, Florida.
Bad ass plane, night striker on enemy planes. Had innovative radar nose cone. Very large for fighter plane also .... believe over 60 ft
I don't think the music is a good idea there, it is as loud if not louder than the planes.
That or perhaps upload it as an alternate version without the music. thanks
Just turn your sound off.
The engine/gun sounds aren't audio from the filming btw
I like the period-correct music. Way better than that rap rubbish that people like to inflict on videos
It's all good
I think they were equipped with pianos
Query - did the gunner control all eight barrels? The 0.50s (4) and the 20 mm (4)?
They say p 82 is better for night fighting missions but this thing has radar and for its time its dangerous. Plus 20mm cannon not just 50cals and one of the fastest twin engined fighter
It’s a p38 that had too much hamburgers
My dad was assigned to the 427th night fighter squadron. that squadron started out in Egypt then to Italy, using the british bristol beaufighter, then they were issued the p-61 in India, he went over the hump many times to China. and ended the war in china. They were ordered to push all the p-61 into a group pour gasoline on them and light them on fire so the chinese would not take them. what a waist.
Bob N No Bob, it was a "waste"!
+Walter Strong They knew what was eventually going to happen with Commies overtaking China.
Cutting edge of technology
@18tangles Just for you good buddy. I hope this chaps your Royal moss covered British butt some more. Just common info on Wiki. If you doubt it I am sure you can find the reference in the bibliography.
However, on July 5, 1944 General Spaatz ordered a competition be held between the P-61 - using an example from the 422nd which had its Double Wasp radials carefully "tuned up" for the competition - against a Mosquito NF.XVII, and Lt.Col. Kratz made a $500 bet in favor of the Mosquito being a faster and more maneuverable night flghting platform. The "tweaked" P-61 proved Lt.Col. Kratz wrong, as according to the 422nd's squadron historian the "tweaked" P-61: "...proved faster at all altitudes, outturned the Mossie at every altitude and by a big margin and far surpassed the Mossie in rate of climb".
The keyword there is "tweaked".
Shannmeister You don't think the Brits would cheat do you? Nah the Brits would never cheat nor lie nor piss on someone's parade.
crosstimbers2 Not all, I mean that wouldn't be cricket, would it?
Shannmeister Not cricket but it is part and parcel of one upmanship.
Poor crossdresser does not know the RAF did not want the USAAF taking too many Mosquitos so the faster far better Mosquito somehow lost, General Spaatz was right the British had thrown the race so to speak, the USAAF got the very poor P 61 and the RAF kept on using the excellent Mosquito.
Excellent use of Nat King Cole soundtrack - Early Morning Blues.
Good plane
What was bad about the plane was it took an hour and a half just crank the damn thing up to get it going
one day we will see this big boy flying again
I seed one when I was a neehigh grasshopper at an air show
Who did all that fantastic "nose art?"
Dope plane
The P-61 was probably the best of the twin-engined fighters. I've always wondered why the night fighters didn't use mufflers for better stealth.
***** The P-61 may have been the most maneuverable fighter in the war despite its size. It had a unique spoiler and aileron control system that gave it extraordinary maneuverability. The P-61 supercharging gave it top performance at a lower altitude where it was believed it would more likely be used. A later version that did not see combat had a much higher top speed at a higher altitude. When the P-61 came to England they actually had a fly-off against the Mosquito - it was pretty much a draw, each had advantages and disadvantages. By the way, the fighter versions of the Mosquito were the slowest versions due to the drag inducing flat windscreen.
The 4 x .50 cal turret had a problem when skewed as it caused turbulence across the tail and elevator. This could be alleviated by locking the gun forward to fire with the cannons. There was a variety of solutions and eventually they resolved the issues, however the turret was also used for the B-29 top front gun and the B-29 got priority for deliveries, so many P-61's didn't get the turret.
It is claimed that a P-61 engaged 3 FW-190's and shot down two of them on a daylight mission. The P-61 also saw considerable use for night interdiction attacks carrying up to 6400 lbs of bombs.
Dan Zervos
Indeed, reportedly the plane could do a split-s, immelmann, or any other precision move -- and supposedly could be slow-rolled with one engine out in the direction of the dead engine.
I'm not seeing the 4-gun turret in the planes shown in this video, however. Whomever was on the other end of that gun camera footage was having a very bad day.
Dan Zervos Even a/c with the dorsal guns may have not had turrets, a lot of them had fixed guns under a fairing that looked similar to the turret.
18tangles While the Mosquito was a remarkable multi role aircraft, having more variants(it could be argued having fewer is a sign of a better design) and larger numbers doesn't necessarily make it better. I don't agree that the P-61 was the best twin engine fighter(far too broad a spectrum) but it was easily arguable a better night fighter than the Mosquito or any of the other ad hoc or even purpose built night fighter aircraft of that time period. Like a lot of aircraft the P-61 was created in a time of rapidly advancing technology, there was nothing wrong with it other than it was deemed to be nearing obsolescence so there was no point in keeping it in production. Also, for a plane it's size at the time it may have seemed ludicrous to call it a fighter but it did have remarkable performance in that role considering it was the size of a medium bomber. Comparing just about anything is meaningless without parameters, often the things being compared are like apples and oranges.
Comparing the Mosquito and the Black Widow really is comparing apples and oranges. The Mosquito was originally designed as a fast attack bomber and its capabilities were seen as usable in many other roles as you noted.
The Black Widow was specifically designed as a night fighter and at that it had no peer.
I would suppose then that given the relative versatility, the Mosquito would be more desirable. That was one of the rare successes at versatility and it was unintentional AFAIK. Most of the time, when there is a deliberate attempt to design a military aircraft that does everything, it tends to be mediocre -- the F-4 arguably stands as a conspicuous example of that.
There is something to be said for an airframe being designed for a specific purpose and excelling at it. That is why the A-10 is so deservedly admired.
This was one nasty girl and at night it was quite deadly hence the name of THE BLACK WIDOW.
How were they able to locate ground targets at night?
Radar
what was the reason why they took off the turet was it because of cost and what did the two gunners do if there was no turret
Buffeting at high speeds.
Z
One gunner played bass, the other piano
That, and when it was fired at night, even when it was expected, it scared the hell out of the pilot.
Projecr 1940 in service- 1944- finisch produrion 1954- very very special-
Would you make available on mobile please? Thanks
Very strange. I thought it was the Germans who had a nightfighter/anti-bomber weapon system called schrage musik (jazz music)...
'Schräge Musik' refers to oblique-firing 20mm cannons mounted in the fuselage, allowing the night fighter to attack from below
Thumbs up for the dinner music :)
The P-61 looks like a P-38 that needs to go on a diet.
Korea ???? Playin that Boogie Woogie ....
Edit. Never mind. I see now where they are. Duh.🤦♂️
the ones in Germany had no .50s on top in a turret ?
The early production run of the P-61 didn't have a turret its was add it on later
The B-29 had priority on the 4 gun turrets.
I read that the turrets caused buffeting at high speeds so they weren't retained.
ZenosWarbirds I've heard that too, when the turret was rotated, but the added ability to shoot up into a target and follow it right or left was a plus. But I still think it was the B-29 program and it's demands for the 4 gun turret that caused the P-61 to lose out. If buffeting was a problem they could leave the turret pointing forward and elevate the guns for a belly shot.
heard the Same thing Capt Cliff
Help get the P-61 back in the air!! Kickstarter campaign to rebuild one of the remaining four left!! www.kickstarter.com/projects/1473616645/the-p-61-black-widow-restoration-project
Oh to have been around in 1946 with lots of cash...
Northrop P-61C Black Widow Gud working wor history ; real life and Measurement maintain life and the holy oil of the hill live in Jerusalem iankaikiseen life. Thank you for your accomplishment war live in the country .. eath be safed tansk USA .
Baruch Hashem
Underpowered and of short range the P-61's results did not justify the time and effort put into the A/C. Only a dozen or so enemy planes shot down. Far more P-61's were lost in landing accidents and shot down by "friendly" fire. An interesting A/C to be sure but a failure nonetheless.
4. 4 P-61’s were lost in WWII. None to enemy action. And they downed 158 enemy aircraft. Do you just say things and hope they’re true?
Melvin Johnson= troll
東京裁判のとき、ウイドウ偵察機は、たぐい稀な電子通信傍受で、冤罪が起きぬよう努力し、陛下も救われたらしい。
These would have to go close to winning the 'ugliest aircraft' tag. With or without the piano.
oh it has radar,who invented radar just wouldn't be much of a night fighter with no radar guess you yanks would have to eat more carrots,
I read that the P 61 was so slow it could not catch any Luftwaffe planes and it had to be extensively modified to get close.
"The American P-61 Black Widow night fighter had an inauspicious start to its combat operations in the ETO. Some believed the P-61 was too slow to effectively engage in combat with German fighters and medium bombers, a view which the RAF apparently shared, based on the performance of a single P-61 they had received in early May 1944."
The DH Mosquito was much faster and better as a night fighter.
The USAAF insisted on a trial between a Mosquito NF and a P 61, the P 61 won but the USAAF were suspicious the RAF had deliberately let the slow P 61 win because they wanted all the Mosquitos they could get and did not want the USAAF taking any as they had already taken the Beaufighter, Spitfire and Mosquito for jobs their own planes could not handle.
The last model (p-61-c) could go around 420 or 430 miles per hour. Thats like 10 miles per hour shy of catching up to a p51 mustang at top speed
Squilliam.
The P 61 C was reasonably fast but too late for the war and it hardly saw any service because jets were starting to enter service, by the time it could do 430 mph there were piston engine planes that were considerably faster and jets even faster.
Barrie you are correct. An interesting A/C but overall a failure.
Look it's fairy, I mean barri
That is one of the ugliest planes i have ever seen
Thomas Pratten your joking right? this baby is sexy as hell!
You’re crazy man! BW was cool looking!