NORTHROP P-61 BLACK WIDOW 73
Northrop P-61 Black Widow
second prototype followed that November and
had radar installed in April 1943.
Service deliveries started in May 1944,
when the 348th Night Fighter Squadron
(NFS) of the 481st Night Fighter Group
(NFG) received their Black Widows. The first
P-61A production models were fielded with
an Army-required Olive Drab/Neutral Grey
scheme based on previous scientific testing ofvarious colour combinations – the ‘Jet Black’
covered Widows did not make it out the factory
door until February of 1944. While the P-61
was exceptionally manoeuvrable for such
a large machine, it remained troublesome.
Nevertheless, the first P-61 kill was recorded on
30 June 1944, when a Black Widow of the 6th
NFS downed a ‘Betty’ bomber over the Pacific.
In Europe, the crews continued training while
debates raged over the night fighting virtues of
the Black Widow, the Mosquito, and the Bristol
Beaufighter. Once the Black Widow did get
into action, it found success against a variety
of targets: fighter aircraft, bombers, V-1 ‘buzz
bombs’, and ground targets. It also carved out awidely feared reputation with enemy bomber
aircrews that flew night missions.
It was the Pacific Theatre where the Black
Widow truly made its mark, assisted by its
exceptional range and powerful radar.
Japanese fighters and bombers were thin-
skinned for the most part and were no match
for the firepower of the Black Widow. On the
night of 14 August 1945, a P-61B of the 548th
NFS named ‘Lady in the Dark’ was unofficially
credited with the last Allied air victory before
VJ Day. The Black Widow might have arrived
late in the conflict, but it had ensured its place
in history. Production of the Black Widow
totalled 706 aircraft of all variants.Above: As dusk falls the P-61 embraces the
night. The P-61 was the first US combat aircraft
designed from the beginning as a night fighter
and optimised for air-to-air combat during the
nocturnal hours.