Northrop P-61 / F-61 Black Widow

History of the Northrop P-61/F-61 Black Widow

The Northrop P-61 Black Widow became the first U.S. aircraft designed specifically for a night combat art platform. With an efficient nose radar, distinctive black overall livery, well-trained three (though sometimes two) specialists, and a heavy base armament consisting of cannons and heavy machine guns, the Widow entered her complex. All the big scenes of World War II. The P-61 can operate in total darkness with the help of its onboard systems, positioning itself to provide the last moment of enemy aircrews. Black Widow appeared in large numbers in 1944, then served under the command of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) and served after the war until she retired from the newly formed USAF in 1952.

The P-61 became one of Northrop's most successful products ever and fundamentally made the company famous. The P-61 (later renamed the F-61) fell out of service during the Korean War and briefly missed the conflict.

While older Douglas A-20 Havoc and D-70 systems were replaced in World War II, the P-61 itself was replaced by North American F-82 "Twin Mustangs" prior to the Korean conflict.

Background

Night warriors retained a limited, if primitive, existence during the First World War. The planes were sent into the night sky, and when locating enemy bombers or observing balloons, crews often had to rely on their keen vision and senses.

After the war, the aircraft business changed its production goals and stuck to more traditional and conservative creations, and specialized systems such as night fighters were eliminated. With World War II in full swing in Europe, Adolf Hitler dispatched his forces to conduct coordinated air strikes against countries such as Luxembourg, Belgium, France and Poland, and within a few years used land and air power to eventually own half of Europe. With Western Europe now under control, he set his sights on the island nation across the English Channel.

His own commanders assured him that victory was imminent, because the same tactics could be used against the British once air superiority was in their favor. This initially involved blatant daytime bombing raids, but these soon resulted in unacceptable casualties for the Luftwaffe due to the strong reserves of British pilots. To rectify the situation and still give himself a chance to win, Hitler turned to a relentless night bombing raid on London itself and all associated communications and radar installations.

This proves that the Brits have a big question that they have few answers to.

The Royal Air Force (RAF) lacked specialized combat equipment designed to deal with incoming enemy fighters and bombers at night. Although the island nation has made good progress in the development of ground-based radar and a networked communications front, the island nation still needs "air boots" to counter German attacks. On hand is a basic fighter lineup from Supermarine Spitfires, Hawker Hurricanes and Bolton Paul Defiants.

The Spitfire was a remarkable fighter, legendary to say the leastbut it only became so when it fought enemy planes during the day. Far from being a night fighter, its unique ground handling (due to its narrow landing gear) proved difficult, if not downright dangerous, in the dark.

The Hawker Hurricane, on the other hand, proved useful enough in night combat, but it was essentially a modern fighter from a bygone era - surpassed in many ways. The Defiant became an extremely short-term solution for night combat, but it evolved from an airframe that suffered heavy casualties during its days as a day mount. To make matters worse, the Rebel's armament is also limited to a rear powered turret, and it's not the fastest thoroughbred in the stable when it comes to performance. Experiments led to the use of sophisticated airborne radar systems in the larger Bristol Blenheim and Bristol Beaufighter airframes - both of which developed into adequate night fighters with slightly better performance than their smaller fighter derivatives. Although larger, these aircraft have a certain speed and can lock onto approaching air targets as needed.

In any case, Britain desperately needs an answer, and will need it soon.

The armament is further complemented by the aforementioned 4 x Hispano M2 20mm cannons, mounted on the ventral hull and fixed forward firing, each with a capacity of 200 rounds. All in all, this makes Black Widow a true night sky killer, as a single shot from such a collection can easily damage - if not destroy - vital components of equally lethal enemy fighters and bombers.

To increase the utilization of the P-61 platform, it was later used for ground attack missions. Thus, four hardpoints (one pair inside the engine and one outside the engine) could carry up to 1,600 pounds, each consisting of various types of external guns. In addition, the wings serve as springboards for 5-inch HVAR missiles.

The midline hull hardpoints on some models can also hold 1,000 lb bombs.

In general, the Widows delivered from production replaced the makeshift Douglas A-20 Havoc and Douglas D-70 (basically modified A-20) night fighters and British aircraft in service with the US Army. The P-61 proved to be a huge upgrade for these crews.

Widows of Europe

On their way to Europe, the Black Widow group was trained in the P-61A and YP-61 models in Orlando, Florida, before being shipped to a British mainland base across the Atlantic. Once there, Widows took to the night sky, only to find occasional action, mostly against slower, already damaged fighters and bombers.

Most of the time, missions proved to be long, tedious, and obscure things, but when the enemy found it, tensions dropped noticeably.

The widows there were called in to fight the revenge/terror weapons Hitler used against London in the form of Fiesler V-1 "buzz bombs". These unguided missiles can be fired at targets outside the North Sea from positions on German soil. They were indeed as effective as weapons of terror as expected, but the resolve of the British people proved to be greater than Hitler's dark vision.

By the end of the "Age of Widows," about nine V-1 rockets were confirmed to have been destroyed by the P-61 crew.

By this point, hardly any enemy air targets hovered over Germany and its territory, making the P-61's presence in the theater largely meaningless. To take full advantage of this situation, the U.S. military uses the P-61 as a ground-attack "Night Intruder," hitting enemy targets with its powerful artillery armament and excellent handling characteristics.

As a result, the Widows played an increasingly important role in the ground attack, especially during the decisive Battle of the Bulge ("Battle for the Bulge"), when these aircraft flew almost 24/7 in support of the Allied forces and became an "opportunity" targets" such as locomotives and trucks, and concentrated German troops. The Widow proved to be the most formidable enemy of these hapless Germans on the ground, and many (those who survived) remember seeing this mighty black beast from the sky. Widows three aces were eventually produced, with each kill being split equally among the entire Widows crew. Not bad for a plane with few targets to shoot down.

In general, Black Widow's P-61s were more or less successful in European operations. No P-61 was lost in enemy action in the theater. The crews flying along the Mediterranean were there, and their widows received it too late in the war to even record a single death.

The Widow in the CBI Theater

Widows in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater were luckier, having to patrol most of the territory of the other widow crew. However, as Japan caught up with its forces in defending the homeland, it turned out that the CBI widow crew had fewer and fewer targets to intercept.

Widows on the other side of the Pacific

In the Pacific theater, the Black Widow rose to fame with its extraordinary range and powerful radar. She was deployed in large numbers and immediately set about making her presence known. As it turns out, most of Japan's fighters and bombers are thin-skinned, and the inherent strength of the Black Widow makes these weapons of war short.

Other targets include the huge fleet deployed by the Japanese war machine. But again, sanity-less nighttime targeting proved to be a tedious affair on missions where the occasional force was used.

The Japanese bombers were punished a lot more than once, but they met their fate at the hands of the widowed crew.

An interesting Pacific theater P-61 kills an abandoned Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The crew's pilot, who was killed by an anti-aircraft explosion and severely damaged nose, landed over friendly territory from a damaged B-29. The B-29, still on autopilot, happily kept going straight in the friendly race.

So a P-61 was called in to shoot down this mighty four-engine behemoth. After several shots from the 20mm cannons on the fuselage and engine, the large machine capsized and fell into open water.

Draw the curtains

In a way, the P-61 is informally considered the last Allied airstrike of WWII. The enemy plane - a Japanese Nakajima Ki-44 - reportedly engaged in an evasive maneuver after encountering an American P-61, its machine guns firing at the Nakajima fighter. The enemy fighter jet flew just a few meters above the waves and eventually crashed into the sea, killing the pilot and his mount in a fiery explosion. The P-61 in question was a P-61B-2, aptly named "Lady in the Darkness," controlled by Lieutenant Robert W. Clyde. The event took place sometime between August 14th and 15th.

If credit is given to that, the kill would have been done without a single shot.

Did the widow fight for Korea?

Not exactly. The Black Widow was nearly replaced by the Curtiss-Wright F-87 Black Hawk, an all-weather jet interceptor doomed to failure by the cancellation of the XP-87 program itself (and its two completed prototypes). While the Widow was still in demand, it was gradually replaced by the F-82F/G Twin Mustang as the USAF's dedicated night fighter. The last Black Widow retired in May 1950, thanks to her permanent departure from mainland Japan. As fate would have it, the Korean War (1950-1953) would begin on June 25, 1950 - nearly overtaking Black Widow.

The entire Widows series was retired in 1952.

Conclusion

The postwar widow served with the first all-weather squadrons in the United States and was the first aircraft selected for service by the US Air Defense Command in 1949. The USADC was tasked with defending the United States from Soviet air strikes. By 1950, however, the type was barely visible in the U.S. Air Force's inventory, as jet fighters proved to be the logical next step. Unfortunately, quite a few widows were sent to the scrap dealer's torch and never seen again.

A few rare models exist in a few museums today, including one at the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. This particular model was found in France and donated to a museum for display - it is very rare to see this beautiful bird in person.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Avanti Series Variants

The initial production models were designated simply as P. 180 "Avanti". A militarized form emerged as the P. 180M and was given a fuselage which could be modified for passenger or light cargo usage.

The P. 180RM was developed for radio calibration and the P. 180AMB is to serve in the air ambulance role. The P. 180APH is another specialized Avanti platform, this one intended for aerial cartography.

The P. 180 "Avanti II" is an all-modern update of the original P. 180 complete with better avionics and improved engine performance. This form secured its civil certification in 2005. The P. 180MPA (detailed elsewhere on this site), based in the Avanti II, is a military market form intended for the maritime patrol role. Uprated PWC turboprops are used for improved performance and five-bladed propeller (Hartzell) complete its design.

Saab provides the electronics fit and Rockwell Collins the avionics suite.

The P. 180 Avanti EVO is the currently-marketed form of the Avanti line. It has a crew of one or two with seating for seven to nine passengers. Empty weight is 8,375lb against an MTOW of 12,100lb. Power is from 2 x Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66B turboprop engines developing 850 horsepower.

Maximum speed is 460 miles per hour with a cruising speed of 365 miles per hour. Range is out to 1,530 miles (ferry) and its service ceiling is 41,000 feet. The P. 180 is marketed as the fastest turbo-prop powered business aircraft with performance akin to some jet types. It is also said to run quieter and more efficiently than its jet-powered brethren - certainly putting it ahead of the pack.

The Avanti managed a cost-to-coast American trip in under four hours (officially 3:51).

The Unmanned P. 1HH Hammerhead

The P. 1HH "Hammerhead" (detailed elsewhere on this site), as mentioned above, is an in-development drone form of the P. 180 Avanti II airframe. It is being designed to carry munitions for attack missions but can also undertake scouting and intelligence/reconnaissance roles as well.

Debuted publicly at Paris Air Show 2013, a first-flight of this system was had during December of 2013 and the launch customer appears to be the Italian Air Force which has contracted for three of the type. The UAE has ordered eight of its own.

The program suffered a notable setback in May of 2016 when the sole prototype crashed during testing. The second prototype then followed it into the air in July of 2017.

Piaggio P. 180 Avanti Specification

BASICS

MANUFACTURING

ROLES

DIMENSIONS

WEIGHTS

POWER

PERFORMANCE

ARMAMENT

VARIANTS