The Mysterious Plane That Made 127 Kills Without Ever Being Seen
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- Опубликовано: 22 сен 2020
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The first operational U.S. aircraft specifically designed as a night-fighter was the P-61 Black Widow. Created in 1940 by Northrop Aviation, in collaboration with the British Royal Air Force, the P-61 was also the first aircraft designed to use radar.
With its mysterious appearance and name, the Black Widow ruled the night in the waning months of World War 2. It would even collect the last confirmed air-to-air kill on the last night of the war...
- As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. - 
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One of the odd problems they ran across was the paint. Initially they painted them flat black which would seem intuitive. But they found out that when the plane was lit by searchlights the flat black paint would literally glow around the edges of the plane. It turned out that the gloss black paint eliminated the problem. I always loved this plane. Imagine, a fighter the size of a medium bomber.
The P-61 being restored at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum is in a hangar next to a B-25 and they really are nearly the same size. They've been working on it for almost 30 years and it's beginning to look like it may fly in the near future. I live about an hour away hope to be there to see it.
I get what you're saying. Same thing happened to a religious building I wont name. It's in a prominent position in an Australian city and when the locals heard it was being built they put in objections. One objection was to not have it's outer granite facade as polished. It had to be an unpolished mat finish. Needless to say it lights up like a Christmas tree. too bad
I always thought the Grumman F7F Tigercat was a sexy looking plane that should have been a dedicated night fighter.
There's even a stranger, as in non-intuitive, story I read about this. When low-observable paint schemes were being tested, the winner was found to be a pink hue!! This was quickly squelched under the immediate reaction that, "Our pilots won't fly pink airplanes!!"
Barry Ervin
I was a member of Mid Atlantic Air Museum and used to go there once a month to volunteer. Joined back in late 90’s when I lived about 45 minutes away and even worked the airshow numerous times at the field. Watching everything that went into piecing this puzzle back together and the story of the museum procuring the aircraft is incredible. It’ s been about two years since last there but seeing that P-61 on it’s landing gear, man that beauty is big. You anyone reading this take time to go to this museum, it’s a great place and you will get to see what will be the only flying P-61 in the world, it’s incredible and their WWII air show is tops in the country.
My memory of this plane was as a five year old living in Long Beach CA in 1944. Mom and Dad would fix a lunch on Dad's day off and we would pile into the car and park outside the airplane factories almost every weekend and watch the new planes coming out of the factories. One weekend, the doors opened and out came the most spectacular airplane we'd ever seen - it was shiny black with two engines and looked like a giant P-38. The propellers were turning and the sunlight shining through the overhead camouflaged netting and those yellow, spinning prop tips will never be forgotten!! It was better than any movie I had seen and still is imprinted in mind to this day at 83 years old!.
Theres something primal about this plane that just tickles my brain. It just looks like a predator
That's an awesome story, thanks for sharing that!
🫡
I love that story! Congratulations!
👍💙You lucky SOB; I was not born until 11-- 44, one of the best years to have been born; to have lived thru the 50s & 60s as a juvenile & young adult when America was a great place full of happy people looking forward to a prosperous future. Now, the USA is a dismal country with unhappy people & I have had to leave, for my own sanity. I feel sad.
My father trained in a P61 as a radar operator for the Korean War. He was one of the first EWO's, and flew 38 missions in Korea, I think mostly in the P61. After that, he was a B52 Squadron commander in the 60's, helping maintain the "Nuclear Umbrella". By the time I was 6, I had been inside a B52, and seen a bunch of the newest aircraft up close. Exciting childhood.
My grandpa was a gunner on a P-61 in Europe. He was shot down over Germany in April, 1945. It was never confirmed if he was hit by flak or if he hit a tree, but he saw the bailout signal and bailed out successfully with the rest of the crew. Unfortunately the pilot went down with the plane and never made it. He landed on the roof of a barn and broke his leg. Luckily it was in occupied territory, and the British 10th Scotts Guard picked him up and brought him to the nearest field station, located at a place called Bergen Belsen, recently liberated 3 days prior…
I wish I was born sooner so I could talk to him about his experiences. Luckily my dad heard them, but only late at night at the American Legion Post, where he had to drag my grandpa back home for dinner. Can’t imagine being raised by that generation. Incredible men.
I built a model of this aircraft back in the late 1960's. I had never heard of it, nor seen any data on or about it. At the time, finding stuff out meant a trip to the library, and my local library was not very good. It wasn't till the world wide web started growing that I found even a little info on this plane. Thanks for covering this topic, and shedding a little light on this amazing airframe and its stories.
bumped into the same restrictions when i was building a diorama with the monogram model in the early 80s.
Yeah, the instructions gave a tiny little blurb, like 2 sentences in the beginning, but there was nothing of substance. It gave all the dimensions and specifications, but nothing about when or where it was deployed, how many were made, or any of that info. It was a very sexy model though.
yes i did too in the 70s, could never get much info on it though, now i see why
I had a P-61 model in the early 90s with the “Time’s a Wastin” decal set. It was cast in black plastic and I tried so hard to keep it looking clean and having to paint it by some of the glue squeezed out of some of the seems and I smudged it wiping it off. I finally went with the OD green paint scheme with the white nose.
I've built this model a couple of times because it was always my favorite plane.
I loved how it looked.
One of the most famous uses of the P61 was in the raid at Cabanatuan where over 500 POWs were liberated. The P61 was used as a distraction so the Japanese guards wouldn't see the raiders crawling through the grass toward the camp.
Is that the one the movie. The Great Raid
was based on? I've seen the movie several times but never known the P-61 was involved.
Also I didn't know they were on the drawing board in 1940
Yes it was.
Great Book...
I remember reading about that in the book Ghost Soldiers. Very gripping read. Cant recommend that book enough.
@@roryschweinfurter4111he raid from the movie great raid which was the raid at Cabanatuan took place in early 1945. The P-61 was introduced in 1944.
My father was a flight officer in the 418th squadron of the 5th Air Force in 1943 and 1944 in the Pacific theater. He operated the radar in both the P-70’s and the P-61’s in addition to being the navigator in B-25’s operating out of New Guinea. My dad flew 101 combat missions! When he passed away in 2014 at the age of 96, I received his military papers and the log of his 101 combat flights detailing what airplanes in which he flew on which dates. It is a family treasure. Occasionally, I would ask him to tell me stories about his combat experiences. He always claimed he was not a hero and was just lucky to make it back alive. Many of his buddies in the squadron were not so lucky. He always spoke fondly of the Black Widow and was proud of his plane’s air support for McArthur’s return to the Philippines. I wish he was still alive to see this wonderful video on the P-61.
I hope your dad's materials eventually wind up in the WWII museum in New Orleans.
My mother's neighbor flew B-25s under Chenault in China. He told us a P-61 downed two zeroes stalking him that he never saw. The pilot contacted him and asked him to confirm the kills before they were shot down. When he agreed his saw two flashes.
We may be? some how in relation? Gramma worked for all these makers with clearances, several "Gramps" fought in all theaters, "I SUSPECT" as first EWO's from PBY's in the Battle for the Atlatic all the way all Allies! and the frence?
My dad was in Chennaults 14 Air Force and spent most of his time at Kunming air base. I discovered his cache of war photographs and other things when I was about 6 years old. He had taken pictures of all of the planes that were on the base and prominent among them were many photos of the P-61 Black Widow. A magical beast to a 6 year old.
@@JohnWilson-nu1sq I had some of Grammas post war aviation pics with her and her husband, all in so cal, one husband was J Turpin allegedly a pow from the Japs. all test planes "I suspect" as they had ground crew mentioned with names in her pics. she was on the Concord to London and the 747 to China after Nixion cut the deal.
I’m glad one of these P-61s is being restored to airworthiness in my home state of Pennsylvania it looks great so far . The aircraft still has probably another half a decade or so left in its journey back to the air. It’s located in Reading PA at the Mid-Atlantic air museum.
It sure has taken along long long time. I wonder what's holding this iconic aircraft up so long? I do understand parts etc are difficult to obtain but so are those for the XP-82 twin mustang but it's done as is another B-29. CNC technology in machine work one with plans can make dam near any WWII aircraft now. I just really really want to see a P-61 fly again as that would be absolutely amazing. I fly an R/C P-61 currently and dam that's one bad ass looking bird.
@@warrenchambers4819 The aircraft they recovered was from a mountain in SE Asia somewhere. It was something like 75-80 completely gone. That cant help. They have a website where you can read the planes history if you google it
I remember being a Kindergarten age kid in the '80s and the brochure said they expected it to be flying by the mid 1990s. Clearly things hadn't gone so well... but I'd rather it be right than rushed and crash...
I am from Reading Pennsylvania, I heard from on of the people at Mid-Atlantic air museums that p-61 my fly in the 2022 wwii weekend.
I love seeing the progress they've made every year. Hope I'm there to see it fly again!
Worked for a guy in the early 70s that was an AA gunner on a merchant ship. He was in a Philipine harbor on an ammo ship but they couldn't fire at Japanese night raids for fear of hot shell casings possibly getting into the cargo area. So they watched as enemy aircraft fell flaming over the harbor due to P61 patrols. He said he would buy a dinner for anyone whom he met that served in P61s.
Thanks for this video. My dad was a radar operator in one flying out of New Guinea. He spent a lot of time at the Mid Atlantic Air museum. He was a principal organizer for the Night Fighters association up until they disbanded due to so many members passing away. He joined them in 2004 and has been in Arlington Cemetery ever since. I have a model of that plane hanging in my office for decades.
What Group was your father in? Mine was in the 41st in New Guinea and the Philippines.
@@dennisburdue5052 547th I think. Sadly anyone who could confirm that has passed away. He probably knew your dad.
My Dad was a Aircrew in the back seat and became a Naval Flight Officer, he met my Mom while training on the Black Widow in Vero Beach Naval Airstation back in the day.
Fun fact the YF-23, competitor for the F-22, was nicknamed the Black Widow 2 after this amazing aircraft!
Had to google it, great looking jet!
They even painted the hour glass in red on the belly, but ticked off the top brass.
The hourglass wasn't intentional, they painted the tips of doors red as a safety measure, and when they closed the doors it became an hourglass.
@@bedlamite42 but the brass didn't see it that way.
What kind of arse do u have to be to demand that a small diamond shape gets overpainted?
My dad was in the Air Force while this plane was still in service and he absolutely loved it, he was a ground radar operator.
My dad also tracked some of the first jets on radar
My dad flew B-29s in Korea. When he returned in 1953, and before he transitioned to B-47s, he did some ferry work, flying various aircraft around the world. One of the ferry missions in his logbook was to take a P-61 to Eglin AFB in Florida. When i asked him about it, he told me that the aircraft was likely going to be used for weapons testing--as a target. He wasn't absolutely certain about that, but I later read an account which seems to confirm that--Donald Lopez, a famous air force fighter & flight test pilot wrote in his memoir that he was stationed at Eglin at about that same time, and that lots of decommissioned WWII-era planes, including P-61s were among the targets for testing of new missiles.
@@tomterific390 I never knew they had b 29s in Korea mostly the b 17 and twin mustang
@@lollardismontop1026 By the time WWII ended, both the the B-17 and the B-24 were obsolete, and had both been replaced by the B-29. Even before the Army Air Force became the U.S. Air Force, almost all '17s & '24s were in the scrap yards. The few that remained in service were used as target tugs, targets themselves as drones, air-sea rescue aircraft, and as squadron hacks-essentially routine utility operation, like delivering the mail and doing beer runs. I know there were some in theater--some of my Dad's old Kodachrome slides from 1953 show B-17s in the background at Kadena, but they have no gun turrets. As far as I know none were used in front line operational combat roles. And yes, Twin Mustangs were in Korea, but just a handful, for the simple reason that there weren't that many even in existence--less than 300 were produced in total, and the Air Force top brass viewed the potential Russian threat in Europe to be more important than the "police action" in Korea, so most foreign based F-82s, like most B-50s, were held back from Korea in case the Soviets got frisky in Europe.
My father flew the Black Widow in combat missions in the Pacific.
My father was an aviation torpedoman in the Pacific during World War II. He said he got to see these planes a few times. He was a big fan. I remember him telling me about them when I was a boy as we built a model of one together.
The last WW II veteran that I personally knew was a Black Widow pilot in the Pacific. I recall him saying how he loved the power of the two R2800 engines that allowed about any maneuver with ease. Harry passed away in 2010.
My Dad a mechanical engineer for General Electric was involved in the radar controlled turret design for the Black Widow I
@David Vance Schenectady
thanks to your dad i can use that forward turret in dog fights in war thunder lol, his legacy is alive, the 4 cannons are legendary.
Did not know it was radar controlled. I thought the radar was just to help home in on targets
@@sheeplord4976 The turret could be could be fired by the gunner in the 2nd seat (behind the pilot) in the forward cockpit, he had a reduced sized radar screen, could also be fired by the ro in the rear facing bubble at the back of the gondola, both positions had swiveling gunner's seats.
@@mychaldbeausoleil3043 do you mean to say the gunner and radar operator were trained to aim the turrets solely from looking at the targets position on the radar display?
My Pops was an engine mechanic and just loved them
That is so cool!
Loved who, the Nazis? Geez. That’s crazy.
@@JT-in5le he obviously means the plane genius. Also I get sarcasm but that wasn't even an attempt to add anything to the conversation piss off
Shawn Young ‘‘twas a joke, my man”. Easy sailor...put the gun down
@@JT-in5le ahh that's 100 percent my bad can't take common sense for granted nowadays everyone's looking to get offended over something. Well thank you for clearing that up for me and sorry once again. Enjoy youre evening
My grandad served as a crewmember on P-61s until the war ended in Europe. He was transferred to B-29s in the Pacific as a "flying sergeant".
My granddad worked on the .50 cal turret system and trained the gunners on how to use them. Before that, he taught gunners for B-17s, B-24s, and later B-29s.
The P-61has been one of my favorite aircraft ever since I built a model of one as a child. I read and watch videos about them every time I can.
P-61 was one of my favorite WWII fighters, and there's not much out there in the way of documentaries on it. Thanks for posting this!
Would say the P-38 has always been one of my favorates of all time - this craft is a P-38 on roids
There isnt much footage/pics or stats for 3 reasons...
1: It was brought into combat too late for WW2.
2: It was so overated, and underpowered etc, it didnt do anything worth talking about.
3: The RAF Mosquito NF IV
Reminds me of when de Havilland Mosquitoes did a prison break.
That P61 has to be one of my favorite aircraft. Awesome Dark Skies for the break down information of how important this beautiful thing was.
I made this model airplane when I was a kid. It was my father's favorite, since we made it together. I gave it to him when I finished it. He gave it back to me six months before his death. It is currently on shelf in a cabinet in my bedroom.
Blessed be his memory always friend. Shalom.
Very epic, Jack Northrops designs are amazing
Fokker G 1 was his template then...
A P-61 squadron flew off the same strip as my Dad's P-38 group at Lingayen,Luzon,PI.They did a great job of stopping the nightime bombing raids.
Interesting fact left out of this video:
During the incredibly daring and incredibly successful rescue of 513 POW's from a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines in 1945, a P-61 Black Widow was used.
The 121 Army Rangers and Filipino guerillas had to crawl across hundreds of yards of open ground to reach the camp, with out being detected. Headquarters was radioed, and they sent a P-61. The Black Widow did aerial stunts and acrobatics low level just outside of the camp, distracting and mesmerizing the guards so the Rangers could slip in.
The story is incredible. The book Ghost Soldiers (author Hampton Sides) is amazing. The movie (The Great Raid, 2005) is also good, if you aren't a reader. Though note that a P-61 isn't used in the movie for obvious reasons.
The 4 machine gun blister on top made it badass !!
My father was an armorer for the P61. He loved that plane. I must have built a dozen or more models as a kid. The squadron insignia was designed by Walt Disney Studios (547th NFS). The first time I saw the Widow at the Smithsonian I literally had tears in my eyes. But the damn Enola Gay blocks getting a good picture!!! I did make a contribution in dad’s name to NAAM towards restoration and in return received a credit card piece of unusable skin from the aircraft. It’s a cherished piece.
Armorer in what way??
He serviced the 20mm cannons and .50 Caliber machine guns.
Curiously, the P-61 at the USAF museum sits adjacent to Bockscar, the B-29 that dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki.
Poor thing can’t catch a break!!
@@butchs.4239 What's so curious about it !! Get a life ..
My grandfather used to meet up with a group of old men in the mornings to have coffee and shoot the breeze. I got to go with him a handful of times, and there was a guy in this group that was about 10 years older than the others. I was really into planes at the time and I had found out that he had been in WWII. I asked him what he did in the war and he said he had flown P-61 night fighters. I shut up and just listened; he told stories about how dangerous it was. More importantly, he told one story about being attacked by planes without propellers. His crew had been one of the first to encounter the ME262 jet fighter.
Great video! My father was a radar mechanic in a Night Fighter squadron and he kept the radar systems on P-61's operating.
if you love the P61, you should read 'Queen of the Midnight Skies' by my dad, Garry Pape. I grew up watching my dad study everything about this plane - so many amazing memories
I remember going to the national air and space museum and geeking all over this plane, my parents where so confused lol
AF museum was the first time I ever knew this thing existed, after seeing a massive fighter the size of a b25 then reading about how badass it was, its been my favorite ww2 plane ever since
It is my favorite. Sooooo cool looking.
The P-61 is one of my favorite warbirds, such style, tech, power and one hell of a gorgeous plane.
That was a good video. My dad was the navigator radar man in a P 61 in the later part of the war in the Pacific theater. When I was a youngster I thought the P 61 was really neat but my favorite was similar in design. The P 38 was my dream machine. Ya know how it is when you're a kid. I would dream about flying in them and my dads' stories would bring life to those dreams. I'm sure glad he made it home especially since I wouldn't be here if he didn't. My brother was/is the WWII baby and I was born in the fifties. I really enjoyed dads' stories but as you can imagine mom hated them. I understand now. Oh well. I sure miss dad. He was a good man.
My dad was a Cpl in the 51st Combat Military Police (77th ID). One of hundreds of tasks while on Okinawa during that battle was to transport one of the crew of a P61 along with reconnaissance footage to another location. I had never heard of the plane before he talked about it in the 70s and 80s. He referred to it as the P61 Night Fighter. This one was outfitted with recon camera equipment. He also saw prints and blowups from the missions and I was probably more impressed by his take on the film used.
Grandfather flew on one in the pacific and specifically over “the hump.” Understanding was that he was reactivated after the war during the insurrection in Pakistan.
I’m 35 now, and this has been my favorite Allied plane since I was a child. Thanks for the video.
The P-61 was also used for the first manned ejection seat firing test. I read an article about it in Air and Space Magazine as a kid in the late 80's/early 90's.
people complaining about the way you speak ... ignore them, I hear you just fine. Furthermore, your delivery is unique and distinctive. I appreciate that. Thanks for bringing up an article about one of my favorite aircraft of all time. I didn't know that it was too slow to catch other aircraft like the Me410, pity that they hadn't made it faster. I also found it interesting from reading the comments that the flat black paint glowed around the edges when illuminated by search lights and the gloss black didn't, very interesting thanks and HT to "Yeah it's me" in the thread
One of my favorite models I ever built as a kid.
Yea me too my dad got me a revel kit we built it in the build we deleted parts of the engines and replaced them with some toy car motors ran the wires internal to the weapon bay and put a 9v battery in it then we rigged a tether on the ceiling so it could fly in circles
My father-in-law, Edward Cwalinski, served in the Army during WWII, and was stationed in Hawaii at Ft Shafter. He was present at the attack on December 7th, 1941. Actually, he served from 1936 through 1959. In his momentos collected during the war he ended up with the squadron flag of the 418th Night Fighter Squadron that served in the Pacific. Frank Sheldon's name is on the flag, along with a P-61 over a red circle in the center of the white background (Silk Japanese flag). The locations that the 418th Night Fighter Squadron were also listed on the flag. Manila, Kwajalein, Guam, Okinawa, Hickam Field, Saipan, Clark Field, and Atsugi, Japan. I donated the flag to a privately owned military museum near Royse City Texas. Formally called "FUBAR motor pool" , but was changed to "Military Heratage Museum of North Texas" to satisfy the snowflakes that complained about the former name. If there was a way I could attach a photo of the flag, I would do it here. I'll gladly provide a photo to anyone who wants it, but I'll need your email or cell phone to text it to you.
Barry Litchfield
Would love to see it..
Pisonpb@aol.com
I made a model kit of this aircraft in the early 1980s as a child. My favorite propeller-powered aircraft is the Focke Wulf 190 D. When I assembled the kit for the black widow it captivated my imagination and I consider it to be a beautiful aircraft. Great video. Peace!
0:27 Yeah that's pretty terrifying. Imagine seeing that behind you in the black of night.
Imagine being on a routine night bombing mission with no concerns at the time, when suddenly your aircraft is struck by 20mm cannon HE shells from an enemy you never had any idea was there, that was for all intent and purpose invisible to you. Would have to be discouraging, assuming you survived.
I've always heard that the Messerschmitt 110
was the first specifically designed night fighter
This is my all time favorite aircraft of WWII. I first built a model of this airplane in the early 80s.
One thing the presenter did not mention was the use of retired p61/f15 reporters as fire bombers in the western US. But then again a lot of retired WWII aircraft were used in that role. At one time the boneyards in the south west were totally littered with airframes.
I don't suppose there are many model builders here who remember or, for that matter, know of François Verlinden, but he is (was?) a master model builder back in the 80s. He was almost the inventor of the drybrushing and shading techniques which are now commonplace among model builders. He was also the first to make lifelike, almost photographic looking diorama's. A genius of his craft. In one of his books, I found a diorama depicting a model of the P61 Black widow. To me, it was such a odd-looking, not to say ugly, plane with that double level canopy and strange bulbous nose. Still, it looked the part in its night black livery. Impressive! Really intriguing, not in the least because it was shown without much background information.It was the diorama which impressed me most and the one I still remember today, even if all those beautiful books were ditched when i lost interest in model building. Nice to find a video on the subject here.
Thanks for posting. My grandfather worked at Northrop from 1940-1986, I always have had an interest in all Northrop aircraft as a result.
I feel like this plane had to have been the inspiration for the ARC-170 from star wars. The designs are eerily similar. This is a cool concept. If the design could have been adapted to turbine engines and aerodynamics adjusted at bit, I could see thing surviving through the Vietnam Era.
A jet powered black widow... Now that's something I would love to see.
It was the inspiration.
@@mr.capythebara9384 de Havilland vampire is essentially that
Yes arc 170 does look like this
I discovered that this was one of the types based and operated from my local airport (Hurn, Dorset, UK) during the war. Always loved the design, since i first saw it (as an Airfix model back in the 70's)..
My grandpa was the gunner in a black widow over the Pacific in the war. I still have his bomber jacket as well as all the books and documentation from his training. Really cool stuff!
My dad was in an air recon unit that operated out of liberated German airfields in WWII. Many times, they shared the airfields with P-61 Black Widows. I have a picture of my dad standing under the fuselage of one. At 5'8", he stood perfectly upright. They were large planes. He told me they would shake him out of his bunk when they landed in the wee hours of the morning. For that reason alone, he wasn't a fan of sharing the airfields with them.
He called it a Nighttime fighter jet at 2:10 and it threw me out of it.
Love you videos bro. Keep them up.
This thing is my favorite prop powered combat airplane of all time. It's beautiful like a dancer but punches like a heavyweight.
Not a patch on the DH 98 Mosquito !!
This plane has always been one of my favorites, as it sits in my top three favorites of all time. (P-38 Lighting, A10 Warthog, and of course the P-61)
Great taste in aircraft !
You could add the Fokker G1 and Fokker D23
Thank you for this video. The P-61 had a magic about it, for sure. If anyone remember playing H.I.S., the P-61 was one of the most formidable planes in that game.
My fav aircraft, thanks for covering it :)
Thank you for mentioning one of my favorite little known and barely remberd plains. It did show up late to the party and never got the refinement it should have. If you would the mk17 you mentioned is another great plain quickly decommissioned and worth rembering as one of the last wooden combat plains in service.
Plane
These videos are great! I love all of your channels! Thanks!
I just finished the book "Night Fighter" it is written by a British radar operator in WWII. The most impressive fight he was involved in was one where they chased a Heinkel, never got into a position to fire on it, the German pilot was just too good. It crashed trying to get away, the Mosquito chasing them wasn't ready to that close to the ground. So a kill was awarded without a shot being fired!
If the commentary was spoken a bit slower we might understand it.
I’ve been waiting for this one !!!
My father was a radar technician in a P-61 squadron. He said his craft had no turret with quad .50. He said the turret would cause buffeting. Most aircraft that retained the turret would keep if locked forward. His squadron would chase German aircraft that would come in at night to drop mines (usually) into harbors like Antwerp, Belgium, which the allies were struggling to clear to open supply lines closer to the front.
Years ago I worked with a WW II pilot - Joe Rosio. During his military career after the war, he flew P 61s into hurricanes for weather information. He stated that a main reason for using the P 61 was because it was so sturdy and overbuilt it was considered nearly indestructable. Earlier, he flew a B 17 and was shot down over France and escaped to Spain - another interesting story. He was also Curtis LeMay's personal pilot. According to my uncle who was in the USAAF in WW II, the P 61 also had a bad reputation with the Army Air Corps as a widow maker that could not be flown on one engine. In reality it took a well trained pilot to fly it on one engine but it could be done by folks like Jimmy Doolittle. Further the props were perfectly lined up with the pilot/co pilot's seat and crashes often killed them when the props came into the cockpit.
Watching the video at 0.75 speed actually slows the narration down enough to understand it. Winning!
The narrator himself should slow down to 0.75.
At .75 it sounds like he just finished a bottle of Gentleman Jack
It does work but he sounds a little drunk
One of my favorite planes of WW2.
This is the only channel I've ever found that I need to watch at less than 1.0x speed. At .75x I don't get headaches from these, but love the videos.
history guy is like that as well
I once met a man that was a piloted this plane. I was too young to remember much of the conversation, but he was a cool dude.
Your channels are great. You can tell you put alot of time and effort into research for these videos,keep up the good work.
It is almost perfect, the many mistakes are annoying
At 2:07, the guy dressed in a suit, smoking a pipe, and talking to his engineers is Leroy Grumman, of Grumman Aircraft Co.! In 1994 Grumman Corp., builder of, among other aircraft, theF4F Widlcat and F6F Hellcat, the Grumman Goose and Mallard seaplanes, A-6 Intruder, E-2 Hawkeye, F-14 Tomcat, EA-6B Prowler, and the Apollo Program Lunar Module that landed on the moon, merged with Northrop Corporation to become the current Northrop Grumman (NGC). Grumman Aircraft Corp always had a strong movie department and over the years has been a good source of historical footage used in documentaries and movies.
cool plane. early 70s I had a built a small model plastic kit of it.
I recall reading how it could sneak up on enemy aircraft at night until they were close enough to see the faint glow from the exhaust- then it was too late for the enemy to avoid combat from the Black Widow's guns.
As an aside, it is pretty interesting to see large roomful of engineers drafting parts to be manufactured. I had taken drafting in HS before CAD- line thickness, consistency etc. were all important elements to be observed- all while maintaining overall cleanliness of the finished page. It was a very time consuming process, as was deciding whether to erase mistaken sections or restarting on a fresh page. I imagine how difficult it must have been to design the finished product - like individually painting pieces of a very large jigsaw puzzle so they all come together to a recognizable picture.
Gorgeous aircraft!! Thanks for the video, amigo.
Amazing video as always. Would love to see one on Operation Black Buck!
Ive had a diecast model of this ever since i was a kid
So glad my favorite channel had a baby.
Thanks! Enjoyed this one!
During the 80s, the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum recovered a P-61 from a mountaintop in New Guinea which crashed there during WWII. They tore it completely apart and have been dutifully rebuilding it ever since. Hardly any remain, so the project has been slow. Their quality of work is fantastic though
Yes, "The Widow's Web" online shows the progress they've been making with this aircraft. Considering the condition in which they found it, they've so far done an amazing job of bringing her back to life.
ARC 170 Starfighter is designed after this aircraft.
Both are awesome fighters in their own right
Arc*
@@duncanmcgee13 ARC** It's an acronym, Aggressive ReConnaissance
Juan Cruz Marolda The Starfighter was a great research aircraft. Lousy warplane.
@@SvenTviking starfighter here was mant as in a Star Wars starfighter, not the real plane starfighter
I had a model of this plane when I was a kid. One of the most badass-looking planes of the war, it's always been a favorite.
Same here. Dad painted blue sky and clouds on the ceiling so I could hang them flying!
I’ve always loved the P-61, something about it visually just works for me
Thank you.. I built, I think the Revell model, when I was a teenager. It hung above my bed until college.
@rogerwilco99 Only 40 aircraft! My first collection was just over one hundred aircraft. My father managed to damage and destroy some and I was chivvied into disposing of the rest.
My current collection is around 350 aircraft, with around 30 ships and the final few 1/9th scale motorcycles and a few odds and sods of other models!
As far as I know this video is the first comprehensive story on RUclips about this weird looking airplane. Thx for that. More and more I think about to buy the RC Version of this hottie. 😁
Really a masterpiece of US aviation engineering 👍
A beautiful airplane! The Lady In the Dark shall always remain on of my favorite planes! Thanks for remembering her! So many people forget this plane ever existed and we'll sadly never see this plane fly again. Thank you Dark Skies for not forgetting the Lady In the Dark!
To Northrop, I hope you never forget! Why have so many forgotten the Lady's bite? Why is she never spoken of except by the few? Even D.C. only had a mere model to remember! They forgot Project Thunderstorm! They forgot everything you did in WW2! Well we won't forget all you did!
Another great Video! I have never been disappointed- Your videos no matter the channel are always great!
I always loved this plane, even though the top speed of the B model was pedestrian compared to other similar types. The “C” model at 430 mph top sped was what was really needed, but, again, arrive too late. With the heavy gun argument and ability to carry 6 inch rockets or four 1600 pound bombs, It could have excelled in the ground attack role, but had too much overlap with the B-25 and B-26, & The other types could do level bombing as well, since they had proper bombsight equipment.
I was searching a documentary about this one just yesterday, great timing.
Lol so was i
And the only ones I found were from the 1940's
Looks like your FBI Agent is looking out for you 😂😂😂
@@davido9208 yes this is basically the only recent one available.had to search it cause it's so op(op if you can play your role, or get the bast of the capability of the craft) in warthunder; even if this channel only get sponsored by gaijin for crossout, for some strange reasons...war thunder would be such a better choice for this channel...
"TIMIMG" you say. lol
This is by far my favorite channel
Brilliant video with great information.Thank you and keep them coming.!👍
When I was a kid, I was fascinated with the Black Widow. It really looked impressive. I didn't know it was at the struggling edge of technology, and that it saw such limited service. I wonder how much its presence may have discouraged axis night flights. Could the P-61 have been a victim of its own early success?
Too large too heavy too expensive too few and too late .
This became my favourite WWII plane when I came across it in Heroes Of The Pacific.
As a electronic warfare technician working with electronic countermeasures on current fighters, this is one of my personal favorite planes for my jobs heritage.
Such a funky, menacing looking plane. And the black paint helped it to look deadly.
My foster mother showed me a black widow sitting in a field, covered blackberry bushes near the airport in Santa Rosa california, that was 24 years ago, ive looked for it many times since, i nener saw it again, i hope it is being restored somewhere
I was in California in 84 to 88 and I wish I had known about this
The Wright Patterson AF Museum in Dayton Ohio has one on display - awesome looking!
There are only 4 known to exist. One at the one of the Smithsonian, one at Wright Patt. museum in Dayton. One at Mid continent and the final one in China. Rumors of more in China, but nothing confirmed. It is possible, my Dads plane, as were others of the 427th were left behind at wars end.
Love this aircraft....Doesn't get the recognition it deserves..
Very interesting aircraft. Like many other folks, I enjoyed building the Airfix kit when I was a boy.
As an professional engineer, the protracted development of the P61 is a good reminder that if product takes too long to get into production, it really can miss the intended purpose. Same goes for whether it is a piece of modern consumer electronics or a WW2 plane. Good that the P61 still made a contribution late on though. Would love to see one fly!!
Dad was a P-61 Radar/Radio Operator in the 6th Night Fighter Squadron on Guadalcanal. He said he spent the war flying backwards.
I believe this plane is actually the first purpose-built night fighter. The HE 219 Owl for example was designed before used successfully as a night fighter.
The P-61 was the only aircraft from the Allies that was designed, and built from the wheels up as a Night Fighter, whereas the HE-219 was the only enemy fighter designed from the wheels up, as a Night Fighter. Japan also fielded a puropose built Night Fighter: The Nakajima Irving, as well.
@@johnosbourn4312 No, the HE 219 wasn't built from the outset as a night fighter. It came from 'projekt 1060', a multipurpose design that was intended to be either a heavy fighter, recon plane or torpedo bomber. The Nakajima J1N was initially built as a bomber escort fighter.
Not to mention the Baeufighter and me110
@@ThatGuysProject And? Neither of which were purpose-built night fighters - you know, the point of the original comment?
@@ThatGuysProject neither were built specifically as nightfighers.
I think that if this plane hadn’t been delayed so much, it would have been a much more impactful aircraft. In the areas it *was* used, it did decently well for an obsolete aircraft. Either way, a fantastic model to build.
I like the presentation of these vids and find the background music haunting, eerie, and befitting of the unusual aircraft depicted. The narrator's style adds a bit of the occult to the story.
this is a really great channel. Glad I found it. Very good stuff. Nice job