Pilots PRAYED they wouldn't cross its path at night | Northrop P-61 "Black Widow"

Video from the channel Aviacore DE about Northrop, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 1:04:29. Language: German. Video type: Documentary.

A German-language documentary about the Northrop P-61 Black Widow, presented as the first aircraft conceived from the outset as a night fighter. It covers why it was needed, how it was designed around a radar, the problems that arose during testing, its combat use in the Pacific and in Europe, and its final versions.

The night bombing raids on Britain in 1940 made clear how difficult it was to intercept aircraft in the dark. That same year, Randall and Boot developed the cavity magnetron in Birmingham, which worked with waves of about 10 cm. In the autumn of 1940 the Tizard Mission brought it to the United States, where it formed the basis of the SCR-720 radar, capable of detecting targets at around 8 km. Meanwhile, the United States turned to the Douglas P-70, a converted A-20, as a stopgap, and in 1940 its air force requested a night fighter designed as such from the start. Jack Northrop built the aircraft around the radar. In January 1941 two XP-61 prototypes were contracted and, even before the first flight, 573 production aircraft were ordered.

The prototype flew for the first time in May 1942 at Hawthorne, followed by 13 YP-61s. The aircraft was 15.11 m long, had a 20.12 m wingspan and stood 4.47 m tall, weighing 16,420 kg at takeoff. It was powered by two 2,250 hp R-2800-65W engines and reached 589 km/h at 6,095 m. It was armed with four 20 mm cannons and a dorsal turret with four 12.7 mm machine guns, and was crewed by a pilot, a radar operator and a gunner. Because the turret caused buffeting, it was removed starting with P-61A number 38. 200 P-61As and 450 P-61Bs were built, and the last 250 Bs had the turret restored. According to the video, the 18th Fighter Group scored the first kill from Guadalcanal in July 1944, against a G4M. In Europe it was used by the 425th Night Fighter Squadron. The final version, the P-61C, mounted turbocharged 2,800 hp R-2800-73 engines and reached about 644 km/h. 41 examples were accepted and 476 were cancelled. Aircraft are preserved at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) and at the USAF museum in Dayton.