Dogfights - Northrop P-61 Black Widow

[@atanarjuat6525]

Too bad History channel stopped showing history.

[@maureencora1]

Yeah, I Love the 1990s.

[@israelmoreno3620]

Alexandria Ocrazy Cortez has nice leggs and like she’ll save the world in like twelve years and like the earth is flat 🤥🌮

[@Trucker494]

That's right. Now is the Gator and Alien channel.

[@HashiriyaR32]

@@Trucker494 More like AYY LMAO channel..............sorry.

[@billhuber2964]

@@Trucker494 don't forget the pawnstars.

[@rosstheboss1014]

Heinkel 219 be like Leaving Vehicle in 3...

[@galdramadur1]

The P61 was not the only aircraft in 2. WW which was designed for night fighting. The He 219 was also a night fighter and was designed only for night fighting.

[@mercian7]

Thanks Mr Jones for saving the lives of Lancaster pilots. Thanks to all the USAAF!

[@carpediem6568]

Yeah, the Lancaster wss a useful bomber but it was also a deathtrap, extremely difficult to bail out of. Very brave were the British aircrew who flew them.

[@ronfullerton3162]

I jumped in here because both of you have posted calmly and reasonably. But I cannot say much for other posts of this video. All planes of all nations and their pilots and crew made contributions to their country in this war. How do you minimallize the service and even death of a crew because you do not think the plane they flew was of any value to the war effort. Then the people now days of the Allies nation's ripping each other apart over who was the deciding factor. Thank God that our.people back then could come together and work together better than we can now. Because I firmly believe that if we hadn't come together when we did, we would of fell individually to the Axis powers. Are today's egos so inflated that the truth cannot be seen? I, myself, thank all those people from all the nation's of the Allied forces and their machines for their contribution. Each individual effort added to the total that won the war. And I also salute the people and machines of the Axis forces who made efforts and sacrifices for their nation's. Here in the States we call the people of the generation that fought that war the "great generation". These wonderful people lived through a bad depression, grew up without things we take for granted today, and fought that war. And afterwards when the world was recovering from the war, these people were so appreciative of life and enjoyed living. We have so much and live so easy as compared to them, and look at how we are fighting and unappreciative of each other over an article about a warplane of WW2. There are people and situations today that could lead us into another global conflict. Do you think we could ever come together again past all our petty differences to unite a work together once again? I do not know if we truly could.

[@mychaldbeausoleil3043]

My dad designed the turrets on the P-61 Black Widow, in fact that was his first ever airplane ride! He worked for GE. Made me sad that the Black Widow 2, never came to be.

[@troopx]

And here we go with people saying, ‘My dad worked as a (Insert job here)’....

[@mychaldbeausoleil3043]

@@troopx mechanical engineer for General Electric, during his and mom's honeymoon took the train from home in Schenectady NY, to California. Working on and testing his design at Northrop field. Being his first time in any type of airplane, and on the Black Widow. His name was Edward Bosley, he passed a few years ago. But you might be able to research his name as designer for the radar controlled turrets on her.

[@israelmoreno3620]

Mychal Beausoleil my dad is the Head designer for the Mexican’t Government Stealth Flying Taco 🌮 and the Interstellar Flying Tostada Alexandria Ocrazy Cortez has nice leggs and like she’ll save the world in like twelve years and like the earth 🌍 is flat 🤥🌮

[@senpaisanchoyt5225]

@@mychaldbeausoleil3043 smh KZbin is a cancer pet ignore this dudes

[@fenwaypark1725]

Mychal Beausoleil way to go with your response. Am proud of your dads service. MAGA

[@NOTJustANomad]

Meanwhile in war thunder: Al Jons (P-61 C) 🔫 Hans (Me 410 B) AAA 🔫 Al Jons (P-61 C)

[@dhorto27]

Every enemy plane🔫 Vlad (Yak-9T

[@Daniel-de2jh]

Thugg Daal and yak3p

[@dubb9020]

in warthunder the gunner sits in the back and has 360 degrees control of the guns top and botttom....war thunder needs to make it more accurate

[@BGpilot419]

Not only that the man that sits in the radar seat his listed as a gunner

[@nulaponlove5621]

Spawn camper?

[@jahy3740]

The worst of them all

[@barry4302]

Report.

[@Boeing-kf4xe]

Barry Yu says the furry

[@barry4302]

Off topic

[@reubendapiton573]

I fucking hate those people killing you the moment you are up in the air

[@tomewing3103]

The widow made a regular appearance at our back fence believe it or not. Many of those aircraft were built in Fresno Ca during the war and we lived a short distance from the plant and right at the end of the runway. My father Lt. Col Thomas J. EWING had come to Fresno in 1939 to build barracks in anticipation of war breaking out . Black Widows and P51s were both built at the base and there are rumors, true, that involved drag racing the two down a runway. My dads portrait is among the murals taken down after the new terminal was built, he appears with both aircraft in those pictures.

[@PoochAndBoo]

@youtube primer Built in Fresno? The P-61's were built in Northrops factory at El Segundo. North American had it's plant in Los Angeles.

[@ethanjohnson2548]

Gotta love when the plane rolls using its flaps instead of its spoilerons and ailerons

[@jmartin9785]

Great video! Thanks! I heard of the Black Widow plane as a kid in the WWII era, didn’t know much about it until l saw this. The name, Black Widow, sure fit it! Great story! 🇺🇸🇬🇧

[@markleingang3020]

Quiet Courage. Al embodies the best traits of the greatest generation. We owe Al and all those who fought in WWII our thanks.

[@fnln544]

Thanks, Karl, for posting the clip. An amazing plane with a truly fitting name. Wonderful how the pilot was interviewed and his kill recreated. Keith

[@Daniel-de2jh]

So many war thunder players here :D

[@1ztype343]

We know how it feels when you are trying to kill it from behind and the gunner knocks your pilot out in one hit. Like wtf really?

[@Daniel-de2jh]

Lulster 10 or just onetap your engine

[@1ztype343]

Sorry for being a noob but, what is that?

[@joenuts4099]

Or when a c205 comes behind I and u get a crit and then he makes your plane blow up

[@troopx]

kawalski, analysis Italian bias

[@jasonmcmillan4373]

The P-61 always was one of my favourite WW2 fighters.

[@Red1Regiment]

Same

[@rotorheadv8]

That was a lot of airplane for one pilot.

[@rotorheadv8]

One pilot.

[@frankbento4740]

rotorheadv8 will

[@_spooT]

He said "pilot" not "for one guy/crew"

[@philbyd]

rotorheadv8 he said straight up there was a crew of three

[@EstorilEm]

Philbyd 123 his point was that only one individual was directly responsible for the actual flying tasks I think.

[@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785]

I couldn't even imagine trying to fly like that without thermal imaging or Infrared or some kind of light enhancing night vision...those dudes had some major balls! 4x20mm cannons....Happy Birthday Hitler! BBBRRRRTTTT!!!!

[@idleonlooker1078]

Mosquito radar operators would guide their pilot in close so that they could use binoculars to visually identify the aircraft as hostile before blowing it away with their four 20mm cannons!! The Mosque crews had huge balls indeed, that it was amazing they could both fit into that tiny cockpit!! 👍

[@lonleylink507]

german bomber: *flies at night* p-61: im about to end this whole planes career

[@COUNTERCOM]

Its amazing how quickly technology advanced in world war 2, radar was just simple early technology in the beginning of the war. We started with underpowered P36 fighters and ended up with P80 fighter jets by the end of the war.

[@thepresident1971]

All this advancement makes me believe that all those UFOs are just top secret aircraft doing their flight tests.

[@IgnarHusky]

@@thepresident1971 It is. Any UFO's by places like Area 51 are more likely than not classified military aircraft operations.

[@harveyknguyen]

@@thepresident1971 jet engines were already concieved by the 1920s

[@thepresident1971]

@@harveyknguyen thats crazy. I wonder what type of technology we have now?

[@harveyknguyen]

@@thepresident1971 it's mainly extentions from WW2/Cold War tech The ideas were concieved in that time, but were never fully realized until now, such as actual stealth coating on jets, ARH AAMs (radar lock missiles), SAMs, AGMs, IR AAMs, smart bombs, laser guidance (though there were beam riding AAMs) Jets are much more powerful (we can go well past supersonic), and VTOL exists

[@jasonharding96]

In war thunder your gunner is just an extra offensive set of guns

[@Dzsonib]

Haha, 1:22 - "Long wavelength radio energy, called Microwaves" :D

[@Renshen1957]

The Heinkel He 219 Uhu ("Eagle-Owl") was a night fighter that served with the German Luftwaffe in the later stages of World War II. A relatively sophisticated design, the He 219 possessed a variety of innovations, including Lichtenstein SN-2 advanced VHF-band intercept radar. Only used as a Nightfighter. Other variants proposed, but operationally never developed.

[@danielpauldebs6526]

NOT the only fighter of WW2 designed for night fighting. The Germans designed the HE 219 UHU, (thus the designation "OWL"), specifically for night fighting. Less than three hundred became operational as the Allies continuously targeted the factories. Armament: Two 30mm forward cannons. Two 20mm forward cannons. Two 30mm upward firing ‘Schrage Musik’ cannons. (Forward fuselage). First aircraft with operational ejector seats.

[@Nimori]

This thing would be OP if War Thunder was historically accurate.

[@gonewiththewind8072]

It is 😂

[@bobbybobenation4060]

it's quite op if you know what your doing, keyboard controls whilst in gunner mode make it insanely good

[@g.55centaurosimp18]

Now it got radar, it’s being spammed :”)

[@supabobdninja]

Artruis Joew ha try it in ground RB

[@combativeThinker]

It's really, really good in simulator battles. You can just climb up into the clouds and then dive on unsuspecting enemies.

[@-C.S.R]

It was like being a stealth fighter pilot today. You had to be the very best to fly the p61

[@jakobc.2558]

The alerons on the 3D moddel are moddeld wrong. The P-61 had very small alerons on the sides of the wing. This was because the plane was mostly turning with retractable spoilers located on top of the wings. Originaly the plane was ment to turn onely useing spoilers but with such huge wings they needed the alerons.

[@RenKnight347]

It's interesting in that Jack Northrop, never called them "spoilers" himself. In every book that I have ever read on the subject, his official term for them was "retractable ailerons". In addition to the retractable ailerons, the P-61 Black Widows also had normal ailerons at the wingtips to aid in the roll axis maneuverability.

[@ehold6877]

What i find ironic is how everyone picks on the US documentary films. Like locally produced films don't brag about their own shit ie Britain, Germany, France etc.

[@ehold6877]

18tangles really, show me any foreign documentary on local aviation where they don't brag about how superb their machines were.

[@ehold6877]

18tangles it was better than the all famed mosquito. Better speed, climb, armament and payload. Not to mention it was claimed to be more manverovable.the mossie wasn't even used during the day because it was to feable to withstand day fighters. Both had aces and both served with both UK and the States. On paper, mosque wins, in actual combat the p61 is clear winner.

[@ehold6877]

18tangles lol, you clearly looked up stats and didn't have a proper reply. So yea.

[@ad220588]

E Holde but Germans run the edge with their Arado -234 or Me-262 Butcher Birds 🦅

[@sheeplord4976]

The american p 80 was a better fighter than the me 262 in every way but the power of bullets. Even then, the p 80 has better guns for dogfights. The p 80 was active in ww2 but just never was sent to berlin and was left patroling italy. Also, the arado was not too great.

[@imranhazim5434]

German Fighter : I am about land on runway. American Fighter : No, you will land in flame.

[@thefruitdealer4970]

Wasnt the Heinkel 219 designed specifically for night fighting?

[@wirelessone2986]

I was thinking of that too

[@nevrock1]

I’ve always read that the P-61 was the first pure night fighter. I think the Heinkel 219 was the second pure nightfighter.

[@thefruitdealer4970]

@@nevrock1 Perhaps, but in the video they're saying the P-61 was the ONLY aircraft of WW2 designed for nightfighting

[@flybeep1661]

@@thefruitdealer4970 It's an American show, they like to think they are special. Just nod and agree.

[@dhardy6654]

@@flybeep1661 its called American Exceptionalism...its a fact. Show me your nukes or your space program...show me the technology you invented and then shared with the world

[@Zombywoof92553]

One parked at March Air Museum Riverside Ca,

[@davidgreen5099]

i have a friend whos dad flew widows in the pacific. sharing.

[@abramo7700]

How good was it in combat? Im interested.

[@docshred1787]

Beautiful airplane. Lucky men, those who were actually able to fly them; especially in combat. Last shootdown of the war in one of the World War 2 theaters if I recall correctly. Black Widow...appropriate.

[@julianfrost3796]

The claim that the P-61 was the only WWII aircraft designed from the start as a night fighter is false. I refer you to the Heinkel-219.

[@milescoleman3150]

Yes, sir, I thought the same thing!

[@BagoPorkRinds]

Predecessor to the Heinkel-219 first proposal was was the P.1055 prototype which was to be a fast light bomber. The P.1056 was then proposed as a nightfighter version when the P.1055 was rejected as too complicated in 1940. The P.1056 was also rejected by the RLM (German Aviation Ministry) in 1941. Heinkel then redesigned the P.1055 into the P.1060 that had a smaller fuselage which then became the actual prototype to the He-219. The first flight of the Heinkel-219 was in November 6, 1942. The P-61's first flight was in May 26, 1942, so is the author is very correct because the He-219 started out as a fast light bomber and then redesigned 3 versions later as a proposed nightfighter. Also to note the de Havilland Mosquito was also not designed as nightfighter at first but as a fast light bomber. The nightfighter version didn't come into final being until January 1942 and the first squadran deployed sometime during the Summer of that year.

[@lobosolitario-j4c]

The only problem I see here is this; the P-61's radar picks up a target at night and the pilot flies toward that target but he doesn't know if it's friendly or foe until he gets a visual. It could be a complete waste of time if it's properly identified as a friendly.

[@71Gilligan]

You forgot the Heinkel 219 Uhu.

[@Agm1995gamer]

This is technically a flying whale. It even looks like one.

[@jgdooley2003]

Perhaps the P61 was not the only night fighter of WW2 but the documentary qualifies it as the only night fighter designed as such from its very beginning....the Mosquito and Me 110 and its derivatives were initially built for other roles, the Mosquito as a bomber and the Me110 as an daylight long range escort fighter, a role for which it was not fast or agile enough.

[@knightshifter2201]

One of the coolest and most deadly planes ever made and personally my favorite airplane of that time era.

[@knightshifter2201]

Same here lol.

[@ancliuin2459]

One word: Mosquito.

[@paulwoodman5131]

The RAF requested a night fighter and this is what was developed. Granted the British air war was greatly diminished by the time this plane arrived, but it did it's job very well. This German night fighter in this clip had to have been a High value target.

[@andrewmontgomery5621]

That plane that truly lived up to its name.

[@darkknight1340]

The P 61 was not the only aircraft designed solely as a night fighter,the Heinkel he 219 was also designed purely as a night fighter.

[@raymondweaver8526]

The Owl?

[@j.wilson6464]

Fascinating! Thank you for posting.

[@chriscase1392]

Referring to comments below--The Heinkel 219 Uhu (Owl) was designed and built specifically as a night fighter, making it one of two: the P-61 and it. All other night fighters were adaptations of existing designs. The He-219 first flew in November, 1942, but mass production was delayed when an RAF raid on Rostok destroyed most of the design drawings. It entered service in April, 1943. On his first combat sortie in the new aircraft Major Werner Streib shot down five Lancasters in thirty minutes over Holland. With a top speed of just over 400 mph, it was the only German night fighter which could match the British Mosquito. Armament: two 20 mm cannons, 2 30 mm cannons. Crew of 2. Tricycle landing gear. An ugly plane, but totally effective. And, like so many other German developments, it was too little and too late to affect the outcome of the war. Source: German Warplanes of World War II, Francis K. Mason, Crescent Books, 1983.

[@danzervos7606]

My understanding is that night fighters would normally attack from below the horizon - above the horizon the tail gunner could spot them.

[@rossanderson78]

The P-61 wasn't only used for night fighting. They were also used as ground attack/support during the desert campaigns. I know because I built a model of one of them back in the day. Complete with history.

[@PoochAndBoo]

The P-61's first combat was in the summer of 1944. The Desert campaign had been over for some time. You read something wrong, there.

[@rossanderson78]

My bad. It was in the pacific theater. The one I built was painted light and dark brown and didn't have the radar in the nose. Instead there were six extra fifties in there for ground attack. Sorry for misleading you.

[@Enid2Sacramento]

I miss "Dogfights."

[@corrdexgaming4317]

The twin mustang was also used as a night fighter

[@joenuts4099]

corRdex Gaming no it wasn’t. It was used in Pacific bombing raids as a long distance escort, as with a crew of 2, both pilots, one could rest while the other flew the plane

[@davidgreen5099]

analysis it was used as a night fighter during the Korean war.

[@harveyknguyen]

@@davidgreen5099 which is irrelevant since this is a discussion over WW2, not Korea

[@davidgreen5099]

@@harveyknguyen no, it's a discussion of night fighters.

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

I see lots of hate here about the P61. YES, the P61 was the FIRST purpose built night fighter. besides it was a very cool looking bird.

[@mushmorant9253]

It might have been the first purpose-built night fighter, but I'm afraid that it wasn't necessarily the best night fighter among its contemporaries. Specialization is not necessarily a virtue or mark of distinction, especially when when some of your competitors are your equal in your area of specialization and can fulfill other roles much better than you.

[@tomservo5347]

I miss the days when 'History Channel' showed stuff about you know, history like this. Heaven forbid you could actually stimulate your brain instead of just have it lulled comatose.

[@PogingNavy94]

He-219: *exists*

[@howardrickert2558]

Didn’t have counter rotating propellers however.

[@saleemwaheed9956]

What a cool aircraft!

[@S4LeagueTBKing]

When someone said spawn camping is bad when in real life and history books. We as humans spam it like it was nothing .-.

[@ivebeenbamboozled9210]

ARC 170 starfighter

[@AF-qc5vo]

basically lol

[@dwarvenmoray]

My new favorite WWII aircraft.

[@jaxongillespie6618]

With dat radar update

[@barrylitchfield250]

I know where the flag is that Frank Sheldon brought back from the Pacific after WWII. 518th Night Fighter Sq. My father-in-law had it in a foot locker full of WWII souvenirs that he had collected. On the Japanese flag was a silhouette of a P-61 in the center of the meatball. Surrounding the meatball was listed the duty stations: Manila, Kwajalein, Guam, Atsugi Japan, Okinawa, Hickam Field, Saipan, and Clark Field. The insignia of (I assume) 5th Army Air Corps. Frank Sheldon's name, and the 518th Night Fighter Squadron were also on the flag. I have a photo of the flag I will share with anyone who would like to see it, or would like to have the digital file of the photo. I can not attach a photo to these comments on KZbin, so you'll need to send me your email address to sent it to you. The original flag has been donated to a museum near Royse City Texas. It's proudly displayed on the wall of the aviation section of the museum. The museum can be found at www.fubarmotorpool.com.

[@TheAverageSushi]

*For those who say Heinkel 219 is the first nightfighter...* I thought the Heinkel 219 had a prototype intended for day-bombing missions and was converted to the prototype nightfighter, therefore it wasn't a design intended for nightfighting, but later converted to be a candidate for it. The P-61 is truly a pure nightfighter, it was never intended for day missions. I'm not sure if it'd be the first, however. It can also be that we're just too infatuated with our aircraft and forget. Say whatever you want, this is my input. Too little information.

[@woodychadwick9834]

The plane was a hot rod, twin radials on a small plane. Yep.

[@joenuts4099]

Woody Chadwick it was only a tiny bit smaller than the b25; not small at all!

[@swyntopia]

In fact it was a really BIG plane ! Please compare it ( for example ) with the british Boulton Defiant nigt fighter, or the german Bf 110. Even the british Beaufighter was smaller.

[@trentmorgan5600]

if only the p61 was like this in war thunder

[@thundercrosssplitattack2064]

The P61 can't actually dive due to its frame, and the gunner at the rear can't really shoot down, leaving a spot unprotected.

[@paauggie]

brilliant video - thanks for posting :)

[@imeatingicecreamrn]

"The only fighter designed for night interception" He 219 maybe?

[@kenanfurcle786]

Shhh let them live in their "murica invented everything" world

[@kenanfurcle786]

@@konig-shiba6428 i'm forced to invite you to take a look at r/ShitAmericansSay on Reddit. I'm not anti US tho

[@xtratic]

Perhaps the narrator meant the only night fighter the US designed for night interception at that time? Everyone who is a bit interested in Aircrafts and war history knows that it wasn't only the americans who had nightfighters, but also Japan, Germany, France, UK and USSR to name some.

[@kenanfurcle786]

@@xtratic The problem is very often the narrators "forget" to mention that it was in the US, making it seem like it is worldwide

[@xtratic]

@@kenanfurcle786 That's true.

[@robertmccarthy1801]

P 61 was a great nightfighter but it is wrong to say it was the only one that was made so from the ground up. The Germans had developed the Uhu 219

[@pureisle]

A simple Wikipedia search says that the German nightfighters started on the design boards as bombers. Maybe you guys have some more info but that supports the initial claim. Personally, it's nothing to agonize over.

[@nuclearthreat545]

my fav plane

[@somehecucunt3194]

nuclearthreat545 same

[@SvenTviking]

Oh! So the Heinkel HE219 wasn’t designed as a nightfighter? Yes, yes it was.

[@captainangel1078]

SvenTviking he was speaking about the US, no Germany.

[@StoatedWithTheSauce]

Oh, and the TA154

[@hubbali666]

LOVE THE WIDOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@OttoMatieque]

long wave length waves known as microwaves?

[@stonefox9124]

How did the black widow escape German radar? The British mosquito was super effective because it was made of wood, radar couldn’t pick it up, so how did widow do it?

[@kidpagronprimsank05]

Either fly low or chaff I think.

[@Anthony-Sanders003]

I've never seen that part before in Dogfight!😃

[@lissaleggs4136]

Cool video, thanks Carl

[@whiplash8277]

Awesome bird.

[@jamesvasel8941]

My Father worked for Northrop as an engineer way after this airframe concept came and went. I'm still not sure who Mr. Northrop was was it John Northrop? That sounds familiar. I know nothing about him.

[@hipcat13]

The better night fighter was the Mosquito. Faster, more agile, and had better radar hands down. The set in the Widow was derived from an earlier British design which for the Brits, was an obsolete set. The Widow did have a stronger punch with the extra .50 cals though.

[@studinthemaking]

What the name of tv show here?

[@wilhelmheinzerling5341]

Had the best radar of WWII

[@harveyknguyen]

It's not like many planes had radar anyway

[@richardmartin3243]

Is Shane there wasn't enough playing with him carrying some phosphorus or something that could look the place up on fire

[@Air-Striegler]

What a hero - what a dogfight....

[@c-reg0077]

In certain circles that plane is also known as a Pyro 🤔

[@anilrama4410]

Why did the Americans equip the F6F Hellcat with a Radar on the left wing and what is the A & B Scopes purpose

[@Mishn0]

I believe the F6F-5N had the radar on the right wing, where else would they put it? There was an R-2800 engine in the nose. I think they had to use two scopes because they didn't have the technology to build CRTs that could do both functions at once. The Phantom radar I used to work on had a B scan to indicate range and bearing and a tick mark on the side of the scope to indicate elevation. The B scan was a vertical bar that moved from side to side to indicate bearing and the target would show up as a bright spot, the distance of the spot from the bottom of the scope indicated its range.

[@idleonlooker1078]

The "three things a night fighter needed: speed, heavy armament and a good radar" was all found within the DH Mosquito NF. Neither the RAF or the USAF needed the P-61 - because they were both already using the superlative Mosquito in the nightfighter role. Fact: the Mosquito had the lowest mission to loss ratio of any combatant aircraft in WWII, and it succeeded admirably in every role it was tasked with!! In light of this, one must conclude that the Mosquito proved the P-61as a pointless exercise - apart from, perhaps, ensuring ongoing employment for the US production industry?

[@shadow-wolf1176]

You just had to be the smartass

[@idleonlooker1078]

@@shadow-wolf1176 No. Just factual. 👍

[@RenKnight347]

@@idleonlooker1078 Well factually speaking, the DH Mosquito, along with every other aircraft at that time outfitted for the night fighter role, had to rely on GROUND BASED RADAR INSTALLATIONS to coordinate the attacking aircraft to it's targets. You must have seen all of the war flicks of the period when the scenes cut back and forth from the squadrons to the gigantic room(s) with huge boards and a phalanx of radar operators and an endless array of telephones. Well, without these rooms, it would have been impossible for your beloved Mosquito, or any other night fighter up to that time (including the enemy as well) to do it's thing when the Sun set at the end of each day. Why do you think many of today's aircraft can do the same things that the P-61's could do with or without the need for a "middle man"? The answer is because the P-61 Black Widows were the first aircrafts in history that could detect, track and locate it's aerial targets without the use of any ground based radar. That's correct! The -61's set the tone or wave for the future. They all operated independently. Despite the short range capabilities of it's radar, one could easily say that the -61's were the AWACS of their day with the ability to completely destroy it's targets! And, that is the reason for why it is said, ""They were the first built aircraft, purposely and exclusively from the ground up, for the night fighter role"". Jack Northrop took every lesson learned from the British about night fighting aircraft and he had his design and engineering teams apply and incorporate it all into his concept. Concepts that were largely demanded and requested by the British to be incorporated into a fighter which were based upon British requirements for a new night fighter. They didn't turn their noses up on the Widows as you would like many to falsely believe. Instead, Northrop had developmental issues with the upper gun turret which caused many delays in production. And if that wasn't enough, the big Pratt & Whitney R-2800's were commonly shared with many other aircraft that were already in theaters and in desperate needs of them. So, they (the 18 cylinder R-2800 engines) were "borrowed" from the hanger queens until Northrop could sort out the issues with the upper gun turrets, thus causing even further delays. Besides, over in the Pacific Theater, Mosquitoes were few and far between. As it turned out, "Lady In The Dark", a P-61 operating in the PTO, was credited with downing the last two enemy aircraft of WWII. Not bad for an aircraft that according to you was a waste of drawing board talent to begin with. The Mosquitoes were there when war broke out. However, it was a famed Black Widow that settled the matter once and for all without any twin-engined Mosquitoes on the horizon! If it's going to be just about the facts, so be it!

[@LeLaidbackLauncher]

The Ghost Soldiers, anyone? Also this thing is OP af in war thunder

[@jamesleon457]

Only kinda OP now, it was a meh plane before radar mechanics were introduced. That being said, it's a fun plane, as long as you don't get swarmed. The P61 is very bad at dealing with multiple enemies, but will wreck single opponents with ease. It's a solid plane with great advantages and serious drawbacks, not really OP, but definitely powerful. If you want OP, fly an A7M model with the broken flight characteristics they have right now.

[@LeLaidbackLauncher]

@@jamesleon457 I played the p61 before and after the introduction of radar: I don't use it much, since even in clouds it's hard to get a sight on hostiles. It's excellent climb rate and fire power let u BnZ baddies with ease, regardless of nation, and it's airbrakes let u make steep dives. Plus it's got a really powerful turret, all at 4.0. Only downside to it is it's not as manueverable as other heavy fighters, and it catches fire easily. Plus A7M's are expensive as hell to repair

[@keepcalm7164]

Crew of 3? Then was is the Purpose of the window in the back of the plane?

[@odd-ov4gf]

The top gun mount with the 4 .50's is a remote controlled turret, the rearmost person operated it

[@kidpagronprimsank05]

In War thunder, I got shoot down by them in night fighting. Is it have radar?

[@notimportant8882]

Why is every comment either 30 minutes old or 3 years old?

[@skyscall]

KZbin algorithm

[@allanbirmantas1695]

The HE-117 was also purpose built to be a night fighter, so the contention that the P-61 was the only plane during WWII built to be a night fighter. The uhu (owl) was an excellent airplane. If you can find "Wooden Wolf" a book about night fighting, I think you would enjoy it.

[@erikoarneberg]

Thanks for the recommendation- I'll look for it!

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

wrong,,,,HE117 was designed as a bomber. you say it was designed as a night fighter? lol

[@MDPToaster]

Allan Birmantas No it was designed as a bomber

[@Citizen_Snips1]

The He 177 is a strategic bomber. Did you mean the He 219?

[@abrahamedelstein4806]

A real fucking hero there.

[@CZ350tuner]

The last credited fighter kill of WW2 was over the Pacific when P-61 "Lady in the Dark" manoeuvre killed a Japanese Ki-43 "Oscar" night fighter by forcing it to fly low enough to crash into the sea. The war ended hours later.

[@tHeWasTeDYouTh]

War Thunder......those 4 12.7mm on top of the plane are fucking brutal!!!! they swing around at take you out/

[@eligiomallari7605]

This fucking plane is op in war thunder nightmare

[@badlandskid]

Black widow indeed!

[@albertojimenezarnal5568]

Damn, this war thunder gameplay looks like crap

[@oldbaldfatman2766]

May 9, 2018---If anyone's interested, there is a restored P-61 with a lot of in progress rebuild photos at this website.www.maam.org/p61.html

[@williambeck2202]

You will get the wrong idea about the P61 if you rely on this, read the book the P61's veterans put out, if you'll look in the back there is a list of all 700 and whatever P61's made , read time after time landing gear collapsed ( left, right, nose , engines caught on fire, fuselage caught on fire) , the thing was a death trap , I understand the old vets attachment to the plane, and even though nothing bad was said about the aircraft, it is plain to see what a failure it really was , as soon as the war was over the contracts for them was cancelled and some were actually pushed overboard from cargo ships , and the turret with the 4 50 calls didn't work until the final day of WW2 , most flew with only the 4 20mm's , so then you had a plane as big as a B25 armed with the same firepower S a single seat fighter ( corsair ,hellcat) who also had radar and were &0 mph faster , so it was obsolete by wars end besides being a death trap

[@googlepissoff5776]

Most of our planes became obsolete at Wars end. There’s a reason we were selling planes to Europe at scrap value

[@TheSuspense-zi2dc]

PLANES WITH MICROWAVES!!

[@Roger2465]

My dad is the dude narrating

[@Roger2465]

What? Me?

[@vilhelmleons9631]

microwaves? like microwave microwaves?

[@catkin27]

sisyphus lions yes. Hence the early name of "radar range".

[@mushmorant9253]

Yep. You could cook your dinner or warm up your tea by putting it in front of the parabolic dish and turning the system on.

[@pinchespiderman]

I don't think I would have liked sitting behind that dish for X amount of hours every night. The seats look about crotch level.

[@floatingchimney]

The radar beam is 100% deflected by the metal behind the plate . No radiation goes to the pilot.

[@setesh1294]

thats not really why they're called microwaves, but that is where they're most often used.

[@panzerkampfwagenviausftige1680]

Brother of the P-38

[@joenuts4099]

Dane Gorda-WOD 2 not at all

[@fredferd965]

There is, and always has been, something very strange about Northrop's military production. During WWII, the P-61 was the only front line fighter designed and produced by Northrop. What were they doing the rest of the time? Possibly production work for other company's designs, possibly something else. And then after the war - same thing. The only front line fighter they produced was, what, the F-89 (I may have the number wrong here) a straight wing rocket equipped anti-bomber fighter, very sluggish, and very subsonic. Since then, they've built the F-5 and the T-38. Sweet aircraft, beautiful aircraft. But is that all? OK, later, finally, the F-18. Now that one is nice. But they did it with McDonnell Douglas. On the surface, their military production record is week, spotty, strange, weird. Are they doing anything else? The B-2 is great, but they only made a few of them. Personally, I think Northrop was and is more of a black project company.

[@josephwhite6047]

I thought they also designed the F-14?

[@josephwhite6047]

@@marklisi1842 ah, my mistake lol

[@marklisi1842]

@@josephwhite6047 well it seems Northrop own Grumman these days. So it's one point each lol

[@jasonharding96]

Microwaves *skakes hands microly*

[@bigblue6917]

Interesting that the 9th USAAF got rid of this aircraft as they did not like it. Also they did not like to get caught in the daylight as they knew it was no match for day fighter, unlike the Mosquito night fighter.

[@JUNKERS488]

One P-61 was even shot down by a HE177A's tail gunner probably the only plane ever shot down by a HE177A. LOl.

[@bigblue6917]

This was the dawn of the age of jets. Interestingly one German jet night fighter pilot claimed to have shot down 25 Mosquitoes. But when these claims were examined after the war none could be verified. In fact in all but three cases there was no Mosquitoes lost in the area where this pilot made his claims. You have to wonder what he shot down, or was these false claims. And in his book I Flew for the Fuhrer the author, Hieize Knoke, tells of his frustrations at trying and failing to catch reconnaissance Mosquitoes. Okay they could not dogfight but that was not what I was saying. What I said was that the P61 tried to avoid being in the air over enemy territory during daylight, whereas the Mosquito could outrun most fighters.

[@mushmorant9253]

Louis Davout They could outrun standard late war FW 190s and Bf 109s on the deck. On being bounced by German single engine fighters, Mosquito day patrols in the Bay of Biscay were instructed to head out to sea (i.e. west) at maximum speed and minimum altitude. This forced the single engine fighters to either give up their attack or pursue without success until their fuel situation demanded their return to base. In the latter case, as soon as the German fighters broke off their pursuit, the mossies were expected to turn the tables and attack the now very vulnerable Luftwaffe fighters.

[@bigblue6917]

Now that's what I call turning the tables. I have seen film footage taken on a raid where the navigator calls out that there is a 109 behind them. The pilot looks around, says it's to far away and carries on knowing it wont catch them. One thing to remember is that only the best RAF pilots flew Mosquitoes, so all Mosquito squadrons were elite squadrons.

[@mushmorant9253]

They had no problem outrunning Zeroes and Oscars in the Far East and Pacific either. Beaufighters could also outrun those aircraft at nought feet in most cases.