The P-61 was the first US aircraft specifically designed as a night fighter. As large as a medium bomber, it was actually very maneuverable. The P-61 was first fielded in Europe but found greater use in the Pacific. The Black Widow replaced the interim Douglas P-70 and eventually equipped all 14 USAAF night-fighter units. The key to the P-61's success was the Western Electric SCR-720 airborne intercept radar. The first recorded "kill" came on July 6, 1944, when 1st Lt. Francis Eaton (pilot), 2d Lt. James E. Ketchum (radar operator), and SSgt. Gary Anderson (gunner) intercepted and shot down a Japanese "Betty" bomber. P-61 crews accounted for 127 confirmed victories, including 18 V-1 "buzz bombs" in Europe. Four Black Widow crews became aces. The last aerial battle of World War II came on August 14, 1945, when Lt. Robert W. Clyde (pilot) and Lt. Bruce K. Ledford (radar operator), flying the P-61 Lady in the Dark got behind a Nakajima "Oscar," and in an attempt to escape from its pursuer, the Japanese fighter crashed into the Pacific without a shot being fired. In 1946, 36 aircraft of a slightly modified design were built as the F-15 Reporter photoreconnaissance aircraft. P-61s were also used for ejection-seat tests and for a research program that studied the effects of thunderstorms on aircraft structures after the war. In 1946, a dozen P-61Cs were transferred to the Marines as trainers and were designated F2Ts. The P-61 was phased out of USAF service in 1952, and the last F-15 was retired in 1955. Only three P-61s are thought to exist today.
| Contractors: | Northrop Aircraft, Inc. |
| Locations Built: | Hawthorne, Calif. |
| Number Built: (USAF) | 742 (742) |
| First Flight: | May 26, 1942 |
| First Flight Model: | XP-61 |
| First Flight Location: | Northrop Field, Calif. |
| First Flight Pilot: | Vance Breese |
| Models/Variants: | P-61A, B, C. F-15 Reporter |
| Powerplant: | Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-65 Double Wasp 18-cylinder, twin-row radials of 2,000 hp each |
| Wingspan: | 66 ft 0 in. |
| Length: | 49 ft 17 in. |
| Height: | 14 ft 8 in. |
| Weight: | 38,000 lb gross |
| Armament: | Four .50-cal. machine guns in a remote-control ventral turret, four M2 20-mm cannon in the fuselage belly; 6,400 lb of bombs on underwing racks |
| Accommodation: | Three (pilot and gunner in forward cockpit; radar operator in rear cockpit) |
| Cost: | $170,000 |
| Max. Speed: | 366 mph |
| Range: | 1,200 mi. |
| Ceiling: | 33,100 ft. |
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