P-69 Aircraft - The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was a United States World War II biplane. It was the first US aircraft designed as a night fighter, and the first aircraft designed as a night fighter.

Named after the North American spider Latrodectus mactans, it was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design with a 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano M2 autocannon in the lower fuselage, and four .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in the rear gun. Created during the war, the first test flight was accomplished on May 26, 1942, with the first production aircraft flying off the assembly line in October 1943.

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Although not in much production during its lifetime, the Black Widow was successfully used as a night fighter by the United States Air Force in the European Theater, the Pacific Theater, the China Burma India Theater, and the Mediterranean during World War II. It replaced a British-designed night weapon that was upgraded to include radar when available. After the war, the P-61 was redesignated as the F-61 and served the United States Air Force as a long-range, day and night fighter for the Air Defense Command until 1948, and for the Air Force. One. Five until 1950. The last aircraft was retired from national service in 1954.

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On the night of 14 August 1945, a P-61B of the 548th Night Fighter Squadron nicknamed Lady in the Dark claimed the last Allied Air victory before VJ Day.

The P-61 was later modified to produce the F-15 photo-reconnaissance aircraft for the United States Air Force and later the United States Air Force.

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Close-up view of P-61 radar operator assembly on rear fuselage, East Field, Saipan, Mariana Islands, 20 July 1944.

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In August 1940, 16 months before the United States entered the war, the US Air Force Officer in London, Lieutenant General Delos C. Emmons, briefed British research on radar ( Radio Detection And Ranging), developed from 1935 to had an important role in defending the country against the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. Geral Emmons was told about the new Airborne Intercept radar (AI for short), a self-contained unit that can be installed in an aircraft and work independently of field sites. In September 1940, Missionary Tizard bought British research, including a second magnetron, to be able to install the radar itself, for American production.

At the same time, the British procurement committee evaluating US aircraft showed their need for a high-altitude aircraft to intercept Luftwaffe bombers attacking London at night. The plane has to patrol the city at all times throughout the night, requiring about eight hours of loitering power. The aircraft will carry one of the most important AI radar units, and carry its stated armamt of "multi-gun turrets". The British gave the requirements for the innovation to the aircraft designers and manufacturers they worked with. Jack Northrop was among them, and he realized that speed, altitude, fuel loading and turret size required a large aircraft with many engines.

Geral Emmons returned to America with details of the demands of the British at night, and in his report it was said that parts of the plan of the American aircraft companies could be made. The Emmons Committee developed the requirements and specifications, giving them in 1940 to the Air Technical Service Command (ATSC) at Wright Field, Ohio. After considering two major challenges - the heavy weight of the AI ​​​​radar and the very long (by fighter standards) duration of at least eight hours - the board, together with Jack Northrop, realized , the plane needs more power and the result of the twins. gines, and recommend similar features. Two American twin-row sedans that displace less than 46 liters have grown since the late 1930s; Double Feeder and Duplex Cyclone. These engines were flown for their first flight tests in 1940/41, and each had a power, with further development, of more than 2,000 hp (1,500 kW).

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Vladimir Pavlecka, head of Northrop Research, holds an unrelated position at Wright Field. On 21 October 1940, Colonel Laurce Craigie of the ATSC called Pavlecka, explaining details of the US Army Air Corps, but he told him "not to take notes, 'Try just keep this in your memory. !"

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What Pavlecka didn't write about was the radar unit in the plane; Craigie described the stealth radar as "a device that detects aircraft in the dark" and has the ability to "detect and distinguish other aircraft." The mission, Craigie explained, was "to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft in flight during darkness or under conditions of poor visibility."

Pavlecka met with Jack Northrop the next day, and gave him the USAAC details. Northrop compared his notes with Pavlecka's, and noted similarities between the USAAC requirements and those issued by the RAF, and drew on his work on aircraft requirements. Britain. A month later, and a week later, Northrop submitted the request to USAAC.

On November 5, Northrop and Pavlecka met at Wright Field with the head of the Air Materiel Command and presented them with Northrop's initial plan. The Douglas XA-26A night fighter was the only one in the competition; Northrop's plan was chosen.

After USAAC approval, Northrop began full-scale design work on what would become the first dedicated night club.

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Jack Northrop's original idea was a long fuselage gondola between two gine nacelles and tail fins. The engines were Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radials, producing 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) each. Inside the fuselage is a three-man crew, radar, and two quadruple guns. .50 in (12.7 mm) AN/M2 machine guns were installed with 36 in (910 mm) long, lightweight "aircraft" mounts with wide arms.

There are fins on the nose and rear fuselage. It sits on three landing gear and has fully retractable flaps, or "Zap flaps" (named after the aircraft engineer Edward Zaparka) on the wings.

The plane was big, as Northrop had hoped. Despite being the largest and heaviest bomber, the 45.5 ft (14 m) lgth, 66 ft (20 m) wingspan and 22, 600 lb (10, 251 kg) projectile were unheard of for a fighter. the P-61 is difficult for many to accept as a jet fighter.

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A number of alternative design features are being investigated before finalisation. Among them was a change to a single stand and a change of the nose and tail guns to the top and bottom of the fuselage and the addition of a second gun.

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In late November 1940, Jack Northrop returned to the company of three planes and a twin. To meet the USAAC's request for more firepower, the designers rejected the vtral turret and placed Hispano M2 20 mm (.79 in) guns on the wings. As planned, the gun was placed back into the belly of the plane. Thus, the P-61 became one of the few aircraft designed by the US to have a quartet of 20 mm (.79 in) guns—along with the NA-91 version of the Mustang and the US Navy's F4U -1C Corsair—as a factory. - situation in World War II.

Northrop Specification 8A was first delivered to the Army Air Materiel Command at Wright Field, on 5 December 1940. After some minor modifications, Northrop's NS-8A met all USAAC requirements, and was The Air Corps gave Northrop a warrant to buy on the 17th. December. . A contract for two prototypes and two models to be used for wind tunnel testing (cost not to exceed $1,367,000) was awarded on 10 January 1941. Northrop became Specification 8A, at the option of War Departmt, XP-61.

In March 1941, the Army/Navy Committee decided to standardize the use of booster carburetors in all US military branches. The XP-61, equipped with downdraft carburetors, faced at least two months of rebuilding the engine nacelle to achieve the design. Later, the committee decided to replace the updraft carburetor (which had less impact on the XP-61 system), preventing a potential return to the development of the XP-61. .

The Air Corps Mockup Committee met at Northrop on 2 April 1941, to review the XP-61 mockup. They recommended some changes after this review. Most importantly, the 20 mm (.79 in) M2 gun was moved from the wings outboard to the belly of the aircraft, secured with a "step" in the front of the fuselage to accommodate them on the finally. the nose is fine. The installation of two cannons mounted vertically, a little outside the cterline of the plane on each side, and the cannon on each pair only a few inches outboard, eliminating the drawbacks of the convergence of wing mounted guns. Without movement, loading is easier and faster, and a solid load produces a thick stream of 20 mm (.79 in) projectiles. Removing the guns and weapons from the wings as well

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