Northrop P-61 Black Widow

R-61 was a free - standing mid - plane all - metal construction, built according to a two-beam scheme . Power plant - two piston double-row star-shaped aircraft engines Pratt-Whitney R-2800. The engine power on the aircraft version R-61V was 2250 liters. from. Chassis - tricycle, retractable, with bow rack.

The crew consisted of three people - a pilot, gunner and radar operator. In the front two-seat cockpit was the pilot, followed by the radar operator, whose workplace was raised higher than that of the pilot, like in modern combat helicopters. The workplace of the shooter was in the rear of the fuselage nacelle.

Essentially speaking, the R-61 was a large and heavy aircraft, structurally extremely complex. The fighter was equipped with a search and sighting radar, and the installation of the radar was first planned during the development of the project. The armament of the aircraft at first consisted of four 20-mm cannons in the lower part of the fuselage nacelle and four 12.7 mm machine guns in a rotating remotely controlled turret on the fuselage. As a result, the plane turned out to be a “flying anti-aircraft gun”, moreover, quite effective.

As the vehicle was mastered, they began to refuse from the fuselage turret, since a salvo of guns was quite enough to guarantee a target hit. The turret itself weighed 745 kg, and its dismantling gave a noticeable gain in speed and maneuverability. In addition, when turning the turret, tail feathering appeared, as disturbed air flow from the turret fell on it.

A total of 14 squadrons took part in the hostilities, which had the P-61 Black Widow aircraft.

In the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese almost never flew at night. And in the leadership of the Air Force decided to redirect the R-61 fighters to night attacks of ground targets and direct air support for US Army units and the Marine Corps . In the spring and summer of 1945, R-61s were actively used in the Philippines to support ground forces, mainly during the daytime, which was facilitated by the powerful armament of the aircraft.

Unofficially, he bears the title of “ending the war”: on the night of August 14-15, 1945, after the Japanese proposal for a ceasefire, the P-61B with the name “Lady in the Dark” of the 548th night squadron defeated in aerial combat (drove into the sea without fire) of the Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa who attacked him, whose pilot might not have heard of the ceasefire. This was the last aerial victory of the Allies in World War II . The next night, the same plane discovered and fought with the Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki , it disappeared from view several times, but was eventually crashed by ground forces the next day. Since there was no confirmation of the crew about the victory, it was not counted.

It was also used by the Allies in Europe , as a night and heavy fighter.

R-61A and R-61B were used not only in combat squadrons, but also were in service with training units and were involved in various experimental programs.

R-61 aircraft were removed from service in 1952 . Part of the aircraft was sold to civilian operators: these aircraft were used, in particular, to extinguish forest fires .

The following specifications correspond to the P-61B-20NO modification:

Specifications

• Crew : 3 people (pilot, radar operator, gunner)
• Length : 15.11 m
• Wing span: 20.12 m
• Height : 4.47 m
• Wing Area: 61.53 m²
• Track track: 5.24 m
• Empty weight: 10 637 kg
• Curb weight: 13 471 kg
• Maximum take-off weight: 16,420 kg
• The volume of fuel tanks: 2 423 l (up to 4 × 625 l or 1 173 l of PTB )
• Engines: 2 × Double Row Star-Shaped Pratt & Whitney R-2800-65W Double Wasp
• Power : 2 × 2 250 l. from. (1,680 kW)
• Propeller : four- blade Curtiss Electric with a diameter of-3.72 m

Flight performance

• Maximum speed : 589 km / h at an altitude of 6,095 m
• Cruising speed : 428 km / h
• Combat radius: 982 km
• Ferry range: 3,060 km (with four PTBs )
• Practical ceiling : 10,600 m
• Rate of climb: 12.9 m / s
• Climbing time: 6,100 m in 12 minutes
• Wing load: 219 kg / m²
• Thrust ratio: 250 W / kg

Armament

• Machine gun and cannon:
  • 4 × 20 mm Ispano M2 guns with 200 rounds per barrel
  • 4 × 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine gun with 560 rounds per barrel
• Combat load:
  • 6 × 127 mm HVAR missiles or
  • 4 × bombs up to 726 kg each

• Heinkel He 219 Uhu
• Northrop F-15 Reporter - reconnaissance based on the P-61.

• Kharuk A.I. Fighters of the Second World War. The most complete encyclopedia. - M .: Yauza, EKSMO, 2012 .-- 368 p. - 1,500 copies - ISBN 978-5-699-58917-3 .

• P-61 Black Widow // airpages.ru
• Theft of R-61 by a Soviet pilot