NORTHROP P-61 BLACK WIDOW

The Northrop P-61 was a three-seat, twin-engine night fighter, two-bar medium wing aircraft with retractable landing gear, adapted to operate from land bases. The prototype's flight took place in May 1942. The plane was made entirely of metal, initially of magnesium alloys, later of duralumin. The half-shell beam hulls were stiffened with metal frames. The crew cabin, located in the middle fuselage, housed a crew of three. The pilot sat in the front section, followed by the deck gunner, and finally the radar operator. In the turretless versions, the radar operator was moved to the gunner's cockpit, and there was an extra seat at the rear. The entire cabin was armored. The P-61 received an SCR-720 airborne radar with a range of 10 km, was located in the nose part of the fuselage, and was coupled to an IFF device for self-alien identification. The radar indications were received in the cockpit of the radar operator who sat at the rear of the fuselage. The armament consisted of four 12.7 mm machine guns mounted in a remotely controlled turret, which was not available on all versions of the aircraft, and four 20 mm cannons mounted in the fuselage. Each crew member had a sight, the pilot used it in typical fighter attacks, when the enemy's flight direction coincided with the flight of his own plane. In other cases, the fire was fired by a deck gunner, who was also a shooting tower operator. If it was necessary to defend against an attack from the rear, the duties of the shooter and the operation of the shooting turret were taken over by the radar operator. In addition, some machines, mainly operating in Europe, performed assault actions using bombs, unguided rockets or napalm tanks. Technical data: length: 15.11m, wingspan: 20.12m, height: 4.47m, maximum speed: 589km / h, climb speed: 112.9m / s, maximum range: 3060km, practical ceiling: 10600m, armament: Fixed - 4 12.7mm M2 machine guns and 4 20mm Hispano cannons, sling - for 2880 kg bombs or 6 127mm HVAR missile launchers.