The P-61 Black Widow was the US Army Air Corps first radar equipped warplane designed as a night fighter. The first P-61s were delivered at the end of 1943 and the first of the type entered combat in mid-1944. The total production totaled 742 aircraft.

The heavily-armed Black Widow was this country's first aircraft specifically designed as a night-fighter. In the nose, it carried radar equipment which enabled its crew of two or three to locate enemy aircraft in total darkness and fly into proper position to attack.

The XP-61 was flight-tested in 1942 and delivery of production aircraft began in late 1943. The P-61 flew its first operational intercept mission as a night fighter in Europe on July 3, 1944, and later was also used as a night intruder over enemy territory. In the Pacific, a Black Widow claimed its first "kill" on the night of July 6, 1944. As P-61s became available, they replaced interim Douglas P-70s in all USAAF night fighter squadrons. During WW II, Northrop built approximately 700 P-61s; 41 of these were -Cs manufactured in the summer of 1945 offering greater speed and capable of operating at higher altitude. Northrop fabricated 36 more Black Widows in 1946 as F-15A unarmed photo-reconnaissance aircraft.

The Black Widow on display was presented to the U.S. Air Force Museum by the Tecumseh Council, Boy Scouts of America, Springfield, Ohio, in 1958. It is painted and marked as a P-61B assigned to the 550th Night Fighter Squadron serving in the Pacific in 1945.

Type and year: night-fighter / 1944 Wing Span : 20,11 ms Length : 15,11 ms Height : 4,47 ms Take-Off Weight : 13 472 kg Maximal Speed : 589 km/hs to 6 100 ms Maximal Operational Altitude : 10 000 ms Autonomy : 4 830 km Crew : 3 crewmen Arming : Four 20 mms guns, 4 machine guns, 2 900 kg of bombs.

If it was the only night-fighter conceived by the United States at the time of the second world conflict, it was revealed one of the best machines of its category nevertheless. Constructs to a few more of 700 copies, it entered in service on the forehead of the Pacific lasting the summer 1944 and in Europe during the month of August of the same year. The Army CUSTOM began to interest itself strongly to a night-fighter in 1940 after having received reports of the RAF. To this time, the Northrop worked on a fighter of this type and submitted to technicians of the USAAF plans of their project to the month of November 1940. This twin-engine heavy, sufficiently big and powerful for can be equipped of a radar and an efficient side arming, was awaited with enthusiasm. January 11, 1941, two prototypes were ordered, March 10, 13 early-serie units, September 1st, 150 units and February 12, 1942, 450 other one. In these very short delays, the first prototype, the XP-61, flew May 21, 1942. The Black Widow put time some before being achieved because of requirements owed to the realization of the side radar. The P-61 finally presented himself like a twin-engine heavy endowed of two Pratts & Whitney 2 000 CVS engines that manipulated four-plates helix and endowed of a twin-tail fuselage. The radar was to the extremity of the before and this plane was equipped of a particular system of control that increased his manoeuvrability. The four 20 mms guns were placed in a remote-controlled turret on the back and the heavy machine guns were fixed on the stomach. The "A" version was produced to 200 units. The B version that differencied himself by supports under wings able to transport bombs or fuel tanks was produced to 450 units. In short the P-61C built to 41 units was propelled by the new 2 800 CVS engines. In the immediate of the postwar, some units to the number of 36, were modified (radar and turret suppressed, different fuselage) served as Recco-version : the F-15A Reporter. They were the last P-61 in service.

P-61A and B in combat The first operational use of the P-61 Black Widow was in the Pacific theatre. The 418th, 419th and 421st Night Fighter Squadrons shipped out to the Southwest Pacific Area late in 1943. The first operational mission by Black Widow took place out of Saipan on June 24, 1944, and the first kill was made on June 30, when a Black Widow piloted by 6th Night Fighter Squadron members 2nd Lt. Dale F. Haversom and radar operator Raymond P. Mooney shot down a Betty. The Black Widows flew numerous missions against Japanese night intruders, which were a real nuisance to American forces and which up to this time had been virtually immune from interception. On typical missions, the Black Widow would be directed to the vicinity of its target by ground based radar. The onboard A/I radar under the control of the radar operator would then be used to direct the pilot to close with and intercept the the enemy. As soon as the Black Widow had gotten close enough to its target to make a visual identification, the guns would be aimed and fired by the pilot or by the gunner. The appearance of the Black Widow in the night skies over the Pacific was a rude and unpleasant surprise for these night raiders.

One of the primary missions of the Black Widow squadrons was the protection of B-29 bases on Saipan against night attacks, and these aircraft flew combat air patrols and interception missions. They also aided in the rescue of many crippled and lost B-29s trying to return from raids on Japan.

Black Widows were also based in New Guinea and later in the Philippines. In the Philippines, Black Widows flew night intruder missions against Japanese airfields and ground installations. The Black Widow also participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

The Black Widow also served in the China-Burma-India theatre. The first Black Widow kill in that theater took place on October 30, 1944, when a Kunming-based Black Widow flown by Capt. Robert R. Scott and Charles W. Phillips of the 426th Night Fighter Squadron shot down a Japanese twin-engined aircraft. The initial mission of the China-based Black Widows was to destroy Japanese night intruders, but as enemy nighttime flying ceased, the Black Widows went over to night intruder missions, attacking Japanese ground installations in China and Burma

The first P-61 arrived in Europe on May 23, 1944. The Black Widows were initially based in England, and their first assignment was to chase night-flying V-1 "buzz bombs". The Black Widows would be vectored to intercept approaching V-1s by ground control. Since the V-1 was a little faster than the P-61, the Black Widow had to approach the V-1 from behind and go into a slight dive in order to catch up with it. The first Black Widow V-1 "kill" took place on July 16, 1944, credited to pilot Herman Ernst and radar operator Edward Kopsel of the 422nd Night Fighter Squadron. One of the greatest dangers involved in killing V-1s was the possibility of getting too close to the flying bomb when one fired at it, running the risk of damage to your own plane if the bomb exploded when hit.

After D-Day, many Black Widows moved to France. Although several interceptions of night-flying German aircraft were made, most Black Widow missions were night intruder missions against trains, armor, and other ground targets

Units using the P-61 included:

6th Night Fighter Squadron, Seventh Air Force - Guadalcanal, New Guinea, Saipan, Iwo Jima 
414th Night Fighter Squadron, Twelfth Air Force - Algeria, Sardinia, Corsica, Italy 
415th Night Fighter Squadron - Italy, Corsica, France 
418th Night Fighter Squadron, Fifth Air Force - New Guinea, Philippines 
419th Night Fighter Squadron, Thirteenth Air Force - South West Pacific 
421st Night Fighter Squadron, Fifth Air Force - New Guinea, Philippines 
422nd Night Fighter Squadron, Ninth Air Force - England, France, Belgium, Germany 
425th Night Fighter Squadron, Ninth Air Force - England, France 
426th Night Fighter Squadron, Fourteenth Air Force - India, China 
427th Night Fighter Squadron - Italy, India, Burma, China 
547th Night Fighter Squadron, Fifth Air Force - New Guinea, Philippines 
548th Night Fighter Squadron, Seventh Air Force - Saipan, Iwo Jima 
549th Night Fighter Squadron, Seventh Air Force - Saipan, Iwo Jima 
550th Night Fighter Squadron - New Guinea, Philippines 

The Black Widow did not rack up an impressive list of kills. Its entry into the war was relatively late, at a time when the Allies had already established almost complete control of the air. Consequently, enemy aircraft were at this time relatively few and far between, even at night. Nevertheless, there were a few Black Widow aces. In accounting for Black Widow aces, there is a complication since the aircraft had more than one crew member. Does only the pilot get credit for the kill, or does the radar operator get credit as well? What happens if the pilot has had different radar operators on different missions? What if a radar operator has had more than one pilot? In the European theatre, there was an additional complication because some of the Black Widow kills were against unmanned V-1 'buzz bombs". Should these V-1s kills be included in the count? If V-1s are included, and if both pilots and radar operators are to be given credit for the kill, in Europe, there were two sets of pilots and radar operators who achieved six victories. These were the pair 1st Lt. Herman E. Ernst (pilot) and 2nd Lt. Edward H. Kopsel (radar operator) and the pair Lt. Paul A. Smith (pilot) and Lt. Robert E. Tierney (radar operator). One V-1 is included in the count for each pair of crew members. All of these crew members were from the 418th Night Fighter Squadron. The leading Black Widow crew in the Pacific was the pair Major Carrol C. Smith (pilot) and Lt. Philip B. Porter (radar operator) of the 418th Night Fighter Squadron, who destroyed five Japanese aircraft.