The Mysterious Plane That Made 127 Kills Without Ever Being Seen

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The first operational U.S. aircraft specifically designed as a night-fighter was the P-61 Black Widow. Created in 1940 by Northrop Aviation, in collaboration with the British Royal Air Force, the P-61 was also the first aircraft designed to use radar.
With its mysterious appearance and name, the Black Widow ruled the night in the waning months of World War 2. It would even collect the last confirmed air-to-air kill on the last night of the war...
- As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. -

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22 сен 2020

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Комментарии : 2,1 тыс.

@DeFaltaver2 Год назад

My memory of this plane was as a five year old living in Long Beach CA in 1944. Mom and Dad would fix a lunch on Dad's day off and we would pile into the car and park outside the airplane factories almost every weekend and watch the new planes coming out of the factories. One weekend, the doors opened and out came the most spectacular airplane we'd ever seen - it was shiny black with two engines and looked like a giant P-38. The propellers were turning and the sunlight shining through the overhead camouflaged netting and those yellow, spinning prop tips will never be forgotten!! It was better than any movie I had seen and still is imprinted in mind to this day at 83 years old!.

@caralho5237 4 месяца назад

Theres something primal about this plane that just tickles my brain. It just looks like a predator

@infantryshooter 19 дней назад

That's an awesome story, thanks for sharing that! 🫡

@RTmadnesstoo 15 дней назад

I love that story! Congratulations!

@dareisnogod5711 15 дней назад

👍💙You lucky SOB; I was not born until 11-- 44, one of the best years to have been born; to have lived thru the 50s & 60s as a juvenile & young adult when America was a great place full of happy people looking forward to a prosperous future. Now, the USA is a dismal country with unhappy people & I have had to leave, for my own sanity. I feel sad.

@bluskytoo 14 дней назад

very cool thank you, My father survived B-24s over Europe and was shot down on his last mission, he made it back and was then on his way to the Pacific to fly P-61s from Okinawa. He said the A-bomb saved his life.

@jamesmcgrath1952 3 года назад

One of the odd problems they ran across was the paint. Initially they painted them flat black which would seem intuitive. But they found out that when the plane was lit by searchlights the flat black paint would literally glow around the edges of the plane. It turned out that the gloss black paint eliminated the problem. I always loved this plane. Imagine, a fighter the size of a medium bomber.

@barryervin8536 3 года назад

The P-61 being restored at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum is in a hangar next to a B-25 and they really are nearly the same size. They've been working on it for almost 30 years and it's beginning to look like it may fly in the near future. I live about an hour away hope to be there to see it.

@christopherwhitney2711 3 года назад

I get what you're saying. Same thing happened to a religious building I wont name. It's in a prominent position in an Australian city and when the locals heard it was being built they put in objections. One objection was to not have it's outer granite facade as polished. It had to be an unpolished mat finish. Needless to say it lights up like a Christmas tree. too bad

@JAEUFM 3 года назад

I always thought the Grumman F7F Tigercat was a sexy looking plane that should have been a dedicated night fighter.

@psmith2234 3 года назад

There's even a stranger, as in non-intuitive, story I read about this. When low-observable paint schemes were being tested, the winner was found to be a pink hue!! This was quickly squelched under the immediate reaction that, "Our pilots won't fly pink airplanes!!"

@gregm9054 3 года назад

Barry Ervin I was a member of Mid Atlantic Air Museum and used to go there once a month to volunteer. Joined back in late 90’s when I lived about 45 minutes away and even worked the airshow numerous times at the field. Watching everything that went into piecing this puzzle back together and the story of the museum procuring the aircraft is incredible. It’ s been about two years since last there but seeing that P-61 on it’s landing gear, man that beauty is big. You anyone reading this take time to go to this museum, it’s a great place and you will get to see what will be the only flying P-61 in the world, it’s incredible and their WWII air show is tops in the country.

@richardeastwick3517 2 года назад

My father was a flight officer in the 418th squadron of the 5th Air Force in 1943 and 1944 in the Pacific theater. He operated the radar in both the P-70’s and the P-61’s in addition to being the navigator in B-25’s operating out of New Guinea. My dad flew 101 combat missions! When he passed away in 2014 at the age of 96, I received his military papers and the log of his 101 combat flights detailing what airplanes in which he flew on which dates. It is a family treasure. Occasionally, I would ask him to tell me stories about his combat experiences. He always claimed he was not a hero and was just lucky to make it back alive. Many of his buddies in the squadron were not so lucky. He always spoke fondly of the Black Widow and was proud of his plane’s air support for McArthur’s return to the Philippines. I wish he was still alive to see this wonderful video on the P-61.

@danielebrparish4271 2 года назад

I hope your dad's materials eventually wind up in the WWII museum in New Orleans.

@pickleballer1729 Год назад

My father trained in a P61 as a radar operator for the Korean War. He was one of the first EWO's, and flew 38 missions in Korea, I think mostly in the P61. After that, he was a B52 Squadron commander in the 60's, helping maintain the "Nuclear Umbrella". By the time I was 6, I had been inside a B52, and seen a bunch of the newest aircraft up close. Exciting childhood.

@therealstubot 3 года назад

I built a model of this aircraft back in the late 1960's. I had never heard of it, nor seen any data on or about it. At the time, finding stuff out meant a trip to the library, and my local library was not very good. It wasn't till the world wide web started growing that I found even a little info on this plane. Thanks for covering this topic, and shedding a little light on this amazing airframe and its stories.

@puntenpol 3 года назад

bumped into the same restrictions when i was building a diorama with the monogram model in the early 80s.

@therealstubot 3 года назад

Yeah, the instructions gave a tiny little blurb, like 2 sentences in the beginning, but there was nothing of substance. It gave all the dimensions and specifications, but nothing about when or where it was deployed, how many were made, or any of that info. It was a very sexy model though.

@JimHabash 3 года назад

yes i did too in the 70s, could never get much info on it though, now i see why

@McPh1741 3 года назад

I had a P-61 model in the early 90s with the “Time’s a Wastin” decal set. It was cast in black plastic and I tried so hard to keep it looking clean and having to paint it by some of the glue squeezed out of some of the seems and I smudged it wiping it off. I finally went with the OD green paint scheme with the white nose.

@glennbrymer4065 3 года назад

I've built this model a couple of times because it was always my favorite plane. I loved how it looked.

@jbryant4228 3 года назад

One of the most famous uses of the P61 was in the raid at Cabanatuan where over 500 POWs were liberated. The P61 was used as a distraction so the Japanese guards wouldn't see the raiders crawling through the grass toward the camp.

@roryschweinfurter4111 3 года назад

Is that the one the movie. The Great Raid was based on? I've seen the movie several times but never known the P-61 was involved. Also I didn't know they were on the drawing board in 1940

@robertbarlow6715 2 года назад

Yes it was.

@TaffenFelspar 2 года назад

Great Book...

@USAR8888 2 года назад

I remember reading about that in the book Ghost Soldiers. Very gripping read. Cant recommend that book enough.

@Berserker_4517 Год назад

@@roryschweinfurter4111he raid from the movie great raid which was the raid at Cabanatuan took place in early 1945. The P-61 was introduced in 1944.

@theheyseed 2 года назад

Thanks for this video. My dad was a radar operator in one flying out of New Guinea. He spent a lot of time at the Mid Atlantic Air museum. He was a principal organizer for the Night Fighters association up until they disbanded due to so many members passing away. He joined them in 2004 and has been in Arlington Cemetery ever since. I have a model of that plane hanging in my office for decades.

@dennisburdue5052 Год назад

What Group was your father in? Mine was in the 41st in New Guinea and the Philippines.

@theheyseed Год назад

@@dennisburdue5052 547th I think. Sadly anyone who could confirm that has passed away. He probably knew your dad.

@martinmeaders2067 3 года назад

My mother's neighbor flew B-25s under Chenault in China. He told us a P-61 downed two zeroes stalking him that he never saw. The pilot contacted him and asked him to confirm the kills before they were shot down. When he agreed his saw two flashes.

@davefellhoelter1343 18 дней назад

We may be? some how in relation? Gramma worked for all these makers with clearances, several "Gramps" fought in all theaters, "I SUSPECT" as first EWO's from PBY's in the Battle for the Atlatic all the way all Allies! and the frence?

@JohnWilson-nu1sq 17 дней назад

My dad was in Chennaults 14 Air Force and spent most of his time at Kunming air base. I discovered his cache of war photographs and other things when I was about 6 years old. He had taken pictures of all of the planes that were on the base and prominent among them were many photos of the P-61 Black Widow. A magical beast to a 6 year old.

@davefellhoelter1343 16 дней назад

@@JohnWilson-nu1sq I had some of Grammas post war aviation pics with her and her husband, all in so cal, one husband was J Turpin allegedly a pow from the Japs. all test planes "I suspect" as they had ground crew mentioned with names in her pics. she was on the Concord to London and the 747 to China after Nixion cut the deal.

@denystull355 3 года назад

My dad was in the Air Force while this plane was still in service and he absolutely loved it, he was a ground radar operator.

@danieltull9583 3 года назад

My dad also tracked some of the first jets on radar

@tomterific390 3 года назад

My dad flew B-29s in Korea. When he returned in 1953, and before he transitioned to B-47s, he did some ferry work, flying various aircraft around the world. One of the ferry missions in his logbook was to take a P-61 to Eglin AFB in Florida. When i asked him about it, he told me that the aircraft was likely going to be used for weapons testing--as a target. He wasn't absolutely certain about that, but I later read an account which seems to confirm that--Donald Lopez, a famous air force fighter & flight test pilot wrote in his memoir that he was stationed at Eglin at about that same time, and that lots of decommissioned WWII-era planes, including P-61s were among the targets for testing of new missiles.

@lollardismontop1026 3 года назад

@@tomterific390 I never knew they had b 29s in Korea mostly the b 17 and twin mustang

@tomterific390 3 года назад

@@lollardismontop1026 By the time WWII ended, both the the B-17 and the B-24 were obsolete, and had both been replaced by the B-29. Even before the Army Air Force became the U.S. Air Force, almost all '17s & '24s were in the scrap yards. The few that remained in service were used as target tugs, targets themselves as drones, air-sea rescue aircraft, and as squadron hacks-essentially routine utility operation, like delivering the mail and doing beer runs. I know there were some in theater--some of my Dad's old Kodachrome slides from 1953 show B-17s in the background at Kadena, but they have no gun turrets. As far as I know none were used in front line operational combat roles. And yes, Twin Mustangs were in Korea, but just a handful, for the simple reason that there weren't that many even in existence--less than 300 were produced in total, and the Air Force top brass viewed the potential Russian threat in Europe to be more important than the "police action" in Korea, so most foreign based F-82s, like most B-50s, were held back from Korea in case the Soviets got frisky in Europe.

@DrJohnStevenson 3 года назад

My father flew the Black Widow in combat missions in the Pacific.

@danaholm9486 3 года назад

Worked for a guy in the early 70s that was an AA gunner on a merchant ship. He was in a Philipine harbor on an ammo ship but they couldn't fire at Japanese night raids for fear of hot shell casings possibly getting into the cargo area. So they watched as enemy aircraft fell flaming over the harbor due to P61 patrols. He said he would buy a dinner for anyone whom he met that served in P61s.

@greatgandalf5233 3 года назад

My Dad was a Aircrew in the back seat and became a Naval Flight Officer, he met my Mom while training on the Black Widow in Vero Beach Naval Airstation back in the day.

@IAmAFamel 4 месяца назад

My grandpa was a gunner on a P-61 in Europe. He was shot down over Germany in April, 1945. It was never confirmed if he was hit by flak or if he hit a tree, but he saw the bailout signal and bailed out successfully with the rest of the crew. Unfortunately the pilot went down with the plane and never made it. He landed on the roof of a barn and broke his leg. Luckily it was in occupied territory, and the British 10th Scotts Guard picked him up and brought him to the nearest field station, located at a place called Bergen Belsen, recently liberated 3 days prior… I wish I was born sooner so I could talk to him about his experiences. Luckily my dad heard them, but only late at night at the American Legion Post, where he had to drag my grandpa back home for dinner. Can’t imagine being raised by that generation. Incredible men.

@softeky 13 дней назад

@@My_Fair_Lady Yup... "if he was hit by flak or if he hit a tree," is the kind of misstatement a reality-confused ChatGPT would make.

@michaeldye5257 3 года назад

I’m glad one of these P-61s is being restored to airworthiness in my home state of Pennsylvania it looks great so far . The aircraft still has probably another half a decade or so left in its journey back to the air. It’s located in Reading PA at the Mid-Atlantic air museum.

@warrenchambers4819 3 года назад

It sure has taken along long long time. I wonder what's holding this iconic aircraft up so long? I do understand parts etc are difficult to obtain but so are those for the XP-82 twin mustang but it's done as is another B-29. CNC technology in machine work one with plans can make dam near any WWII aircraft now. I just really really want to see a P-61 fly again as that would be absolutely amazing. I fly an R/C P-61 currently and dam that's one bad ass looking bird.

@dominicknatoli7494 3 года назад

@@warrenchambers4819 The aircraft they recovered was from a mountain in SE Asia somewhere. It was something like 75-80 completely gone. That cant help. They have a website where you can read the planes history if you google it

@BlueTrane2028 3 года назад

I remember being a Kindergarten age kid in the '80s and the brochure said they expected it to be flying by the mid 1990s. Clearly things hadn't gone so well... but I'd rather it be right than rushed and crash...

@alexandercymbor2095 3 года назад

I am from Reading Pennsylvania, I heard from on of the people at Mid-Atlantic air museums that p-61 my fly in the 2022 wwii weekend.

@DoomFoxofDeath 3 года назад

I love seeing the progress they've made every year. Hope I'm there to see it fly again!

@EnsignFuntimes 3 года назад

Fun fact the YF-23, competitor for the F-22, was nicknamed the Black Widow 2 after this amazing aircraft!

@zackschilling4376 3 года назад

Had to google it, great looking jet!

@ratagris21 3 года назад

They even painted the hour glass in red on the belly, but ticked off the top brass.

@bedlamite42 3 года назад

The hourglass wasn't intentional, they painted the tips of doors red as a safety measure, and when they closed the doors it became an hourglass.

@ratagris21 3 года назад

@@bedlamite42 but the brass didn't see it that way.

@oxcart4172 3 года назад

What kind of arse do u have to be to demand that a small diamond shape gets overpainted?

@marksides9757 3 года назад

My grandad served as a crewmember on P-61s until the war ended in Europe. He was transferred to B-29s in the Pacific as a "flying sergeant".

@oscargrouch7962 12 дней назад

One of my high school teachers was a P-61 mechanic in Europe. He would occasionally fly in the jumpseat on missions they were not expecting contact.

@kdpape 2 года назад

if you love the P61, you should read 'Queen of the Midnight Skies' by my dad, Garry Pape. I grew up watching my dad study everything about this plane - so many amazing memories

@itsapittie 3 года назад

The P-61has been one of my favorite aircraft ever since I built a model of one as a child. I read and watch videos about them every time I can.

@mychaldbeausoleil3043 3 года назад

My Dad a mechanical engineer for General Electric was involved in the radar controlled turret design for the Black Widow I

@mychaldbeausoleil3043 3 года назад

@David Vance Schenectady

@ganjaman59650 3 года назад

thanks to your dad i can use that forward turret in dog fights in war thunder lol, his legacy is alive, the 4 cannons are legendary.

@sheeplord4976 3 года назад

Did not know it was radar controlled. I thought the radar was just to help home in on targets

@mychaldbeausoleil3043 3 года назад

@@sheeplord4976 The turret could be could be fired by the gunner in the 2nd seat (behind the pilot) in the forward cockpit, he had a reduced sized radar screen, could also be fired by the ro in the rear facing bubble at the back of the gondola, both positions had swiveling gunner's seats.

@sheeplord4976 3 года назад

@@mychaldbeausoleil3043 do you mean to say the gunner and radar operator were trained to aim the turrets solely from looking at the targets position on the radar display?

@mr.robinson1982 3 года назад

I made this model airplane when I was a kid. It was my father's favorite, since we made it together. I gave it to him when I finished it. He gave it back to me six months before his death. It is currently on shelf in a cabinet in my bedroom.

@arthurcramer4958 2 года назад

Blessed be his memory always friend. Shalom.

@woppysue Месяц назад

My father was an aviation torpedoman in the Pacific during World War II. He said he got to see these planes a few times. He was a big fan. I remember him telling me about them when I was a boy as we built a model of one together.

@raulduke6105 3 года назад

My Pops was an engine mechanic and just loved them

@orangelemon9786 3 года назад

That is so cool!

@JT-in5le 3 года назад

Loved who, the Nazis? Geez. That’s crazy.

@shawnyoung1869 3 года назад

@@JT-in5le he obviously means the plane genius. Also I get sarcasm but that wasn't even an attempt to add anything to the conversation piss off

@JT-in5le 3 года назад

Shawn Young ‘‘twas a joke, my man”. Easy sailor...put the gun down

@shawnyoung1869 3 года назад

@@JT-in5le ahh that's 100 percent my bad can't take common sense for granted nowadays everyone's looking to get offended over something. Well thank you for clearing that up for me and sorry once again. Enjoy youre evening

@GoSlash27 3 года назад

P-61 was one of my favorite WWII fighters, and there's not much out there in the way of documentaries on it. Thanks for posting this!

@abbiebeast 3 года назад

Would say the P-38 has always been one of my favorates of all time - this craft is a P-38 on roids

@michaelheath9966 2 года назад

There isnt much footage/pics or stats for 3 reasons... 1: It was brought into combat too late for WW2. 2: It was so overated, and underpowered etc, it didnt do anything worth talking about. 3: The RAF Mosquito NF IV

@JostVanWair Год назад

Reminds me of when de Havilland Mosquitoes did a prison break.

@davidfindlay6841 3 года назад

A P-61 squadron flew off the same strip as my Dad's P-38 group at Lingayen,Luzon,PI.They did a great job of stopping the nightime bombing raids.

@johnbailey3351 3 года назад

Great video! My father was a radar mechanic in a Night Fighter squadron and he kept the radar systems on P-61's operating.

@jayabramson6702 3 года назад

My father was an armorer for the P61. He loved that plane. I must have built a dozen or more models as a kid. The squadron insignia was designed by Walt Disney Studios (547th NFS). The first time I saw the Widow at the Smithsonian I literally had tears in my eyes. But the damn Enola Gay blocks getting a good picture!!! I did make a contribution in dad’s name to NAAM towards restoration and in return received a credit card piece of unusable skin from the aircraft. It’s a cherished piece.

@D_U_N_E 3 года назад

Armorer in what way??

@jayabramson6702 3 года назад

He serviced the 20mm cannons and .50 Caliber machine guns.

@butchs.4239 3 года назад

Curiously, the P-61 at the USAF museum sits adjacent to Bockscar, the B-29 that dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki.

@jayabramson6702 3 года назад

Poor thing can’t catch a break!!

@toddbrooks2063 Год назад

@@butchs.4239 What's so curious about it !! Get a life ..

@JustJohn505 3 года назад

I remember going to the national air and space museum and geeking all over this plane, my parents where so confused lol

@battleoid2411 3 года назад

AF museum was the first time I ever knew this thing existed, after seeing a massive fighter the size of a b25 then reading about how badass it was, its been my favorite ww2 plane ever since

@chuckkline2970 3 года назад

It is my favorite. Sooooo cool looking.

@timeforbigchange9417 6 месяцев назад

That P61 has to be one of my favorite aircraft. Awesome Dark Skies for the break down information of how important this beautiful thing was.

@actact21 2 года назад

The 4 machine gun blister on top made it badass !!

@christianletzerich6523 3 года назад

Very epic, Jack Northrops designs are amazing

@tonzelle2720 3 года назад

Fokker G 1 was his template then...

@Snaproll47518 3 года назад

The last WW II veteran that I personally knew was a Black Widow pilot in the Pacific. I recall him saying how he loved the power of the two R2800 engines that allowed about any maneuver with ease. Harry passed away in 2010.

@oscargrouch7962 12 дней назад

Despite their immense weight (the heaviest propeller fighter planes ever), Northrop P-61 Black Widows had impressive single-engine performance due to their being aerodynamically-clean.

@CShivery 2 года назад

The P-61 was also used for the first manned ejection seat firing test. I read an article about it in Air and Space Magazine as a kid in the late 80's/early 90's.

@shaundevrisky349 2 года назад

Interesting fact left out of this video: During the incredibly daring and incredibly successful rescue of 513 POW's from a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines in 1945, a P-61 Black Widow was used. The 121 Army Rangers and Filipino guerillas had to crawl across hundreds of yards of open ground to reach the camp, with out being detected. Headquarters was radioed, and they sent a P-61. The Black Widow did aerial stunts and acrobatics low level just outside of the camp, distracting and mesmerizing the guards so the Rangers could slip in. The story is incredible. The book Ghost Soldiers (author Hampton Sides) is amazing. The movie (The Great Raid, 2005) is also good, if you aren't a reader. Though note that a P-61 isn't used in the movie for obvious reasons.

@Xterror15 3 года назад

Grandfather flew on one in the pacific and specifically over “the hump.” Understanding was that he was reactivated after the war during the insurrection in Pakistan.

@SMDoktorPepper 3 года назад

One of my favorite models I ever built as a kid.

@ianirizarry30 3 года назад

Yea me too my dad got me a revel kit we built it in the build we deleted parts of the engines and replaced them with some toy car motors ran the wires internal to the weapon bay and put a 9v battery in it then we rigged a tether on the ceiling so it could fly in circles

@stevengoodloe3893 Год назад

My granddad worked on the .50 cal turret system and trained the gunners on how to use them. Before that, he taught gunners for B-17s, B-24s, and later B-29s.

@zoomanderson 2 года назад

My grandfather used to meet up with a group of old men in the mornings to have coffee and shoot the breeze. I got to go with him a handful of times, and there was a guy in this group that was about 10 years older than the others. I was really into planes at the time and I had found out that he had been in WWII. I asked him what he did in the war and he said he had flown P-61 night fighters. I shut up and just listened; he told stories about how dangerous it was. More importantly, he told one story about being attacked by planes without propellers. His crew had been one of the first to encounter the ME262 jet fighter.

@duane8620 3 года назад

The P-61 is one of my favorite warbirds, such style, tech, power and one hell of a gorgeous plane.

@Jules_73 Год назад

My grandpa was the gunner in a black widow over the Pacific in the war. I still have his bomber jacket as well as all the books and documentation from his training. Really cool stuff!

@Theegreygaming Год назад

I feel like this plane had to have been the inspiration for the ARC-170 from star wars. The designs are eerily similar. This is a cool concept. If the design could have been adapted to turbine engines and aerodynamics adjusted at bit, I could see thing surviving through the Vietnam Era.

@mr.capythebara9384 Год назад

A jet powered black widow... Now that's something I would love to see.

@riddell26 Год назад

It was the inspiration.

@b_m3998 Год назад

@@mr.capythebara9384 de Havilland vampire is essentially that

@RedFriction Год назад

Yes arc 170 does look like this

@jerryhayden8720 2 года назад

That was a good video. My dad was the navigator radar man in a P 61 in the later part of the war in the Pacific theater. When I was a youngster I thought the P 61 was really neat but my favorite was similar in design. The P 38 was my dream machine. Ya know how it is when you're a kid. I would dream about flying in them and my dads' stories would bring life to those dreams. I'm sure glad he made it home especially since I wouldn't be here if he didn't. My brother was/is the WWII baby and I was born in the fifties. I really enjoyed dads' stories but as you can imagine mom hated them. I understand now. Oh well. I sure miss dad. He was a good man.

@828enigma6 3 года назад

Imagine being on a routine night bombing mission with no concerns at the time, when suddenly your aircraft is struck by 20mm cannon HE shells from an enemy you never had any idea was there, that was for all intent and purpose invisible to you. Would have to be discouraging, assuming you survived.

@roryschweinfurter4111 3 года назад

I've always heard that the Messerschmitt 110 was the first specifically designed night fighter

@markriley141 3 года назад

I’m 35 now, and this has been my favorite Allied plane since I was a child. Thanks for the video.

@ret7army 3 года назад

people complaining about the way you speak ... ignore them, I hear you just fine. Furthermore, your delivery is unique and distinctive. I appreciate that. Thanks for bringing up an article about one of my favorite aircraft of all time. I didn't know that it was too slow to catch other aircraft like the Me410, pity that they hadn't made it faster. I also found it interesting from reading the comments that the flat black paint glowed around the edges when illuminated by search lights and the gloss black didn't, very interesting thanks and HT to "Yeah it's me" in the thread

@dub2536 3 года назад

I made a model kit of this aircraft in the early 1980s as a child. My favorite propeller-powered aircraft is the Focke Wulf 190 D. When I assembled the kit for the black widow it captivated my imagination and I consider it to be a beautiful aircraft. Great video. Peace!

@michaelhowell2326 3 года назад

This thing is my favorite prop powered combat airplane of all time. It's beautiful like a dancer but punches like a heavyweight.

@garrington120 2 года назад

Not a patch on the DH 98 Mosquito !!

@GrinnenBaeritt 3 года назад

I discovered that this was one of the types based and operated from my local airport (Hurn, Dorset, UK) during the war. Always loved the design, since i first saw it (as an Airfix model back in the 70's)..

@bryanschwertner3585 3 года назад

My dad was a Cpl in the 51st Combat Military Police (77th ID). One of hundreds of tasks while on Okinawa during that battle was to transport one of the crew of a P61 along with reconnaissance footage to another location. I had never heard of the plane before he talked about it in the 70s and 80s. He referred to it as the P61 Night Fighter. This one was outfitted with recon camera equipment. He also saw prints and blowups from the missions and I was probably more impressed by his take on the film used.

@joshuamcneal 3 года назад

Thanks for posting. My grandfather worked at Northrop from 1940-1986, I always have had an interest in all Northrop aircraft as a result.

@irondiver2034 3 года назад

This is my all time favorite aircraft of WWII. I first built a model of this airplane in the early 80s. One thing the presenter did not mention was the use of retired p61/f15 reporters as fire bombers in the western US. But then again a lot of retired WWII aircraft were used in that role. At one time the boneyards in the south west were totally littered with airframes.

@hellbent9672 3 года назад

My fav aircraft, thanks for covering it :)

@johannesswillery7855 2 года назад

I played this video at 75% playback speed and could understand the narrator.

@clocksurfer 14 дней назад

For efficient time management, I often increase the playback speed of videos. Not for this show, though. I wonder how the old TV show 'Dragnet' would sound at 1.5X speed...

@katherineberger6329 13 дней назад

I understand it fine, must be my ADHD.

@clocksurfer 13 дней назад

@@katherineberger6329 (A.D.D. club!👍)

@a64738 13 дней назад

Yes the audio sound like it has been speed up and you have to slow it down to 75% speed to sound normal again and to hear what is being said...

@lewiskemp5893 13 дней назад

I use close caption to read it lol

@jimsquire9048 3 года назад

I have a nice model of one of these in my man cave. Even has a three man ground crew doing maintenance on some removable cowls and panels.

@CShivery 3 года назад

The Monogram (now Revell) kit is a pain in the ass but a model builder's rite of passage due to its difficulty and sheer availability. The other is the Monogram/Revell F-14.

@chrisanderson6204 3 года назад

Monogram 1:48 scale. My best effort out of dozens. Built it back in the late 70s. Probably 200 hrs painting and assembling. Wish I had pics

@genekloszewski5484 3 года назад

I have a Revell model of this to build...

@jimsquire9048 3 года назад

@@genekloszewski5484 Cool. It's like a P-38 and a B-25 had a baby together.lol

@GCMS 3 года назад

He called it a Nighttime fighter jet at 2:10 and it threw me out of it. Love you videos bro. Keep them up.

@cyoateralph_wolf2722 3 года назад

Thank you for mentioning one of my favorite little known and barely remberd plains. It did show up late to the party and never got the refinement it should have. If you would the mk17 you mentioned is another great plain quickly decommissioned and worth rembering as one of the last wooden combat plains in service.

@actact21 2 года назад

Plane

@danzervos7606 3 года назад

The P-61 achieved about the same number of kills in Europe as in the Pacific. The turbocharged P-61C was not deployed. It had a top speed of 430 mph at a higher altitude than the P-61A or B. At least two British books claim that the Black Widow with its innovative spoilerons was the most maneuverable fighter in the war. There is a claim that a P-61 engaged three FW-190s and downed two of them, the third escaping. The P-61 was used for intruder attacks and could carry 4 x 1600 lb bombs on shackles under the wings. During the Battle of the Bulge the Black Widow was about the only plane that could fly in the foul weather - but there was a shortage of planes.

@Saintbow 3 года назад

This plane has always been one of my favorites, as it sits in my top three favorites of all time. (P-38 Lighting, A10 Warthog, and of course the P-61)

@RWildekrav66 2 года назад

Great taste in aircraft !

@harcovanhees394 2 года назад

You could add the Fokker G1 and Fokker D23

@acopspi1436 3 года назад

Amazing video as always. Would love to see one on Operation Black Buck!

@camrsr5463 3 года назад

One of my favorite planes of WW2.

@wisecoonie 3 года назад

I don't suppose there are many model builders here who remember or, for that matter, know of François Verlinden, but he is (was?) a master model builder back in the 80s. He was almost the inventor of the drybrushing and shading techniques which are now commonplace among model builders. He was also the first to make lifelike, almost photographic looking diorama's. A genius of his craft. In one of his books, I found a diorama depicting a model of the P61 Black widow. To me, it was such a odd-looking, not to say ugly, plane with that double level canopy and strange bulbous nose. Still, it looked the part in its night black livery. Impressive! Really intriguing, not in the least because it was shown without much background information.It was the diorama which impressed me most and the one I still remember today, even if all those beautiful books were ditched when i lost interest in model building. Nice to find a video on the subject here.

@Ronin4614 3 года назад

Gorgeous aircraft!! Thanks for the video, amigo.

@jandajanda2242 3 года назад

Ive had a diecast model of this ever since i was a kid

@jordanlewis8337 3 года назад

I’ve been waiting for this one !!!

@King3star 2 года назад

Thank you for this video. The P-61 had a magic about it, for sure. If anyone remember playing H.I.S., the P-61 was one of the most formidable planes in that game.

@themajesticmagnificent8561 3 года назад

Brilliant video with great information.Thank you and keep them coming.!👍

@atticus9907 3 года назад

Your channels are great. You can tell you put alot of time and effort into research for these videos,keep up the good work.

@Thomas_TdK 3 года назад

It is almost perfect, the many mistakes are annoying

@redram5150 3 года назад

During the 80s, the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum recovered a P-61 from a mountaintop in New Guinea which crashed there during WWII. They tore it completely apart and have been dutifully rebuilding it ever since. Hardly any remain, so the project has been slow. Their quality of work is fantastic though

@jonathanstein1783 2 года назад

Yes, "The Widow's Web" online shows the progress they've been making with this aircraft. Considering the condition in which they found it, they've so far done an amazing job of bringing her back to life.

@thunderpuppy6719 3 года назад

My dad was in an air recon unit that operated out of liberated German airfields in WWII. Many times, they shared the airfields with P-61 Black Widows. I have a picture of my dad standing under the fuselage of one. At 5'8", he stood perfectly upright. They were large planes. He told me they would shake him out of his bunk when they landed in the wee hours of the morning. For that reason alone, he wasn't a fan of sharing the airfields with them.

@GunniesLetsFlyVFR 3 года назад

You do amazing videos. Love watching your content. Kee0 them coming :)

@ganjaman59650 3 года назад

I was searching a documentary about this one just yesterday, great timing.

@davido9208 3 года назад

Lol so was i

@davido9208 3 года назад

And the only ones I found were from the 1940's

@dominicsanchez2972 3 года назад

Looks like your FBI Agent is looking out for you 😂😂😂

@ganjaman59650 3 года назад

@@davido9208 yes this is basically the only recent one available.had to search it cause it's so op(op if you can play your role, or get the bast of the capability of the craft) in warthunder; even if this channel only get sponsored by gaijin for crossout, for some strange reasons...war thunder would be such a better choice for this channel...

@bettyschnauber8238 3 года назад

"TIMIMG" you say. lol

@DrScalpel29 3 года назад

As far as I know this video is the first comprehensive story on RU-vid about this weird looking airplane. Thx for that. More and more I think about to buy the RC Version of this hottie. 😁 Really a masterpiece of US aviation engineering 👍

@chrisgoodwin2919 3 года назад

My foster mother showed me a black widow sitting in a field, covered blackberry bushes near the airport in Santa Rosa california, that was 24 years ago, ive looked for it many times since, i nener saw it again, i hope it is being restored somewhere

@samuelmorado70 3 года назад

I was in California in 84 to 88 and I wish I had known about this

@mikemckenzie8230 3 года назад

The Wright Patterson AF Museum in Dayton Ohio has one on display - awesome looking!

@hokep61 3 года назад

There are only 4 known to exist. One at the one of the Smithsonian, one at Wright Patt. museum in Dayton. One at Mid continent and the final one in China. Rumors of more in China, but nothing confirmed. It is possible, my Dads plane, as were others of the 427th were left behind at wars end.

@stevecastro1325 3 года назад

I always loved this plane, even though the top speed of the B model was pedestrian compared to other similar types. The “C” model at 430 mph top sped was what was really needed, but, again, arrive too late. With the heavy gun argument and ability to carry 6 inch rockets or four 1600 pound bombs, It could have excelled in the ground attack role, but had too much overlap with the B-25 and B-26, & The other types could do level bombing as well, since they had proper bombsight equipment.

@ivebeenbamboozled9210 3 года назад

ARC 170 Starfighter is designed after this aircraft.

@juancruzmarolda7726 3 года назад

Both are awesome fighters in their own right

@duncanmcgee13 3 года назад

Arc*

@battleoid2411 3 года назад

@@duncanmcgee13 ARC** It's an acronym, Aggressive ReConnaissance

@SvenTviking 3 года назад

Juan Cruz Marolda The Starfighter was a great research aircraft. Lousy warplane.

@juancruzmarolda7726 3 года назад

@@SvenTviking starfighter here was mant as in a Star Wars starfighter, not the real plane starfighter

@1timcat 3 года назад

The pilots were likely proud of the Milt Caniff nose art.

@jeffingram8279 2 года назад

Another great Video! I have never been disappointed- Your videos no matter the channel are always great!

@clevlandblock 3 года назад

I like the presentation of these vids and find the background music haunting, eerie, and befitting of the unusual aircraft depicted. The narrator's style adds a bit of the occult to the story.

@briandamage5677 3 года назад

I believe this plane is actually the first purpose-built night fighter. The HE 219 Owl for example was designed before used successfully as a night fighter.

@johnosbourn4312 3 года назад

The P-61 was the only aircraft from the Allies that was designed, and built from the wheels up as a Night Fighter, whereas the HE-219 was the only enemy fighter designed from the wheels up, as a Night Fighter. Japan also fielded a puropose built Night Fighter: The Nakajima Irving, as well.

@briandamage5677 3 года назад

@@johnosbourn4312 No, the HE 219 wasn't built from the outset as a night fighter. It came from 'projekt 1060', a multipurpose design that was intended to be either a heavy fighter, recon plane or torpedo bomber. The Nakajima J1N was initially built as a bomber escort fighter.

@ThatGuysProject 3 года назад

Not to mention the Baeufighter and me110

@briandamage5677 3 года назад

@@ThatGuysProject And? Neither of which were purpose-built night fighters - you know, the point of the original comment?

@neiloflongbeck5705 3 года назад

@@ThatGuysProject neither were built specifically as nightfighers.

@Rolkatsuki 3 года назад

This became my favourite WWII plane when I came across it in Heroes Of The Pacific.

@MrCrackerjack121 3 года назад

I once met a man that was a piloted this plane. I was too young to remember much of the conversation, but he was a cool dude.

@grogery1570 3 года назад

I just finished the book "Night Fighter" it is written by a British radar operator in WWII. The most impressive fight he was involved in was one where they chased a Heinkel, never got into a position to fire on it, the German pilot was just too good. It crashed trying to get away, the Mosquito chasing them wasn't ready to that close to the ground. So a kill was awarded without a shot being fired!

@chipbrandstetter 3 года назад

Your content is great. Your edits engaging, your footage always works with your narration. Top shelf work.

@charlesweber4419 3 года назад

Thank you.. I built, I think the Revell model, when I was a teenager. It hung above my bed until college.

@Wombat1916 3 года назад

@rogerwilco99 Only 40 aircraft! My first collection was just over one hundred aircraft. My father managed to damage and destroy some and I was chivvied into disposing of the rest. My current collection is around 350 aircraft, with around 30 ships and the final few 1/9th scale motorcycles and a few odds and sods of other models!

@e.d.4824 2 года назад

Love this plane and its special design and outstanding looks. Great stuff, thanks!

@jimadams4766 2 года назад

Utube

@j.r.3097 3 года назад

My Grandfather Raymond Louis Duethman was 418th squadron. He was a radar operator. Later went into be head of engineering at Honeywell. Great man.

@Pastshelfdate 3 года назад

When I was a kid, I was fascinated with the Black Widow. It really looked impressive. I didn't know it was at the struggling edge of technology, and that it saw such limited service. I wonder how much its presence may have discouraged axis night flights. Could the P-61 have been a victim of its own early success?

@eflanagan1921 2 года назад

Too large too heavy too expensive too few and too late .

@afoolandhismoneychannel 3 года назад

Watching the video at 0.75 speed actually slows the narration down enough to understand it. Winning!

@aro4098 3 года назад

The narrator himself should slow down to 0.75.

@jimmbbo 3 года назад

At .75 it sounds like he just finished a bottle of Gentleman Jack

@danieldunn6284 3 года назад

It does work but he sounds a little drunk

@michaelpalerino5276 3 года назад

My father was a radar technician in a P-61 squadron. He said his craft had no turret with quad .50. He said the turret would cause buffeting. Most aircraft that retained the turret would keep if locked forward. His squadron would chase German aircraft that would come in at night to drop mines (usually) into harbors like Antwerp, Belgium, which the allies were struggling to clear to open supply lines closer to the front.

@chrisgoodwin2919 3 года назад

When i was about 11 my foster mother took me to the area where she grew up, in santa rosa california, a couple miles from the charles shultz air Museum.(Santa rosa airport). She had taken me out for a drive in a rural area and she took me to a p-61 blackwidow sitting out in a field covered with blackberry bushes, she siad they used to play on it when she was a kid, ive looked for it since then many times, but its gone, i really hope it was restored and loved, and not scrapped

@finnmccool2549 3 года назад

Love this aircraft....Doesn't get the recognition it deserves..

@paraphidd 3 года назад

I think that if this plane hadn’t been delayed so much, it would have been a much more impactful aircraft. In the areas it *was* used, it did decently well for an obsolete aircraft. Either way, a fantastic model to build.

@robertmarsh3588 2 года назад

Very interesting aircraft. Like many other folks, I enjoyed building the Airfix kit when I was a boy. As an professional engineer, the protracted development of the P61 is a good reminder that if product takes too long to get into production, it really can miss the intended purpose. Same goes for whether it is a piece of modern consumer electronics or a WW2 plane. Good that the P61 still made a contribution late on though. Would love to see one fly!!

@nicholasyost8400 3 года назад

A beautiful airplane! The Lady In the Dark shall always remain on of my favorite planes! Thanks for remembering her! So many people forget this plane ever existed and we'll sadly never see this plane fly again. Thank you Dark Skies for not forgetting the Lady In the Dark! To Northrop, I hope you never forget! Why have so many forgotten the Lady's bite? Why is she never spoken of except by the few? Even D.C. only had a mere model to remember! They forgot Project Thunderstorm! They forgot everything you did in WW2! Well we won't forget all you did!

@juancruzmarolda7726 3 года назад

This is one of the coolest aircraft of WW2

@dB-hy6lh 3 года назад

At 2:07, the guy dressed in a suit, smoking a pipe, and talking to his engineers is Leroy Grumman, of Grumman Aircraft Co.! In 1994 Grumman Corp., builder of, among other aircraft, theF4F Widlcat and F6F Hellcat, the Grumman Goose and Mallard seaplanes, A-6 Intruder, E-2 Hawkeye, F-14 Tomcat, EA-6B Prowler, and the Apollo Program Lunar Module that landed on the moon, merged with Northrop Corporation to become the current Northrop Grumman (NGC). Grumman Aircraft Corp always had a strong movie department and over the years has been a good source of historical footage used in documentaries and movies.

@EternallyThankful-os6pz 3 года назад

An amazingly cool looking bird - I love how it's designed.

@starsiegeplayer 3 года назад

First time I saw a picture of this plane I said " THAT is a pursuit fighter??" Learning more about it's unique capabilities gave me a new respect for this oddball "fighter."

@TheB49 3 года назад

From what I've heard, as big as she was,she was light on the controls and the pilots loved flying her while her complexity frustrated the ground crews.

@hokep61 3 года назад

My Dad was a crew chief on a 61. He was the only one who serviced the aircraft. He has commented that it was quite a job keeping all the systems combat ready....but he still loved it. He was with the 427th NFS. And yes, for a big aircraft....it was very maneuverable. Occasionally, they would have a P-51 (Mustang) in the unit and the 61 could easily turn inside a Mustang. The 61 could also drop gear and flaps an fly beside an L-4 (Piper).... that would be just a bit over 100 mph.