What You Need to Know: The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the U.S. Army Air Force’s first dedicated night-fighter, featuring innovative radar technology. With its twin-engine, twin-boom design ...

The P-61’s origins begin with the British, who submitted a design request to the United States for a powerful night fighter that would have a high service ceiling, long eight-hour plus loiter ...

Northrop’s P-61 Black Widow was late to the war. The fighter-bomber didn’t fly its first combat mission until June 1944, when it penetrated German airspace to bomb and strafe trains, railways ...

A Northrop P-61 Black Widow firing all four Browning .50 caliber machine guns in the top turret along with the Hispano 20 mm cannons in the lower forward fuselage while on the ground at night.

The Black Widow arrived at the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California, on February 14, 1951. NACA returned the aircraft and delivered it to the Smithsonian at ...