Description:
Revell 85-7546 P-61 Black Widow 1/48 Scale Model Kit
The Northrop P-61 was shrouded in secrecy from its inception. Known as the Black Widow, it was the first U.S. aircraft designed exclusively as a night fighter. Powered by Pratt and Whitney engines, the P-61 could reach a top speed of over 370 miles an hour. The P-61 was the most advanced night fighter of its day, possessing incredible capabilities of destruction. Four.50 caliber machine guns were mounted to the dorsal turret and four 20 millimeter cannons in the ventral location on the fuselage pod. The four.50 caliber machine guns were designed initially as defensive weapons and could be controlled by any one of the three crew members, pilot, rear gunner, or radar operator who sat in the extreme rear of the fuselage pod. The P-61Bs were painted black and they were almost invisible in the night skies.
The premier ace of World War II night fighter fame was Major Carrol C. Smith of the 418th Night Fighter Squadron Stationed in the Pacific. On December 29th, 1944, Major Smith and his radar operator, Lt. Philip Porter, accomplished a feat unheard of in night fighter history as they intercepted and destroyed four Japanese aircraft in a single night with their Times-A-Wastin' P-61.
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