Black Widows improved

[pampa14]

I share with you some pictures of rare versions of the first US operational night fighter. Does anyone know if the equipment and weapons tested were used in combat? The collection of photos can be viewed by visiting the link below:


http://aviacaoemfloripa.blogspot.com.br/2011/02/p-61-black-widow-em-testes-especiais.html


Best Regards!

 

[Mikesingh]

The P-61 Black Widow had four under-wing hardpoints fitted, each rated at 1,600 lb (726 kg), and able to carry a bombs or a drop tank (like some aircraft in the P-61A series). The P-61G had 4 × 0.5 inch (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns.

The first P-61 kill was recorded on June 30, 1944 (some sources say July 6), when a Black Widow of the 6th NFS downed a Mitsubishi G4M ‘Betty’ bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force in the central Pacific.

Once the Black Widow did get into action in Europe, it found success against a variety of targets: fighter planes, bombers, V-1 buzz bombs, and ground targets like locomotives and truck convoys.