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 excelled in nighttime combat during WWII, shooting down 127 aircraft, including 18 V-1 buzz bombs.

-It was famed for its "Jet Black" finish, making it nearly invisible to enemy searchlights. Notably, Lady in the Dark scored the war’s final two kills.

-The P-61 had a three-person crew and powerful armament of cannons and machine guns. Today, four Black Widows survive in museums across the U.S. and China, preserving its legacy as a groundbreaking aircraft.

Though only 706 Northrop P-61 Black Widows were produced, and it only saw service in the final year of the Second World War, the aircraft was notable for being operated effectively as a night-fighter by the United States Army Air Force squadrons in the European, Pacific, China-Burma-India and Mediterranean Theaters of operation.

After the war, it was redesignated the F-51 and served in the United States Air Force as a long-range, all-weather, day/night interceptor for the Air Defense Command until 1948, and later with the Fifth Air Force. It was finally retired in 1954 – yet,........

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