Air Force 1 Northrop P-61B Black Widow 'Lady in the Dark' 1:72

History

Northrop's P-61 Black Widow was a creature of the night. A strange and menacing looking machine, it was easy to fly and responsive to touch while featuring an on-board radar - the first of its kind - to detect enemy aircraft in total darkness. The unusual cockpit layout placed the radar operator/forward gunner above and behind the pilot, while the third crewman was behind both. Soon after the P-61s reached night-fighter squadrons in Europe and the Pacific 1944, they achieved an impressive combat record. 

The need for a true night fighter aircraft was well demonstrated during the Battle of Britain in 1940 as aircraft used to counter German night attacks operated by moonlight or searchlights with ground radar support were not very effective. Deceptively agile, the large, powerful, twin-engine P-61 was the first American combat plane designed specifically as a night fighter ad optimized for air-to-air combat under cover of nightfall. Beneath its slick coat of black paint, the P-61 proved itself a deadly foe in the dark, invisibly approaching enemy warplanes and blasting them from the sky. The P-61 Black Widow was the largest, heaviest and most powerful fighter of World War II.