Download or read book P 61 Black Widow written by David Doyle and published by Schiffer Military History. This book was released on 2022-12-20 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The P-61 Black Widow was one of the most advanced and most sinister-looking fighter aircraft of the Second World War.
Download or read book Northrop P 61 Black Widow written by Garry R. Pape and published by Schiffer Pub Limited. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Northrop P-61 was the first airplane designed form the start to be a night fighter. With its advanced radar and electronics, high speed, maneuverability and heavy armament, it was as deadly as its namesake: the poisonous Black Widow spider. Northrop P-61 Black Widow uncovers the complete history of this once-secret warplane. The result of over 26 years of original research, this book brings you astonishing detail on all the P-61 variants, from the first XP-61 prototype through the final long range escort and photo-recon versions. Dozens of photos and original Northrop and Army Air Force blueprint drawings show every technical detail of this ahead of-its-time aricraft, its engines, aradar and electronics. This is the complete Black Widow combat diary - all the aces and all the victories, told through first person combat stories. More than 150 black and white and color photos show the Black Widow in action in the European, China-Burma-India and Pacific Theaters - the planes the pilots, the crewmen, the nose art and the markings. Also included are unit histories for each night fighter squadron that flew the Black Widow.
Download or read book Northrop P 61 Black Widow Pilot s Flight Manual written by Film Com Periscope Film Com and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2006-04 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The heavily armed P-61 Black Widow was the U.S. Army Air Force's first dedicated night fighter. Equipped with radar, four .50 caliber machine guns and four 20mm. cannons, the Widow was a fearsome adversary. It flew as both an intruder and interceptor in Europe and the Pacific. Originally printed by Northrop in 1945, the YP-61 Pilot's Flight Operating Manual taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Originally classified "Restricted," the manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable facsimile has been reformatted, and color images appear as black and white. Care has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text.
Download or read book Northrop s Night Hunter written by Jeff Kolln and published by Specialty Press (MN). This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World War II changed the face of warfare forever. Now enemies were fighting and flying all night, which mandated that a fighter be developed that could carry a new technological invention aloft - radar. Northrop's Night Hunter covers the development history of the P-61 Black Widow and the radar built specifically for its use. The P-61 was the most successful Allied night fighter of the war, and flew combat in the China-Burma-India, European, and Pacific theaters of the war. This book details the aircraft's offensive and defensive systems, its operations, and covers its unique uses from missile testing to flights by the U.S. Navy.
Download or read book P 61 Black Widow in Action written by David Doyle and published by MMD-Squadron. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed by Jack Northrop and Vladimir Pavlecka in response to a secret Army Air Corps request, the Northrop P-61, dubbed the Black Widow, became America's first purpose-built night fighter, and the largest and most heavily-armed operational fighter flown by the United States during World War II. Despite being the size of a medium bomber, the unique control surfaces of the P-61 made it surprisingly agile, and among its many successes was the downing of the final enemy aircraft of the war. This book tells the complete story of the Black Widow from the experimental XP-61 on through the final production variant, the F-15A Reporter photo-recon model. Illustrated throughout with 164 black and white and 30 vintage color photographs, four color profiles, and a dozen detailed line drawings.
Download or read book Pilot Training Manual for the Black Widow P 61 written by Army Air Forces. Office of Assistant Chief of Air Staff and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-04-21 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: the P-61 Black Widow reproduced from: Pilot Training Manual for the Black Widow, P-61, Office of Assistant Chief of Air Staff Training, Headquarters AAF, Washington, D.C. The P-61 was built during the last couple of years of WWII, and was built to be the Army Air Forces purpose built night fighter. The P-61 was a revolutionary aircraft, being one of the few aircraft of WWII with RADAR. The P-61 had a crew of 3- Pilot, Gunner and Radar Operator. With 2 Pratt and Whitney R-2800's, 4 - 50 caliber machine guns and 4 - 20MM cannons in the turrets, it was a very powerful Allied weapon of WWII. As big as a bomber, as agile as a light plane, this night fighting specialist destroyed hundreds of Axis aircraft during night raids.
Download or read book P 61 Black Widow Units of World War 2 written by Warren Thompson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first aircraft to be purposely designed as a radar-equipped nightfigher, Northrop's P-61 Black Widow was heavily influenced by early RAF combat experience with radar-equipped aircraft in 1940/41. Built essentially around the bulky Radiation Laboratory SCR-720 radar, which was mounted in the aircraft's nose, the P-61 proved to be the largest fighter ever produced for frontline service by the USAAF. Twin-engined and twin-boomed, the Black Widow was armed with a dorsal barbette of four 0.50-in Browning machine guns and two ventrally-mounted 20 mm cannon. This volume features all the frontline users of the mighty P-61, and includes many first-hand accounts from pilots and gunners who saw action in the Pacific, Mediterranean and Western Europe.
Download or read book Beaufighters in the Night written by Braxton Eisel and published by Pen and Sword Aviation. This book was released on 2007 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 417th Night Fighter Squadron USAAF was only the fourth such unit to be formed. In the early days of WWII, the US sent observers to England to study how the latest form of air warfare would take shape and it very soon became apparent to them that a night fighting capability was of increasing importance. When they joined the battle against the Reich they found themselves without a suitable American aircraft and were forced to utilize RAF Beaufighters. Having 're-learned to fly' this British design the 417th were sent to North Africa. Most of the ex-RAF aircraft they had inherited were battle weary and no supplies of spares were available through the US supply chain. The squadron found an elderly B-25 bomber, nicknamed the "Strawberry Roan," and they ranged throughout the Mediterranean in search of Beaufighter parts. 417 soon built a healthy score of downed German and Italian aircraft and as the war progressed they were moved to Corsica to support the Italian invasion, After D-Day they were moved to Le Vallon from where they attacked the night-time movements of the German Army. Perhaps their most famous operation was to attack the low flying German Condor that ran the route from the Reich to Spain carrying Nazi gold and treasures.
Download or read book Combat Squadrons of the Air Force World War II written by United States. USAF Historical Division and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 856 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of squadron histories has been prepared by the USAF Historical Division to complement the Division's book, Air Force Combat Units of World War II. The 1,226 units covered by this volume are the combat (tactical) squadrons that were active between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. Each squadron is traced from its beginning through 5 March 1963, the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the 1st Aero (later Bombardment) Squadron, the first Army unit to be equipped with aircraft for tactical operations. For each squadron there is a statement of the official lineage and data on the unit's assignments, stations, aircraft and missiles, operations, service streamers, campaign participation, decorations, and emblem.
Download or read book Queen of the Midnight Skies written by Garry R. Pape and published by Schiffer Pub Limited. This book was released on 1992 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new book chronicles not only the aptly named P-61 "Black Widow", but also the Douglas P-70 series, the P-38 night fighter variants, the Bristol Beaufighter, B-25s and the DeHavilland Mosquito - the proposed XA-26A and the P-39 nightfighters are also discussed. Historical accounts of American night fighter pilots, as well as the complets history of all night fighter squadrons formed during World War II are included, as is the development of radar and modern air defenses. This book is the product of over twenty years of study and research. Its sources include the National Archives, Northrop Aircraft archived, the U.S. Air Force Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and interviews with P-61 test pilots, designers and engineers. Garry Pape's previous works include books on the P-61 and the P-38 night-fighter versions. He is currently employed by Northrop, after years with Hughes and Lockheed, and lives in California. Brig. Gen. Ronald Harrison is an F-16 Wing Commander in the Air Force Reserves, and lives in Georgia as an attorney.
Download or read book Sled Driver written by Brian Shul and published by Lickle Pub Incorporated. This book was released on 1991 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No aircraft ever captured the curiosity & fascination of the public like the SR-71 Blackbird. Nicknamed "The Sled" by those few who flew it, the aircraft was shrouded in secrecy from its inception. Entering the U.S. Air Force inventory in 1966, the SR-71 was the fastest, highest flying jet aircraft in the world. Now for the first time, a Blackbird pilot shares his unique experience of what it was like to fly this legend of aviation history. Through the words & photographs of retired Major Brian Shul, we enter the world of the "Sled Driver." Major Shul gives us insight on all phases of flying, including the humbling experience of simulator training, the physiological stresses of wearing a space suit for long hours, & the intensity & magic of flying 80,000 feet above the Earth's surface at 2000 miles per hour. SLED DRIVER takes the reader through riveting accounts of the rigors of initial training, the gamut of emotions experienced while flying over hostile territory, & the sheer joy of displaying the jet at some of the world's largest airshows. Illustrated with rare photographs, seen here for the first time, SLED DRIVER captures the mystique & magnificence of this most unique of all aircraft.
Download or read book Combat Chronicles of the Black Widow written by Warren Thompson and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The 421st Night Fighter Squadron in World War II written by Jeff Kolln and published by Schiffer Pub Limited. This book was released on 2001 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As one of seventeen night fighter squadrons established during the course of World War II, the 421st Night Fighter Squadron carried the war into the night skies over the battlefields of the Southwest Pacific when most other fighter squadrons remained on the ground. In the squadron's years of service they would be based in a number of places ranging from New Guinea, Leyte, and finally ending up as an "Occupational" squadron in Japan after the war. The 421st NFS would be credited with thirteen kills, three damaged, one probable, and a number they simply never received credit for. On February 2, 1945 the 421st NFS would finally be deactivated and overnight become the 68th Fighter Squadron (All Weather). The history of the 421st however, would by no means end there. The 421st would again rise in later years as the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron and fight in the skies of Vietnam, and later be one of the first squadrons flying in Operation Desert Storm â true to its tradition the 421st would fly night missions over Iraq.
Download or read book Deny Them the Night Sky written by Eric Shulenberger and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The 280 men of the 548th Night Fighter Squadron fought their P-61 Black Widows across the Pacific. The Ground Echelon landed on Iwo on D+8, under the mortar, small-arms and kamikaze attack--the Widows arrived a little later. The entire Squadron lived in foxholes (between USMC howitzers and the enemy) for 6 weeks, on C-rations and one canteen of water per day. All while maintaining and flying the world's most complex aircraft. Not a single Japanese bomb fell on Iwo while the 548th stood night-time watch. On Ie Shima (Okinawa) they again arrived under kamikaze attack, shot down several enemy aircraft, made extensive night intruder bombing and rocket attacks, acted as escorts for hundreds of B-29 crew-rescues, and made critical nightly weather observations over tomorrow's targets for the day-bomber fleet. The Squadron had its share of odd moments, from losing a man on Iwo to its own friendly small-arms fire, to scoring the only American shoot-downs of a B29 and a P61." "This book is those men's story--all of them, not just the aircrews. It covers the entire history of the Squadron. The tale is told as much as possible in the first person, using Squadron veterans' memories, illustrations, and extensive records and memorabilia--augmented (where records exist) by official materials." -- Book Jacket.
Download or read book The Army Air Forces in World War II Men and planes written by and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 920 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Pilot Training Manual for the Black Widow P 61 Prepared for Headquarters AAF Office of Assistant Chief of Air Staff Training written by United States. Army Air Forces. Office of Flying Safety and published by . This book was released on 1944 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Radar Game written by Rebecca Grant and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Much of [this book] is devoted to a basic discussion of how stealth works and why it is effective in reducing the number of shots taken by defensive systems. Treat this little primer as a stepping off point for discovering more of the complexities of low observability. ... [This book] should also shed light on why complex technologies like stealth cost money to field. The quest for stealth is ongoing... In fact, stealth aircraft will have to work harder than ever. The major difference from 1998 to 2010 is that defense plans no longer envision an all-stealth fleet. ... The radar game of 2020 and 2030 will feature a lot of assists and the tactics that go along with that."--P. 7.
