Northrop P-61 Black Widow

E733680

The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was a World War II-era American twin-engine night fighter, notable as the first U.S. aircraft designed specifically for radar-equipped night interception.

All labels observed (5)

Label Occurrences
Northrop P-61 Black Widow canonical 3
Northrop P‑61 Black Widow 1
P-61A 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf World War II military aircraft
night fighter aircraft
radar‑equipped fighter
twin‑engine aircraft
armament 4 × 0.50 in M2 Browning machine guns in dorsal turret
4 × 20 mm Hispano M2 cannon in ventral fuselage
countryOfOrigin United States
crew 3
designedFor night interception
emptyWeight approximately 22,600 lb
engineType Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine
firstFlight 1942-05-26
height approximately 14 ft 8 in
introducedInConflict World War II
landingGear retractable tricycle landing gear
length approximately 49 ft 7 in
manufacturer Northrop Corporation
linked to: Northrop
maximumSpeed approximately 366 mph at 20,000 ft
maxTakeoffWeight approximately 36,200 lb
notableFeature first U.S. aircraft designed specifically as a radar‑equipped night fighter
numberBuilt approximately 706
numberOfEngines 2
operatorPosition gunner seated in central position under turret
pilot seated in forward cockpit
radar operator seated in rear cockpit
postwarDesignation F-61
powerplant 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-65 Double Wasp radial engines
primaryMission interception of enemy aircraft at night
primaryRole night fighter
productionPeriod 1943–1945
radarEquipment SCR-720 radar
range approximately 1,200 miles
retiredFromUSService late 1940s
secondaryRole intruder and ground‑attack missions
serviceCeiling approximately 33,100 ft
serviceEntry 1944
survivingExamples several preserved in museums
tailConfiguration twin‑boom tail
usedBy Chinese Nationalist Air Force
United States Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
usedInTheater China-Burma-India Theater
European Theater of Operations
Pacific Theater of Operations
variant P-61A
P-61B
P-61C
wingConfiguration mid‑wing monoplane
wingspan approximately 66 ft

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp usedInAircraft Northrop P-61 Black Widow
Jack Northrop designed Northrop P-61 Black Widow
United States Army Air Forces fighter programs aircraftDeveloped Northrop P‑61 Black Widow
linked to: Northrop P-61 Black Widow
Double Wasp usedInAircraft Northrop P-61 Black Widow
Northrop P-61 Black Widow variant P-61A
linked to: Northrop P-61 Black Widow
Northrop P-61 Black Widow variant P-61B
linked to: Northrop P-61 Black Widow
Northrop P-61 Black Widow variant P-61C
linked to: Northrop P-61 Black Widow