Northrop P-61 Black Widow Night-Fighter Aircraft Family
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first U.S. aircraft designed from the outset as a night fighter, combining a three-person crew, nose-mounted airborne radar, twin-boom layout, and heavy armament in a long-range twin-engine airframe. The XP-61 prototype flew in 1942; production P-61A, P-61B, and P-61C aircraft then served as night fighters and later reconnaissance conversions in the United States and overseas.
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Identity
- Aliases
- P-61 Black WidowXP-61YP-61P-61AP-61BP-61CF-15 ReporterRF-61C
- Family Name
- Northrop P-61 Black Widow
- Full Name
- Northrop P-61 Black Widow Night-Fighter Aircraft Family
- Roles
- militaryreconnaissance
- Status
- retired
- Type
- aircraft
- Variant Name
- Black Widow
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- fixed_wing
- Operating Modes
- land
- Takeoff Landing Capabilities
- conventional
- Description
- The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first U.S. aircraft designed from the outset as a night fighter, combining a three-person crew, nose-mounted airborne radar, twin-boom layout, and heavy armament in a long-range twin-engine airframe. The XP-61 prototype flew in 1942; production P-61A, P-61B, and P-61C aircraft then served as night fighters and later reconnaissance conversions in the United States and overseas.
- First Flight Year
- 1,942
- Manufacturer
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 2
- Placement
- wing
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Variant Notes
- Twin R-2800 radial engines in wing nacelles; exact P-61 dash variant unresolved and canonical node is the R-2800 family.
- Name
- P-61 Black Widow R-2800 family installation
- Notes
- U.S. Air Force museum evidence identifies two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engines in wing nacelles on the P-61 family; the canonical node is family-level, so exact dash variation across XP/P-61 branches remains explicit in variantNotes.
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- Creation Time
- August 1, 2026 at 17:57:14 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 14, 2026 at 16:40:52 UTC