num_pages: 80
description: 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.
language: English
title: P-61 Black Widow In Action
publisher: Squadron/Signal Publications