10 Facts You Didn’t Know About the First Ever Night Flyer

During World War II, a new kind of terror stalked the skies after dark — a sleek black aircraft that hunted bombers by radar, unseen until it was too late. This was the Northrop P-61 Black Widow, the first U.S. aircraft designed specifically for night combat. Here are ten fascinating facts about the night-fighting legend that changed aerial warfare forever.

1. Born from the Blitz

The Black Widow was conceived during the German Blitz, when Nazi bombers devastated British cities under cover of darkness. The Allies needed a fighter that could patrol at night and intercept raiders invisible to searchlights or spotters.

2. The Largest Fighter Ever Built

At over 45 feet long with a 66-foot wingspan, the P-61 was enormous for a fighter — nearly the size of a medium bomber. It weighed more than 10 tons and carried enough fuel to loiter over a city for eight hours straight.

3. Powered by Twin “Double Wasps”

Northrop fitted the Widow with two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engines, each generating 2,000 horsepower. These powerful radials gave it the speed and climb rate needed to chase down enemy bombers even at high altitude.

4. Deadly Firepower

Armed with four 20mm cannons in its belly and four .50-caliber machine guns in a remote-controlled turret, the P-61 packed one of the heaviest punch combinations of any American fighter of the war.

5. Outclassed the British Mosquito

Though British commanders initially doubted the design, head-to-head tests showed the P-61 outperforming the lighter wooden de Havilland Mosquito in speed, climb, and turn rate. The U.S. Army Air Forces had found their night hunter.

6. Combat Debut in 1944

The Black Widow first saw action in 1944. Lieutenant Herman Ernst scored the type’s first kill — a German V-1 flying bomb — by diving at incredible speed to intercept it before it struck England.

7. Battle-Tested Over Europe and the Pacific

P-61s downed German bombers over Normandy, fought through the Battle of the Bulge, and earned ace pilots in the 422nd and 425th Night Fighter Squadrons. In the Pacific, they famously aided U.S. Army Rangers during The Great Raid to free prisoners in the Philippines.

8. Radar Operators Were the Key

Each Black Widow carried a two-man crew: a pilot and a radar operator who guided attacks using the aircraft’s revolutionary AI radar. Early missions even placed the radar man in a rear compartment with no voice contact — a flaw later fixed after several close calls.

9. From Combat to Science

After the war, P-61s were used for weather research, flying into thunderstorms to gather data for what would become early NASA atmospheric studies.

10. A Rare Survivor

Of the 706 Black Widows built, only a handful remain today. One is being painstakingly restored to flight condition, a rare tribute to the world’s first true night fighter.