| Flying the Northrop P-61 Black Widow (1944) | |||
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The first test flight of the Northrop P-61 Black Widow was on 26 May 1942. Named after the infamous American spider, it was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design and was the first operational U.S. aircraft designed specifically as a night-fighter and was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar.
During WW II it served in Europe, China, India, Burma, the Pacific and the Mediterranean. After the war, the F-61 served in the U.S. Air Force as a long-range, all weather, day/night interceptor for Air Defense Command until 1948, and Fifth Air Force until 1950. | |||
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June 21, 2012.