The FReeper Foxhole Reviews USAAF Night Fighters at War ~ Part 1 of 3 - Jan. 16, 2004

http://www.usaaf.net/ww2/night/index.htm ^ | Stephen L. McFarland

[Jen]

The USAF has owned the night ever since.

Perfect segue for my Tidbit for Today.

The "Black Widows" exist today as the 421st Fighter Squadron based at Hill AFB, Utah, one of three fighter squadrons under the 388th Fighter Wing (one of Jen's former units!).

Excerpt from 421st FS history:

"When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, the 421st TFS found themselves facing armed opponents for the first time since Vietnam as it deployed to Southwest Asia in Support of Operation Desert Shield. The squadron once again returned to its proud combat heritage as a nighttime fighter squadron. Once open hostilities began in Operation Desert Storm, it became the first F-16 unit to fly the LANTIRN (Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night) system in combat. Pilots dropped more than 2,000 tons of conventional munitions on strategic and tactical sites in Iraq and Kuwait during more than 1,300 combat sorties -- 1,200 of them at night, without combat losses or battle damage to aircraft.

[Jen]

Hi Victoria! Hooray! TGIF!

[PhilDragoo]

Sorry but I have been embittered every since the Airforce left me a dud 500lb bomb in a pig pen in a leper colony to recover.

Chappaqua or Hyannisport?

[U S Army EOD]

If it had been one of those, I would have armed it and left it there.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hi Jen, happy TGIF! How's Sasso doing?

[Professional Engineer]

Hey, nice squadron patch there. Thanks

[SAMWolf]

Evening Victoria

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the current history of the 421st, Jen.

[SAMWolf]

LOL! Pig = Chappaqua, Leper = Hyannisport

[SAMWolf]

Their current one's not bad either.

[Jen]

Sasso has surgery planned next week to close his wound. It's been a rough 3 months for my furbaby, but he's doing well.

[SAMWolf]

Me-262B-1a/U1 Night Fighter

[Victoria Delsoul]

Three months already, wow. Glad he's doing better, Jen.

[CholeraJoe]

That's CholeraJoe on the right assuming command of the 1st Strategic Hospital, Vandenberg AFB, CA, 2 July 1989.

After completion of the Aerospace Medicine Primary course in 1982, he returned to Eglin AFB, FL where he flew with the 55th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing and the 20th Special Operations Squadron of the 1st Special Operations Wing at nearby Hurlburt Field.

After temporary duty in Honduras in 1985, and several tours with Air Force Systems Command and Strategic Air Command, he assumed command of the 1st Strategic Hospital, Vandenberg AFB, CA on July 2, 1989. During this assignment he flew numerous missions with Detachment 8, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron in support of missile launches, range safety, night recovery, and over-water rescue missions.

CholeraJoe's Military Honors include the Meritorious Service Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with 2 oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Recognition Ribbon and the Air Force Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon with one bronze star.

CholeraJoe's FR homepage

CJ as an Officer and a Gentleman. I've devolvded since then.

[Jen]

CJ as an Officer and a Gentleman. I've devolvded since then.

~~~~~SALUTE~~~~~ to a superior officer (whether or not you are a gentleman now makes no difference to me - you served honorably therefore you deserve a salute...)! ;-)

[PhilDragoo]

A E R O F I L E S

Northrop XP-61A [41-19509] (Northrop)
XP-61 1942 = Two 2000hp P&W R-2800-10; ff: 5/21/42
(p: Vance Breese). POP: 2 prototypes [41-19509/19510].

Northrop YP-61A [41-18876] (number shown as "118867", likely a sign-painter's error) (Northrop)
YP-61 1943 = R-2800-10. POP: 13 for service testing [41-18876/18888].

Northrop P-61A [42-5507] (Northrop)
P-61A, F-61A 1943 = Production series; two 2250hp P&W R-2800-65; span: 66'0" length: 48'11" v: 369/222/x range: 1450 ceiling: 33,100'.
Only the first 37 had top turret and three-man crew; first 45 with R-2800-10, the rest with 2250hp R-2800-65.
POP: 200 [42-5485/5934, -39348/39397], included suffix variants of A-1 with R-2800-10, A-5 and A-10 with water injection, and A-11 with drop tanks.
From this lot 12 were transferred to USMC in 1945 as F2T-1.

Northrop P-61B-25 Underside and gear [43-8238] (Northrop)
P-61B, F-61B 1943 = R-2800-65; span: 66'0" length: 49'7" load:
16,300# (>7700#) v: 366/200/x range: 1900 ceiling: 33,100', First 200 without top turret.
POP: 450 42-39398/39757, 43-8231/8320], included suffix variants from B-1 to -25; included long-nose model; length: 57'7".

Northrop P-61C [43-8323] (Northrop)
P-61C, F-61C 1945 = Final production version, with 2100hp turbosupercharged R-2800-73.
POP: POP: 41 [42-8321/8361], of which 36 were converted into F-15A in 1945.

Northrop P-61E [42-39549] (Northrop)
XP-61E 1945 = 2p long-range escort fighter; 2100 hp R-2800-65; length: 49'7" load: 18,831# v: 376 range: 2250.
POP: 2 conversions from P-61B minus radar turret and with side-by-side seats under a bubble canopy [42-39549, -39557].
The first was converted to XF-15, the latter was lost in testing.

Northrop P-61B Black Widow "Snuffy Smith" / Monogram 1/48

AI Mk X; RAF ARI 5570; US SCR 720

P-61 Restoration Mid Atlantic Air Museum

More Neat P-61 Stuff!

Northrop P-61 Black Widow

Edward George Bowen 1911-1991

The key to the P-61's success in WW II was the Western Electric SCR-720 airborne intercept (AI) radar. Army Air Force censors generally whited out such details. When deployed in combat, the Widow's nose cone was opaque or painted over to conceal the AI unit. The SCR-720 featured a 10-cm dish with a range of 6.5 miles; the unit was extraordinarily difficult to jam.

The Tizard Mission

In August 1940 Bowen left the UK as one of seven members of a Mission, led by Sir Henry Tizard, to disclose recent British technical advances to the USA and Canada. Bowen's job was to tell them all about British radar He took with him not only information on all existing and projected equipment, but also an early sample of the cavity magnetron, the essential and highly secret key to the development of centimetre-wave radar that had just been invented by J.T. Randall and H.A.H. Boot at Birmingham University.

Following discussions with the Tizard Mission, the US made the important decision that the development of metre-wavelength radar should be the responsibility of the Armed Services, and that the development at. centimetre wavelengths should be the responsibility of a special Microwave Committee of which Dr Alfred Loomis was appointed Chairman.

As far as metre-wave radar was concerned Bowen, together with other members of the Mission, visited the various laboratories of the Armed Services telling them about developments in the UK; in particular he told them about airborne radar and arranged for demonstrations of ASV MkII, AI Mk IV and IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) equipment in the air. However most of his considerable energy and enthusiasm was devoted to helping them develop centimetre-wave radar. Ever since the days of Bawdsey Manor he had urged that work should be done on shorter and shorter wavelengths so that radars could use narrow beams; an airborne radar, for example, might use a narrow beam to eliminate the returns from the ground that limited the maximum range of AI at metre-waves.

With remarkable speed the Microwave Committee set up a special laboratory, the Radiation Laboratory at MIT, for the development of centimetre-wave radar, and Bowen collaborated closely with them on their programme. His advice was particularly valuable in the early stages; for example, he wrote the first draft specification for the development of their 10cm AI.

So successful was the programme at the Radiation Laboratory that the first experimental airborne 10cm radar was tested in a Douglas B18, with Bowen on board, on 27 March 1941, only seven months after the Tizard Mission had arrived in the USA. Their first 10cm AI (SCR720), accompanied by Bowen, was demonstrated in the UK in August 1941 and later became known as AI Mk IX.

In the course of the next year the Radiation Laboratory grew in size and soon became the most important and productive radar laboratory in the USA; by the end of the war the staff numbered about 4,000.

The Tizard Mission, in which Bowen played such a large part, was highly successful. It drew the attention of the Americans to the importance of radar as a weapon of war, introduced them to airborne radar, accelerated the development of centimetre-wave radar by giving them the cavity magnetron and, owing much to Bowen, helped them to set up the highly successful Radiation Laboratory.

[GATOR NAVY]

Where have these guys been? Don't they know everyone else in Hollywood is saying we're all going to die from global warming?

Interesting info about Army night fighters. I've read some about Navy night fighters in the Pacific but hadn't ever heard of anything from Europe about that.

[GATOR NAVY]

I heard it's the golf course that gets built first on an air base.

[CholeraJoe]

Thanks, and back at you with a returned salute!

[U S Army EOD]

They were active in the Pacific also. They used a modified two seat P38 with radar.