AF-00113A - Air Force 1 Aircraft:Northrop P-61B Black Widow Diecast Model USAAF 548th NFS, #42-39408 "Lady in the Dark", Le Shima Island, August 14th 1945. (Consign) (SH)

The heavily-armed Black Widow—the United States' first aircraft specifically designed as a night-fighter—first flew on May 21st, 1942. The P-61 had four forward-firing 20mm cannons and a dorsal turret housing four .50-caliber machine guns. The radar equipment in its nose enabled its crew to locate and attack enemy aircraft in total darkness. The twin boom arrangements housed two Pratt & Whitney turbocharged engines and were joined at rear by a large plane and twin rudder formation. The pilot was seated in the main fuselage, with the gunner immediately behind him and the radar operator at the rear of the gondola.