P-61 Black Widow Caught in the Web
by Stu Shepherd
Title
P-61 Black Widow Caught in the Web
Artist
Stu Shepherd
Medium
Painting - Acrylic
Description
The P-61 Black Widow was built by Northrop to become the most powerful night fighter of World War II. Though the size of a medium bomber, the Black Widow's power and manueverability were unmatched for night fighters and could compete well with the best day fighters as well. The P-61 was too late for glory - by the time it was deployed to Europe and the Pacific enemy aircraft were few and far between.
This is "Midnite Madness", a P-61A of the 548th Night Figther Squadron based on the island of Iwo Jima in April, 1945. Flown on a routine CAP mission by Capt. James W. Bradford, R/O Lt. Larry Lunt,
and Gunner Sgt. Reno Lukow, 'Midnite Madness" used its powerful nose radar to lock in on a Japanese intruder - a Betty bomber attempting to penetrate the allied defenses at Ie Shima. Backlit by brilliant moonlight, there was no doubt of the identity of the intruder. There was also no doubt about what the outcome of the encounter would be.
Uploaded
July 22nd, 2010
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Comments (9)
Lynn Bawden
Beautiful rendition of this famous night fighter. I was in the California Division of Forestry years ago and this plane (later referred to as the F-15 or Pregnant Widow because it was used as an air tanker because of the retardant tanks attached to the belly) This is a favorite of mine, Stu ~ Lynn
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