Northrop P-61B-15-NO Black Widow

Wallpaper Description:

The Northrop P-61 Black Widow, named for the American spider, was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically for night interception of opposing aircraft, and was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar.[2] The P-61 had a crew of three: pilot, gunner, and radar operator. It was armed with four 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano M2 forward firing cannons mounted in the lower fuselage, and four .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns.

It was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design developed during World War II. The first test flight was made on 26 May 1942, with the first production aircraft rolling off the assembly line in October 1943. The last aircraft was retired from government service in 1954.

General characteristics

• Crew: 2–3 (pilot, radar operator, optional gunner)
• Length: 49 ft 7 in (15.11 m)
• Wingspan: 66 ft 0 in (20.12 m)
• Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
• Wing area: 662.36 ft² (61.53 m²)
• Empty weight: 23,450 lb (10,637 kg)
• Loaded weight: 29,700 lb (13,471 kg)
• Max. takeoff weight:36,200 lb (16,420 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-65W Double Wasp radial engines, 2,250 hp (1,680 kW) each
• Propellers: four-bladed Curtis Electric propeller, 1 per engine
• Propeller diameter: 146 in (3.72 m)
• Fuel capacity:
• Internal: 640 gal (2,423 L) of AN-F-48 100/130-octane rating gasoline
• External: Up to four 165 gal (625 L) or 310 gal (1,173 L) tanks under the wings

Performance

• Maximum speed: 366 mph (318 kn, 589 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,095 m)
• Combat range: 610 mi (520 nmi, 982 km)
• Ferry range: 1,900 mi (1,650 nmi, 3,060 km) with four external fuel tanks
• Service ceiling: 33,100 ft (10,600 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,540 ft/min (12.9 m/s)
• Wing loading: 45 lb/ft² (219 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (250 W/kg)
• Time to altitude: 12 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m) (1,667 ft/min)

Armament

Guns: ** 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano M2 cannon in ventral fuselage, 200 rounds per gun
4 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in remotely operated, full-traverse upper turret, 560 rpg
• Bombs: for ground attack, four bombs of up to 1,600 lb (726 kg) each or six 5 in (127 mm) HVAR unguided rockets could be carried under the wings. Some aircraft could also carry one 1,000 lb (454 kg) bomb under the fuselage.

Avionics

SCR-720 (AI Mk.X) search radar
• SCR-695 tail warning radar