P-6 1 fighter service time

1944 The first P-6 1 arrived in Europe on May 23rd. "Black Widow" was originally deployed in the British base, and its task was to pursue the V- 1 "Buzzer Bomb" launched at night. The black widow approaches V- 1 through the ground radar station. Because the speed of V- 1 is slightly faster than that of P-6 1, the black widow can only catch V- 1 from the upper back. 1On July 6th, 944, the black widow obtained the first hunting record of V- 1. On the night of 22nd, fighter squadron pilot Herman Ernst and radar operator edward cope Searle shot down a V- 1. One of the biggest dangers of hunting V- 1 is that the missile is shot too close, and the missile explosion will hurt the aircraft.

After the Normandy landing, many "black widows" moved to France, whose main task was to attack ground targets such as trains and armored vehicles at night, and also to hunt some German planes flying at night. 1948 At the beginning of this year, F-82F "Double Wild Horse" began to replace "Black Widow". At the beginning of 1950, P-6 1 began to withdraw from the frontline troops. 1950 in may, the last "black widow" of the frontline troops left Japan, which was only a few months before the Korean war broke out.

The U.S. Navy used P-61A-10-NO 42-39395 for the ejection and take-off test in World War II.

The Navy also borrowed two P-6 1C(43-8336 and 43-8347) from Luhang for the air launch experiment of Martin PTV-N-2U Gauguin IV ramjet missile. 1947165438+1October 14 "Black Widow" conducted the first Gorgon missile test. P-6 1C can mount two gorgons under the wing. Before the launch, the Black Widow must make a shallow dive to reach the starting speed of the ramjet. 1948, these two P-6 1C were returned to the US Air Force and were soon abandoned to the airplane cemetery.

1In August, 945, the Americans installed the German ejection seat on P-6 1B-5-NO 42-39489 for testing. The seat was removed from He 162 seized by Henkel. 1On April 7, 946, the brave volunteer sergeant Lawrence Lambert successfully ejected P-61B. At that time, the plane was 2377 meters high and 486 kilometers per hour. After the concept of ejection seat was proved to be feasible, Luhang began to test with jet, and XP-6 1B was also changed back to the standard P-6 1B state.

Nine P-6 1C aircraft participated in the thunderstorm research. This is a very dangerous experiment. At that time, people knew little about thunderstorm clouds. Unfortunately, planes flying into the clouds often break into several parts after being struck by lightning, and then emerge from the clouds. The initial lightning strike test was conducted by army pilots, and several F- 15 "journalists" later joined the project. Finally, TWA also participated in the project, and professors and staff of the University of Chicago participated in the data analysis.

The last batch of F/RF-6 1C was retired from the US Air Force on 1952. Retired "black widows" are either provided to scientific research institutions, dismantled or sold in the private market.

1955, the black widow of NACA announced her retirement and sold it to the civilian market. 1955 In April, Stuart Davis Company in Gardinia, California purchased RF-6 1C 45-59300 and F-6 1C 43-8357 as "spare parts". RF-6 1C has obtained the civil registration number of N5093V, and the registration number of F-6 1C is N5094V.

Aerophotography Mexico purchased RF-6 1C with Mexican registration number XB-FUJ. 1964, California airlines bought this plane from Mexico and converted it into a fire extinguisher, with the registration number N9768Z. The fuselage oil tank and turbocharger intercooler were removed, and a 6057-liter chemical fire extinguishing agent water tank was installed in the fuselage. At the end of 1964, Cal-Nat bought this machine as a forest fire extinguisher. 1968 was transferred to California TBM aviation fire company in March, and was destroyed in a take-off accident on September 6, 1968.

Northrop bought P-61B-1-NO 42-39419 from the government, and used it as a transport plane and flight test companion, and also tested advanced navigation equipment. Jack Aman, a photography engineer company in Texas, bought this camera for aerial photography. 1963 was transferred to an aviation fire company and crashed in a fire fighting operation on August 23 of the same year, killing all crew members.

1946 Pratt & Whitney purchased yp-6141-18888, with the civil registration number N60358, for testing advanced propellers. 1956, the plane was damaged in a ground taxi accident and was scrapped because it was not suitable for maintenance.

Northrop Aviation Institute (Aviation Education Institute under Northrop Aircraft Company) bought P-61C-1-NO 43-8349 in the second half of 1947 for fuselage and engine maintenance training courses.

Today, there are only four "black widows" in the world, all of which are kept in museums. They are:

Wright Patterson US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, tel: 6 1C- 1-43-8352. This plane was painted as P-61B-1-NO 42-39468 of the 550th moonlight serenade Night Fighter Squadron. 1954 retired, and the plane was donated to the Boy Scouts in Urbania, Ohio. 1958 was sold to Earl lennert, Illinois, and was acquired by the US Air Force Museum later that year.

P-6 1C 43-8330 of Smithsonian Institution was preserved in Yinshan Warehouse, restored and exhibited in Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.

Beihang P-6 1B 42-397 15. The aircraft originally belonged to China's 427th Night Fighter Squadron and was left in China after the war. This plane may be one of the three P-6 1 left at that time, and the nameplate of the plane has the manufacturing code of N 1234.

According to the network data, three Black Widows of this fighter squadron flew together on the 427th night of September, 1945, and landed at Yi Baishi airport near Chongqing, but slipped off the runway to avoid pedestrians on the ground, causing the fuel tank to catch fire, resulting in one P-6 1 being reduced to ashes, while the other two were left at home. P-6 1B 42-397 15 was originally sent to the Air Force Mechanical School near Chengdu as a teaching material, and then transferred to Sichuan University to teach. After the national liberation, due to the poor railway traffic at that time, the plane was disassembled and transported to Beijing by land and water, and entered the Beihang campus.

The Mid-Atlantic Aviation Museum P-6 1B 42-39945 in Reading, Pennsylvania is expected to become the only "black widow" that can fly at present. 1945 65438+1October 10 The plane crashed on the top of Chekrop Mountain in New Guinea during a training flight. Fortunately, four crew members were only slightly injured, but the wreckage of the plane stayed at the top of the mountain for 40 years. 199 1 year, the mid-Atlantic aviation museum transported the wreckage back to the United States and repaired it into a flying N550NF.