Sunday, June 22, 2014

The Black Widow

Toward the end of WWII, Northrop produced a night fighter called the P-61.  It was given the name "Black Widow" after the venomous spider.  Wikipedia writes that no P-61 ever engaged in combat with a German jet fighter.  The following photograph of my Dad standing beside a P-61 is shown below.


It was 1946.  It was taken at an airfield near Munch.  On the back of the photo my Dad wrote:

"P-61 with a Jet-German Plane to its credit.  Also called "Black Widow".  Send more pictures in next letter."

Trying to enlarge the picture, I could only produce the following:


It is not very clear, but he is pointing to a marking on the plane that he interpreted as a "Jet-German Plane".  This would seem to suggest that this P-61 took credit for a German jet fighter?  The picture is a clear documentation that at least one P-61 took credit for this activity.

The 424th Night Fighter Squadron, Oberpfaffenhofen Air Depot, near Munich used the P-61.  Does any one out there have information regarding this squadron of the 9th Air Force.  My Dad seemed to think that this P-61 took down a jet.  He was there.


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