Wishlist for aircraft? How about the P-61 Black Widow?

[Saxman]

p-61 blackwidow is a radar equipped night fighter...it did not do well in the pacific theater--largly due to not being able to find many targets..and since we don't have any night maps except occansanol<--mis spelled)ava or seaII arena's it could and would be picked of of the sky--it has the guns--but it is not very fast--according ot the enclyopiedia<--mis spelled also)--even though it's development started early it was primarley used in late 1944 through the end of 1945--but is was used in i think 4 different theater of operations.

so i don't know if it would work here in this game--it might end up a hanger queen--like the me410------and the he111's are close to becoming hanger queens themselves------ the 2 plane sets that were requested the most ended up hanger queens.----i love the tu22's they are easy to shoot down

As Karnak said, the only thing the P-61 was lacking was top speed, beyond that it was a BEAST of a plane, with a very large bomb load, heavy firepower, and highly maneuverable (it was shown able to out-maneuver some single-engine fighters).

[Scherf]

I have a feeling that the p61 would be a lot like the me410. You remember the me410, the plane everybody voted for and nobody uses.

I voted for the 410 so I could go buff-hunting with MK 103s. Last time I played (admittedly a while ago) I went buff-hunting with MK 103s.

410 ftw.

[FLOOB]

And we could have had the Boomerang. 

The Boomerang wasn't on the ballot.

[TheCrazyOrange]

I was expecting a lot more ordnance options on the 410, to be honest  .

[PJ_Godzilla]

I was expecting a lot more ordnance options on the 410, to be honest  .

You could say similar about the A-8. I'm aware of at least one Rustsatz (not sure if it was actually factory) that wasn't included; a 30 mil gondo package. But hey, I asked for some of the more obvious field mods... eg, the Panzer Galland for the 109f-4.

[Xavier]

I was expecting a lot more ordnance options on the 410, to be honest  .

I think that some options like the ventral gondolas weren't added because of a lack of space. What I'd love is the telescopic sight for the BK5 

[TheCrazyOrange]

I think that some options like the ventral gondolas weren't added because of a lack of space. What I'd love is the telescopic sight for the BK5 

Yes  !!!

[lunatic1]

 

Me and a wingman deacked a field entirely in less than 90 seconds with a pair of 410s yesterday and were able to vulch a bit. Great fun

 

[shake307]

Came across this thread while meandering around the interwebs drooling over the Black Widow.  I have loved this plane ever since I saw it as a plastic model in a catalogue.  I would absolutely love to fly this beast in AH, but I am ashamed to say, I don't think it would have much of a role.  It was excellent at what it was designed to do, night patrol and interception of enemy bomber formations.  That role doesn't appear to exist in AH.  This is why I must, regretfully, decline giving it a +1.  However, I am very open to anybody that can argue against my conclusions.  I am very willing to be proven wrong on this one.

[bustr]

I think that some options like the ventral gondolas weren't added because of a lack of space. What I'd love is the telescopic sight for the BK5 

Full zoom accomplishes the same thing.

[Ack-Ack]

Came across this thread while meandering around the interwebs drooling over the Black Widow.  I have loved this plane ever since I saw it as a plastic model in a catalogue.  I would absolutely love to fly this beast in AH, but I am ashamed to say, I don't think it would have much of a role.  It was excellent at what it was designed to do, night patrol and interception of enemy bomber formations.  That role doesn't appear to exist in AH.  This is why I must, regretfully, decline giving it a +1.  However, I am very open to anybody that can argue against my conclusions.  I am very willing to be proven wrong on this one.

Because of the lack of targets the P-61 also was used in daylight attack/interdiction missions.

ack-ack

[waystin2]

+1

[shake307]

Good enough for me.  Thanks Ack Ack.  +1 for the Black Widow.

[DREDIOCK]

I have a feeling that the p61 would be a lot like the me410. You remember the me410, the plane everybody voted for and nobody uses.

Actually I see them up quite a bit. Not with the same frequency of spits, ponies and YAKs. But enough so that I notice em

[DREDIOCK]

p-61 blackwidow is a radar equipped night fighter...it did not do well in the pacific theater--largly due to not being able to find many targets..and since we don't have any night maps except occansanol<--mis spelled)ava or seaII arena's it could and would be picked of of the sky--it has the guns--but it is not very fast--according ot the enclyopiedia<--mis spelled also)--even though it's development started early it was primarley used in late 1944 through the end of 1945--but is was used in i think 4 different theater of operations.

so i don't know if it would work here in this game--it might end up a hanger queen--like the me410------and the he111's are close to becoming hanger queens themselves------ the 2 plane sets that were requested the most ended up hanger queens.----i love the tu22's they are easy to shoot down

Seems it was used in the daytime against the germans. And even compared favorably to the mossie in direct competition

P-61 Black Widow - Over Europe:

This was resisted by the RAF which wished to retain all available Mosquitoes. As a result, a competition was held between the two aircraft to determine the P-61's capabilities. This resulted in a victory for the Black Widow, though many senior USAAF officers remained skeptical and others believed the RAF had deliberately thrown the contest. Receiving their aircraft in June, the 422nd began missions over Britain the following month. These aircraft were unique in that they had been shipped without their upper turrets. As a result, the squadron's gunners were reassigned to P-70 units. On July 16, Lieutenant Herman Ernst scored the P-61's first kill when he downed a V-1 flying bomb.

Moving across the Channel later in the summer, P-61 units began to engage manned German opposition and posted an admirable success rate. Though some aircraft were lost to accidents and ground fire, none were downed by German aircraft. That December, the P-61 found a new role as it helped defend Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Using its powerful complement of 20 mm cannon, the aircraft attacked German vehicles and supply lines as it aided the besieged town's defenders. As the spring of 1945 progressed, P-61 units found enemy aircraft increasingly scarce and kill numbers dropped accordingly. Though the type was also used in the Mediterranean Theater, units there often received them too late in the conflict to see meaningful results.

P-61 Black Widow - In the Pacific:

In June 1944, the first P-61s reached the Pacific and joined the 6th Night Fighter Squadron on Guadalcanal. The Black Widow's first Japanese victim was a Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" which was downed on June 30. Additional P-61s reached the theater as the summer progressed though enemy targets were generally sporadic. This led to several squadrons never scoring a kill for the duration of the war. In January 1945, a P-61 aided in the raid on the Cabanatuan prisoner of war camp in the Philippines by distracting the Japanese guards as the assault force neared. As the spring of 1945 progressed, Japanese targets became virtually nonexistent though a P-61 was credited with scoring the final kill of the war when it downed a Nakajima Ki-44 "Tojo" on August 14/15.

http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/WorldWarIIFighters/p/World-War-Ii-Northrop-P-61-Black-Widow.htm