Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: Ripsnort on April 05, 2000, 02:53:00 PM
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Since V.87 of CK (5-6 years?) I've asked nicely for a P61 Black Widow. To this day, I'm still asking. I've offered everything from a Case of Beer, to my first born child, (Which, of course I anulled and voided after my wife became pregnant (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/smile.gif))
Now, we have a flight sim with late model planes, the P61 would fit in perfect. Sure, it was a night fighter, only because we had plenty of medium bombers already in the Pacific,and due to the fact that the P61 had great radar for night jabos. If the radar hadn't progressed as rapidly as it did, you would have seen the P61 in olive drab bombing along side the B25's, the A-26's the B26's, the "Bostons" and P38's on the Japanese controlled islands.
So, I again plead with you sirs, Gentleman, the P61 Black Widow.:
The only specially designed night fighter of WWII, a large but maneuvrable twin-engined, twin-boom aircraft. The allied enjoyed almost total air superiority by the time the P-61 entered service, and the P-61 was mainly(but not necessarily) used as a night intruder and attack aircraft. The nose housed a big and heavy centimetric radar set, made in the US; four machine guns were installed in a remotely controlled turret on top of the fuselage (deleted on many P-61As) and four
cannon were fitted in the fuselage belly. The P-61 was surprisingly maneuverable for such a large aircraft, but too slow too make a really excellent fighter. There was also a two-seat dayfighter development, the XP-61E, later converted into the XF-15 reconaissance aircraft. 706 built.
Type: P-61B-1
Function: nightfighter
Year: 1944 Crew: 3 Engines: 2 * 2250hp P&W R-2800-65
Wing Span: 20.11m Length: 15.11m Height: 4.47m Wing Area: 61.53m2
Empty Weight: 10637m Max.Weight: 16240m
Max. Speed: 589km/h Ceiling: Max. Range: 2175km
Armament: 4*g20mm (4*mg12.7mm) 4*725kg
(http://Ripsnort60.tripod.com/p61.jpg)
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Ripsnort(-rip1-)
=CO=II/JG2~Richthofen~
JG2 Communications Officer
Aces High Training Corps
JG2 "Richthofen" (http://www.busprod.com/weazel2/)
(http://Ripsnort60.tripod.com/ripsnort.jpg)
"Experience is a hard teacher because she
gives the test first, the lesson afterwards"
[This message has been edited by Ripsnort (edited 04-05-2000).]
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I'm all for adding the P61!
Mox
The Wrecking Crew
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I agree with Ripsnort and Mox, the P-61 would make an interesting addition to the plane set. Can I also make one little suggestion along the same lines....
If an early war plane set is ever introduced...can we get a Boulton-Paul Defiant?
It was an early war British night fighter that had a powered turret behind the cockpit housing 4 Machine guns. No forward armament made it rather interesting to fly. But think what a couple of those would do as "tail end charlies" in a bombing formation (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/smile.gif)
Rufus out...*fizzle crackle...static*
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Rip, I really like the Black Widow, but I don't see a use for it unless we have night. For daytime operations the A-26B is a superior aircraft in every respect.
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Love the A26 as well, but my reasons for a P61, is that for it's size, it was surprizing nimble, think of it as a A26 with a P38 flight model. If one coded it right, you could have all radar down on a country, and they could program radar into the P61,thus not leaving someone totally blind. In addition, the radar would help to find hidden tanks. But thats the future, the present is a nimble A/C for low level ops on opposing airfields/Artillery.
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Originally posted by Ripsnort:
In addition, the radar would help to find hidden tanks.
Are you sure you are talking about wwII radar? I always thought only post war radars are capable of finding tanks and it still dond 100% work.
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JG2 "Richthofen" (http://www.busprod.com/weazel2/)
No.310 squadron RAF "Czechoslovakia"
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Okay, mebbe I stretched WW2 technology alittle far, hehe.
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Rip, The A-26B was pretty nimble once the enormous ordnance load had been expended.
Remember on the A-26B you have 14 forward firing fifties, 14 rockets, and 8 x 500 lb bombs muahahah. That in an airframe that was just as fast as a P-61 below 15k.
P-61 was a little better turn fighter but I'll take the extra firepower any day. (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/smile.gif)
[This message has been edited by funked (edited 04-05-2000).]
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I Believe you mean the P-61 was the only `Allied' purpose built night fighter. You're forgetting the He-219 and Ta-154. Maybe that is why HTC hasn't implemented night time in the game yet. They're waiting to prepare the P-61, Mossie NF-II, Me-110 Night Fighter, and the He-219 (I really need schrage music to shoot bombers (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/wink.gif) ) Since they are going to add the Lancaster, I say give the Germans night capabale He-177s.
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Funked the upper turret could be locked and fire by the pilot. For a total of 16 guns.
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Tommy (INDIAN) Toon
1st Aces High Trainer Corps.
Home of The Allied Fighter Wing A.F.W.
A.F.W. Homepage (http://www.geocities.com/~tltoon)
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Hehehe forgot about that Indian. (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
Geeez that would be a monster for field attacks.
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Yeah, yeah, but the P61 looks the best! (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
I'd trade firepower for manueverability anyday, after all, if you have 4-20MM and 4-.50 cal...a one second burst would do the same damage a 10 forward firing .50 cal.
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Ripsnort(-rip1-)
=CO=II/JG2~Richthofen~
JG2 Communications Officer
Aces High Training Corps
JG2 "Richthofen" (http://www.busprod.com/weazel2/)
(http://Ripsnort60.tripod.com/ripsnort.jpg)
"Experience is a hard teacher because she
gives the test first, the lesson afterwards"
[This message has been edited by Ripsnort (edited 04-06-2000).]
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Yea Rip but not 16 forward firing .50 cals. Also heard a Veteran talk who flew ths A26 in WWII he could out turn 109'a in it (empty of course) and the upper turret could hose them down. (could out turn in sustained turn I bet) P61 would be nice looks like a big vulchomatic target.
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Tommy (INDIAN) Toon
1st Aces High Trainer Corps.
Home of The Allied Fighter Wing A.F.W.
A.F.W. Homepage (http://www.geocities.com/~tltoon)
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Let's have the P-61 and/or A-26, but only if we all promise never to use all those guns for cheap HO's. (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
popeye
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Hey Rip:
You should stop by the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum the next time you are on the East Coast. There making nice progress on their P-61 restoration project. I myself just can't wait to see the bird on its feet.
Note to anybody from MAAM...i would pay a hell of a lot of money to fly in that thing when you get it airworth (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
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-Cygnus
"SCREAM'IN PTERODACTYLS"
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Sundog is right you guys are forgetting both the British and the German nightfighters.
I will mention the very advanced versions of Ju-88 in the late war. When the P61 was never really used as a nightfighter,- because it wasnt needed, then the Ju-88 was needed and used as a nightfighter. Take a look at it here http://www18.pair.com/tvam/html/it/itju88.htm (http://www18.pair.com/tvam/html/it/itju88.htm)
if I recall it correctly I have read once that the late war nightfighter Ju-88 was running with a nitromethane kind of fuel, which made them very fast and dangerous for the Mosquitos which led the B17s to target. Does anyone know more about this?
Btw.. Ju-88 is one of the next planes to be implementet, probably in a bomberversion, but I hope we will get a fighterversion later. When I was kid and was building plastic models, I was allways fascinated by the Ju-88R with its streamlined design and the strange antennas in front (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
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GrinBird
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I'm all for the A-26. AH has enought fighters and not enough bombers. And the A-26 is almost a fighter. Besides, you just gotta love all those .50's
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So, it is a new category: P-61, Mosquito, Ju-88G, He-219, Me 410. The last 2 also had guns which would worry even a dedicated HOers like some Spit types (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/smile.gif)
Might be nice to see those matchups.