Coolest P-61 Photo Ever!!

[Jack Cook]

Ever see a P-61 photo were look could see the radar through the tranlucent nose?

P-61A "Midnight Mickey" 6th NFS Saipan 1944 being readied for a night patrol.

[Django]

Whoa. That rules! Never have seen that before!! Didn't even know it was possible.

[Matt Gunsch]

look at the book Northrop P-61 Black widow by Schiffer Military History, page 44,

[The Inspector]

Purdy Durned Kool!!

[APG85]

Now that's neat...

[Bill Walker]

Did this photo get released during the war? I would think the censors would have a fit when they saw it.

[Fouga23]

looks healthy

[RyanShort1]

Here's a shot that shows the translucent area as well - albeit not as well as Jack's photo.


P-61s in Alaska.

Ryan

[mustangdriver]

So what was the nose made of?

[Taigh Ramey]

Many radomes were made of acrylic or Plexiglas. I have seen a close up shot of a P-61 where you can clearly see the antenna through the radome. I can't find it right now but I will look for it at work tomorrow.

I have a WWII APS-4 radar set that has an acrylic dome that is painted on the outside. I wonder if static electricity with acrylic radomes in flight was a problem?

[Swiss Mustangs]

Many radomes were made of acrylic or Plexiglas. I have seen a close up shot of a P-61 where you can clearly see the antenna through the radome. I can't find it right now but I will look for it at work tomorrow.

Taigh

maybe this ?



Martin

[Jack Cook]

Looks sorta like a dirty nose on Ryan's photo

[Taigh Ramey]

I found the shots I was thinking of in the book "The Northrop P61 Black Widow" by Gary Pape. The photo credit goes to "Bowers/Castle Graphics", I hope they don't mind the shameless theft of their photos...

Turns out the clear radome is on the YP-61 according to the caption



Here are a couple of shots showing the translucent radome just like in Martin's photo.





My theory, based on pure conjecture, is that they used Plexi, or acrylic, and frosted the insides for opacity. I also think several where painted white to try and cut down on the excessive temperature encountered in the South Pacific. I would bet that this is also why you see the noses covered with white parachutes in some photos. Imagine how hot it would have been inside the sun room of the radome. I would think that the excessive temperature and humidity would have played havoc with the electronics. Like I said it is pure speculation on my part as I have nothing to back it up with.

While at the Air Races this year I went to an auction near Minden, NV and I found this SCR-720 radar antenna which was used on the P-61 and the P-70. It looks almost new. The top of the dish is a bit tweaked but should straighten up. The best part was that it was a live internet auction and nobody bid on it so I got it for $17.50! It was a good day.



There is a stencil on the back that says it has been balanced at 360 RPM. 6 revolutions per second is a lot faster than I would have imagined. I hope to get it running as a display. Anyone have any other SCR-720 components, connectors or manuals available?



In our November meeting of the WWII Warbird Group at our museum here in Stockton our guest speaker will be Gene Whitt who was a WWII Radar tech. He is a wealth of information on WWII radar and modern day flying as he is flight instructor who has been teaching students to fly longer than most of us have been alive.

He has taken the time to put the contents of his magnificent brain on his web site. If you want to learn about WWII radar, Learning to fly or flight instructing check out his web site:

http://www.whittsflying.com/web/index.htm

Come to Stockton on November 19th and listen to an aviation legend talk about WWII radar.

[Django]

$17.50? Holy crap. Did you go buy a lottery ticket too Taigh??

[Steve Nelson]

What's that canopy in the background? It looks kinda like a P-61, but not quite.

SN