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Black Widow


Subdeacon Joe

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3 hours ago, Charlie Harley, #14153 said:

I was wondering what you were going to post about my ex-wife.

 

3 hours ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

She’s a widow?


Perhaps she has uttered the phrase “You are dead to me!” in reference to our living and breathing Pard here?...:D

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On 12/26/2020 at 4:36 AM, Charlie Harley, #14153 said:

I was wondering what you were going to post about my ex-wife.

 

ha, i was expecting a 1940- era Mauser P08 w black grips.

FD28A8D4-E11B-4540-A092-3E1ABCE54A19.jpeg

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The plane looks like a BIG P38!!

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A late member of my veterans post, BGEN (ret) Mort Gordon was a P-61 RIO flying around Okinawa.  At some point a number of officers were being transferred from one island to another aboard a Navy LST.  A kamikaze hit the LST, sinking it, and throwing then Lt. Gordon into the water, wounding him slightly.  He floated around for twelve hours or so before being picked up by another ship. When the annual dinner of the Colorado United Veterans Coalition was held, and the band played the various services' songs, he would stand for both the Air Force and Navy songs. He said he got his Purple Heart with the Navy! :)  He had stayed in the Air Force and received his star.  He was a great guy and is missed by our post!

Happy,  Healthy and Prosperous New Year, Pards!

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On 12/28/2020 at 7:34 AM, Blackwater 53393 said:

The plane looks like a BIG P38!!

Before these Northrop P61 arrived in the Pacific, some P38s were adapted to the nightfighter role.

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I wonder how a night fight between a P61 Black Widow and a Heinkel HE219 Uhu would have turned out?

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30 minutes ago, WOLFY said:

Before these Northrop P61 arrived in the Pacific, some P38s were adapted to the nightfighter role.

 

I knew that the P38s had been adapted for night fighting.  It proved to be one of the most versatile airframes in WWII!

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8 minutes ago, DeaconKC said:

I wonder how a night fight between a P61 Black Widow and a Heinkel HE219 Uhu would have turned out?

Interesting question. My guess is it would come down the skill of pilot and crew. I’m also guessing that p61 radar was more advanced, giving a technical edge, if not aircraft performance. 

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My grandfather flew B25s in N Africa and then transitioned to the P61. He said it had a glide ratio like a rock. 
I’ve always thought it was a terrific airplane. Four 20mm and four 50s!

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Dad used to tell me about sitting at night outside the radio shack on his little LCI(g) with the radioman when they weren't on watch. They'd tune a set to the air liaison frequency and listen to the P-61's getting vectored toward an intercept of a Jap night intruder. A few minutes later there'd be a flash in the sky and a streak headed for the water.  Then the Black Widow would be ready for the next customer.

 

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4 minutes ago, Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 said:

Eight .50's on the bottom one. Wonder if the top is a P-39 or a P-63?

P39, they had 4 .30s mounted in the wings.

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15 hours ago, Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 said:

Eight .50's on the bottom one. Wonder if the top is a P-39 or a P-63?

With the red circle in the center of the star in the national insignia I'd say a P-39. Bottom one is a razorback jug for sure.

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The P39s were armed with either a 20mm or a 37mm cannon firing through the propellor hub, 2 fifties above the cannon and 4 thirties in the wings. Later versions replaced the wing mounted 30s with a single 50 in a bulge under each wing.

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