# P-61 Black Widow Pictures



## beaupower32 (Oct 5, 2009)

Some P-61 Black Widow Pictures I came Across.


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## vikingBerserker (Oct 5, 2009)

Excellent pics!


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Oct 5, 2009)

Those are excellent Beau!! Thanks for sharing!


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## syscom3 (Oct 5, 2009)

Nice!


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## Bernhart (Oct 5, 2009)

are 184 AND 190 NATURAL METAL?


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## syscom3 (Oct 5, 2009)

Two of the pictures are of the P-61 on Middleburg Island.

A few years ago, I had a thread that mentioned the island and had some other pictures of what the airfield looked like.

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/technical/pacific-airfields-3451.html


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## Wayne Little (Oct 6, 2009)

WOW those are sweet pics!....thanks.


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## Colin1 (Oct 6, 2009)

I swear I've seen Wabash Cannonball as the artwork on a B-17

I wonder if it was the same pilot who transferred to P-61s?


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## Thorlifter (Oct 6, 2009)

I have never seem any of those before. Thanks for posting Beau. One thing I noticed was how the black paint seemed to weather really badly and just peel off. ( note pics #9 and #11 from the top)

Love the pic of the P-61's on the flight line with the B-29 in the background.


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## Colin1 (Oct 6, 2009)

Thorlifter said:


> One thing I noticed was how the black paint seemed to weather really badly and just peel off


Yes
I noticed that too, paint didn't seem to stick too well to the P-61 or maybe it was just more noticeable given the all-black livery


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## Erich (Oct 6, 2009)

gents the black paint was crap it did not take much to pull the stuff off. many of the 9th AF Widows look like hell as there were very few spare parts, nothing came in new and they flew the crates till they fell apart. I knew the chap flying Wabash cannonball 3 and 4. he was the CO of the 425th nfs. Interviewed quite at length when he took me to his home , met his charming wife and sat over a good cup of coffee.........may stories to tell


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## beaupower32 (Oct 6, 2009)

Glad yall like the pictures.


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## Thorlifter (Oct 6, 2009)

Erich, 

Can you share any of those stories?


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## Airframes (Oct 7, 2009)

Great selection of pics BP, thanks.


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## B-17engineer (Oct 7, 2009)

Nice!


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## Wurger (Oct 7, 2009)

With all here.


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## Lucky13 (Oct 7, 2009)

Awesome pics BP, thanks for sharing!


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## RabidAlien (Oct 9, 2009)

Hard to find good pics of the P-61!!! I've saved these on my harddrive, thanks for posting!!!


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## Messy1 (Oct 9, 2009)

Thanks for the pics! Hard to find Widow pics. My favorite plane of WW2. Hands down!


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## Bucksnort101 (Oct 9, 2009)

Very cools. Don't see a lot of interest in the P-61.
I remember back in the mid 70's when the Confederate Aif Force (I still can't bring myself to call them by that other name) used to have some pretty nice airshows up here in Minneapolis. Thier big phrase was that they had one of every Major WWII Aircraft in flying condition. I asked one of the Colonels (I was about 12 or 13 at the time) if they had a p-61, he was stumped and suprised I even knew what it was. Said no.

Several years later I was in Reading, Pa. for the company I worked for. Spent a week there doing some training. Upon arriving back I learned that there is a P-61 being refurbished back to flying condition at the Mid-Atantic Air Museum in Reading. This was within a week of actually being there and not knowing about it. Could have seen it first person. Now I just am waiting for it to be flyable and hopefully make the journey to Oshkosh. Sounds as if that's several years in the future yet, but it will be an impressive bird to see in the air.


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## Erich (Oct 9, 2009)

don't bet on seeing that bird in the air buck. that poor thing is an almost total revamp of what was left of body and frame smashed to pieces and covered with jungle turf. I got first hand knowledge of it's whereabouts and colour pics to boot when I was a member of the US NF's association now defunct for some years.


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## Messy1 (Oct 9, 2009)

I'm sure that is one of those birds to rare to fly!


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## syscom3 (Oct 9, 2009)

Erich said:


> don't bet on seeing that bird in the air buck. that poor thing is an almost total revamp of what was left of body and frame smashed to pieces and covered with jungle turf. I got first hand knowledge of it's whereabouts and colour pics to boot when I was a member of the US NF's association now defunct for some years.



Wasnt that the P61 ecovered from a mountain top near Hollandia (now Jayapura)?


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## Messy1 (Oct 9, 2009)

The one at the MAAM is the one recovered from the mountain side. It was laid claim to by a local village cheif or medicine man, and arrangements with him were made to recover the plane IRRC.


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## Erich (Oct 9, 2009)

they would be fools to try and take her up, maybe a move out on the tarmac for the existing NF members and their families, just do it slowly and don't push this thing, she is one of a kind on the planet


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## verner (Oct 9, 2009)

They should have traded "Hummer" to the chinese for theirs.


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## Orion_vp31 (Oct 11, 2009)

Nice !!!!! Thanks!!!


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## merlin540 (Oct 21, 2009)

Thank you very much for these rare P-61 pictures!


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## Johnny Signor (May 23, 2010)

a few of the P-61's in the photos carry the 548th Night Fighter Squadron emblem on thier cockpit nose area.


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## bobbysocks (May 23, 2010)

thanks for taking the time to post those. very unique


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## wheelsup_cavu (May 23, 2010)

Great pictures BP, I missed them the first time around.

Mid Atlantic Air Museum project P-61
MAAM's Mid-Atlantic Air Museum's P-61 'Black Widow' Recovery and Restoration Project - The Widow's Web

Latest pictures on her Progress. May 23, 2010
http://www.maam.org/p61/images/MAAM P-613.jpg
http://www.maam.org/p61/images/MAAM P-614.jpg


Wheels


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## vikingBerserker (May 23, 2010)

Very cool! Thanks for the update Wheels


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## T Bolt (May 23, 2010)

Beautiful pictures!


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## Wayne Little (May 24, 2010)

Excellent!


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## Gnomey (May 24, 2010)

Nice shots!


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## Messy1 (May 24, 2010)

Yes, she's really coming together nicely. Looks great!


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## wheelsup_cavu (May 24, 2010)

It will be a sight to see if they do get her flying.


Wheels


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## syscom3 (May 24, 2010)

I would ban the plane from ever seeing the air again.

Its simply too priceless too lose in an accident.


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## Messy1 (May 25, 2010)

I understand both sides of the fly it, do not fly it question. But being the only one left airworthy makes it too important to risk losing it in a crash, especially when there are only 4 or so left in the world.


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## Night Fighter Nut (Jun 1, 2010)

Reminds me of that B-29 that was salvaged and rebuilt on location. They got it running and ready for takeoff then while it was taxiing there was an electrical short somewhere near the tail and the whole thing just burned to the ground. I think that plane may yet fly but as to if it should or not. That choice belongs to those who put their time and money into it.


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## Messy1 (Jun 1, 2010)

Night Fighter Nut said:


> Reminds me of that B-29 that was salvaged and rebuilt on location. They got it running and ready for takeoff then while it was taxiing there was an electrical short somewhere near the tail and the whole thing just burned to the ground. I think that plane may yet fly but as to if it should or not. That choice belongs to those who put their time and money into it.



I remember reading about that too Night Fighter Nut.


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## Night Fighter Nut (Jun 1, 2010)

Erich said:


> gents the black paint was crap it did not take much to pull the stuff off. many of the 9th AF Widows look like hell as there were very few spare parts, nothing came in new and they flew the crates till they fell apart. I knew the chap flying Wabash cannonball 3 and 4. he was the CO of the 425th nfs. Interviewed quite at length when he took me to his home , met his charming wife and sat over a good cup of coffee.........may stories to tell



I found a picture of the fellow you are refering to I think.


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## Erich (Jun 1, 2010)

yes that was one of several Widows he flew, obviously his 4th mount


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## Night Fighter Nut (Jun 3, 2010)

That third photo of yours made the cover of Life magazine as I recall and that damaged plane you have, photo number 13, is Midnight Madness. This plane was damaged when the Spook landed on top of it in a fog. I have the corresponding photo where you can see Midnight Madness in the back ground. No one was killed during this accident as I recall. Here are a few photos from my stash of P-61 shots.


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## hawkeye2an (Jun 20, 2010)

Incredible pics. Thanks for sharing. My Monogram P-61 just got nudged a little closer to the front of the stash !!!


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## Wayne Little (Jun 20, 2010)

Great shots, like to see more!


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## Messy1 (Jun 21, 2010)

Great pictures! Thanks for posting!!


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## Thorlifter (Jun 21, 2010)

More great pics! Thanks for posting


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## Night Fighter Nut (Jun 21, 2010)

removed


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## Night Fighter Nut (Jun 21, 2010)

Removed


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## Erich (Jun 21, 2010)

interesting to see the ones on the other pages with original negs, nearly 3/4's of the pics have been published in mags and books in the past


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## ccheese (Jun 21, 2010)

Great pic's BP.... thanks...

Charles


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## fnqvmuch (Jun 22, 2010)

'the Spook' crashed as above but minus the scanned file-reinforcing-ring 'in' foreground;
Picasa Web Albums - Mark - Iwo Jima
(great set, minimal P-61 though)
and re bare metal back at head of thread; from Gmasher's annotations of similar on footnote;
'P-61A 42-5531 'personalized' for MGEN Earl W. Barnes, 13th Fighter Command. Stripped to a natural metal finish, a ferry tank was permanently installed in place of the dorsal turret. The plexiglass radome was replaced with a custom made metal fairing; the 20mm cannons were also removed, and an ADF 'football' antenna installed on the belly.'
steven


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## Wayne Little (Jun 22, 2010)

8)


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## Erich (Jun 22, 2010)

interesting when I interviewed the CO of the 425th nfs flying Wahbash Cannonb. every one of the pics taken were property totally for the 425th nfs and copyrighted as such so any and all pics pertaining to the 425th nfs should not be shown on the net without proper permission of the 425thnfs representative.........sorry guys but copyright rules are being broken even within the nara holdings


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## Night Fighter Nut (Jun 22, 2010)

Sorry, don't want to infringe on any copy rights.


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