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Were any USAAF studies or prototypes made of trying to fit the APS-4 radar into a single place fighter like the P-51 or P-47, similar to the deployment in the F4U-4N or F6F-3N. The P-38M was late to the War.
I suspect not, for two reasons. One is that the USAAF didn't have quite the constraints on aircraft size, weight, and runway needs as did the USN, so they had little incentive to constrain themselves to a single-engine aircraft. The second reason, which is much more speculative, is that the USN night fighters seemed to be more defensive in their application, as night CAP aircraft, vs the USAAF night fighters, at least in Europe, which seemed to operate more in direct support of offensive operations. I'm quite willing to be corrected by someone with actual knowledge of this, as I've just read a couple of articles about US night fighter operations, so vast knowledge is not something I have on this particular topic. I think it's interesting that the USN did have at least a couple of two-seat night/all-weather fighters post-WW2, for example the F7F-2N and the Douglas F3D.
The P-82 was equipped with the APS-4 (and later versions) although it was a bit late to the war.
A good alternative to the P-61, though, may have been the XP-58 f it weren't for the troublesome engines and the ridiculous flip-flopping on the armament configurations (which rivals the RLM's reputation) that took too long to resolve.
As an aside, I think that the USAAF would have had a better night fighter had the turret and gunner had been designed out of the aircraft. Even sticking with the twin-boom format (generally sub-optimal due to excessive wetted area), something like the P-61E would likely be equally effective and significantly faster.
The XP-61E wasn't a lot faster than the P-61A/B, maybe 7 or 8mph.
The P-61E used the same engines as the P-61B I believe.
The real screamer was the XP-61F version using the P-61C turbocharged engines; it was pegged for 440mph vs the P-61C's 430. With cameras instead of armament it was the F-15 reporter.
I don't think that there was an XP-61F.
The first XF-15 was converted from the first XP-61E (the second having being written off in a take-off crash).
The second XF-15 was converted from a P-61C.
Were any USAAF studies or prototypes made of trying to fit the APS-4 radar into a single place fighter like the P-51 or P-47, similar to the deployment in the F4U-4N or F6F-3N. The P-38M was late to the War.
Agreed - the /R11 Fw190s were radar equipped, the Bf109s were radar directed (no radar equipment aboard).Fw had a NF 190 but never came across a 109 NF.
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Any of these left?Fw had a NF 190 but never came across a 109 NF.
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The night fighter version of the Douglass A20 Havoc known as the P70 might have been fitted with PW R-2800 engines. With 18% more power and less drag due to the smaller diameter engines it should have a decent performance. I suspect 350mph. Fitting navy two stage supercharger engines even more. The A26 Invader seems a good candidate as well.
The Germans tried radar on the Me 109 and Fw 190. The pilot could tell range and approximately who far up/down left/right the target was but they found staring into an abstract oscilloscope destroyed his precious night vision. I really don't know how the USN got around this. The radar would have to be so good the pilot didn't need night vision.
We used to put lightly exposed radiographic film over the screen to darken it but it only partly solves the issue, I could still see a green line for hours after finishing work every time I shut my eyes.There are red phosphors for CRTs, although I don't know if they were used at the time.