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From: fiddler@concertina.Eng.Sun.COM (Steve Hix)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: US Fighter Designations
Message-ID: <1990Aug10.010736.29763@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 10 Aug 90 01:07:36 GMT
References: <1990Jul31.223607.6367@cbnews.att.com> <1990Aug7.040836.6826@cbnews.att.com>
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From: fiddler@concertina.Eng.Sun.COM (Steve Hix)

> From: welty@lewis.crd.ge.com (richard welty)
> *P61: Black Widow, Northrop.
> 
> ****     Know why it was called the Black Widow? it was so hard to fly. I think
> ****     it was an attempt at a night fighter.
> 
> it was a night fighter, and a moderately successful one at that.

While there were several aircraft used as night fighters on both (all
five?) sides, there are only two I know of who were both successful and
designed to be night fighters from the beginning.

The P-61 was one.

The other was the Heinkel He-219 "Uhu" (Owl).  It was a very good-performing
night fighter, though not produced in very large quantities.  One unique
feature was in upward-firing 20mm cannon pack, called "Jazz Music"
(Schragemusik?).

That said, some other aircraft were turned into pretty good night fighters
as well.  The Mosquito and Ju-88 come to mind.  (Is there any role that one
flavor or other of the Ju-88 didn't fill?)

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  The only drawback with morning is that it comes 
    at such an inconvenient time of day.
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