Northrop P-61 Black Widow
Northrop P-61 Black Widow By Miroslav Balous
Publisher: Praha MBI Publishing 1994 | 57 Pages | ISBN: 8090126359 | PDF | 21 MB
Publisher: Praha MBI Publishing 1994 | 57 Pages | ISBN: 8090126359 | PDF | 21 MB
June 1944. For more than a month the Allied troops were fighting on the Western front, opened by the invasion of France. Germany responded with the long-prepared air offensive against London. But this time not with bombers - they would not stand a chance, by day or by night, because of the Allied air supremacy. The new weapon, an unmanned flying bomb, designated V-1 was powered by a pulse jet. Emitting the characteristic throbbing sound it soon got its English nickname - Buzz Bomb. The RAF Fighter Command's Headquarters reacted by secondment of several day and night fighter squadrons to combat the new menace. At the same time the Bomber Command was given a task to destroy the V-1 launching sites by massed bombing attacks. Also the Ninth Air Force of the USAAF entered the Buzz bomb business with its fighters, while the numerous day-fighter squadrons of the Eighth Air Force, equipped with Mustangs, Thunderbolts and Lightnings, remained in their main role - shepherding the bomber formations to the German targets.