Air Force 1 Model Company Die-cast Model

Smithsonian Series

Northrop P-61B Black Widow – “Lady in the Dark,” Captain Lee Kendall, 548th Night Fighter Squadron, USAAF, Pacific Theater, August 1945

1:144 Scale.  Length: 4.2".  Wingspan: 5.5"

On the night of August 14, 1945, the P-61B Black Widow named “Lady in the Dark” of the 548th Night Fight Squadron in the Pacific Theater engaged a Nakajima Ki-43 and forced it into the sea without firing a shot. This was credited as the last Allied aerial victory of World War II. Although the war was officially over, no one knew for sure if all of Japan's military had heard the news and stopped fighting. The P-61B night fighters flew again on the night of August 15th and Lady in the Dark, piloted by Captain Lee Kendall, encountered a Nakajima Ki-44 (Tojo). The P-61 crew lost and reacquired the Ki-44 several times, then lost it for good and returned to their base. The next day ground troops found the wrecked Ki-44. In the darkness, Lady in the Dark's crew had forced the Japanese aircraft down, again without firing a shot.

The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was a twin-engine night fighter aircraft operated by the USAAF in World War II. The P-61B had a crew of three: pilot, gunner and radar operator and was armed with four 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano M2 Cannons mounted in the lower fuselage and four 12.7 mm (.50 in) M2 Browning machine guns mounted in a remotely operated dorsal turret. First flown on May 26, 1942, the P-61 entered service in 1944. It was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically for night interception. The last P-61B in squadron service left Japan in May 1950, while the last P-61 in government use was retired in 1954. A total of 702 P-61s were built by Northrop in several variants.


Air Force 1 Model Company is a leading manufacturer of high-quality, pre-built, diecast model airplanes. Every model is crafted with meticulous attention to detail, using specifications of the original aircraft. They are built using diecast metal and plastic components.

This model of a P-61B Black Widow features: