The P-61A was the first production variant of the P-61 "Black Widow". Production started in 1943 and differed from the YP-61 by being painted in an olive drab color. Some P-61As were built without the turret due to the B-29 bomber program and problems with the turret during high speed dives. A significant portion had the turret fixed pointing forward and would be controlled by the pilot instead of the gunner. Also, the gunner never flew on certain missions since his main job, controlling the turret, wasn't needed and missions were carried out with only the pilot and radio operator. With the A-5 block, the engines were replaced from the R-2800-10s to the more powerful R-2800-65 and increased the top speed and climb rate. The next block, the A-10, featured the all-important water injection system and returned to the black paint scheme. The A-11 was a modification of the A-10 and only added an extra pylon for either fuel or bombs. Only 20 P-61A-10s were modified to A-11 standards.
The P-61A-11 is a twin-engine fighter, also known as a strike fighter in-game. It is excellent in bomber hunting and excels when used with Boom & Zoom tactics. Unlike the more advanced P-61C-1 variant, this initial production aircraft has weaker engines and fewer external suspended weapons. However, it still has the remote-turret which is incredibly useful for bomber hunting or attacking enemy fighters, as well as four chin-mounted 20 mm cannons with 800 rounds. The P-61A-11 also has a decent amount of armour protecting the crew members and gun placements.
The P-61A-11 was introduced in Update 1.57 "Battle March" as an in-game premium vehicle purchasable with Golden Eagles but was removed from in-game sale during the July 2021 Economy Update. It has been made available in the store periodically for "Black Friday" sales in 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
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Belt | Belt filling | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
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10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
HEF-I/AP-T | 39 | 36 | 25 | 16 | 10 | 6 | |
AP-T/AP-T/HEF-I/HEF-I | 39 | 36 | 25 | 16 | 10 | 6 | |
HEF-I/HEF-I/HEF-I/AP-T | 39 | 36 | 25 | 16 | 10 | 6 | |
AP-T/AP-T/AP-T/HEF-I | 39 | 36 | 25 | 16 | 10 | 6 | |
HEF-I | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Belt | Belt filling | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
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10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
T/AP/I/AP-I | 30 | 27 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 6 | |
AP/AP/AP/T | 30 | 27 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 6 | |
AP-I/AP-I/AP-I/T | 28 | 26 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 4 |
Flight performance | |
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Weaponry | |
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