Douglas P-70 Images

Douglas P-70 night fighter, with SCR-540 aerials clearly visible

A Douglas P-70 of the 6th NFS at 12-Mile Drome, New Guinea, in 1943

Officers of the 6th NFS Detachment A in front of their Douglas P-70 night fighter, 3-Mile Drome, New Guinea

Douglas P-70 nightfighter in flight. this aircraft was nicknamed "Sad Sack" as evidenced by the nose-art

Douglas P-70 in flight with ventral gun tub and SCR-540 aerials visible

Men of the 2nd Aircraft Assembly Squadron, 13th Air Depot Group work on a Douglas P-70 at Magenta Air Base in New Caledonia. 13 November 1943

Douglas P-70 night fighter in flight

A Douglas P-70 of the 419th Night Fighter Squadron, Guadalcanal, 1943

Douglas P-70 in flight. Note that the censor has removed the radar aerials and all unit markings from the photo

Three Douglas P-70 night fighters of the 6th NFS, Detachment B, at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal

Douglas P-70 night fighters of the 6th NFS, Detachment A, en route to New Guinea

This set of three images shows the three types of antennas used on the SCR-540 radar set as installed on an A-20, the P-70 prototype. This was the US copy of the UK's AI Mk. IV radar, the first airborne radar system for fighters, and the second airborne radar to enter service. It is predated only by months by the ASV Mk. I, developed using the same electronics as this set. There is a possibility that this is in fact a "real" AI Mk. IV, and not the -540, as one example is described by Bowen on page 179 of Radar Days as being fit to an A-20 for testing.