Northrop YF-17 Racing and Unusual The heavily armed Black Widow

The heavily armed Black Widow was the United States' first aircraft specifically designed as a night-fighter

Experience the thrill of a historic aviation milestone with the Wright Brother's Kitty Hawk Flyer

The airplane was also used by the air forces of 20 other nations

Planned as an attack aircraft with four 20mm guns

it went into large-scale operations during the North African campaign where the German Luftwaffe named it "Der Gabelschwanz Teufel"- "The Forked-Tail Devil

Northrop YF-17 Racing and Unusual The heavily armed Black WidowNorthrop YF 17 airplane model. In 1972, the USAF sought proposals for a new fighter under the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program. The LWF prototype program called for a small, lightweight, low cost, air superiority day fighter designed for high performance and ease of maintenance. The Northrop YF 17 was tested against the General Dynamics YF 16 in the LWF fly off competition. The F 16 won and entered production starting in 1975. The US Navy also