The tenth P-82B (serial number 44-65169) was modified during construction as a night fighter with the mounting of a SCR-720 airborne interception radar housed in a large bulb-shaped housing underneath the center wing. The SCR-720 was the same radar installation which was carried aboard the Northrop P-61 Black Widow, a considerably larger aircraft. In order to avoid interference of the radar beam from the propellers, it was necessary to position the radar antenna ahead of them, which mean that the entire pod had to be cantilevered well ahead of the pylon, placing severe nodding loads on the pylon, pod, and wing. The right-hand cockpit became the radar operator’s position. The designation P-82C was applied. The first flight took place on March 27, 1946.
Serials of P-82C:
44-65169 North American P-82C Twin Mustang c/n 123-43755 conversion of 10th P-82B to P-82C night fighter
Sources:
-
Classic Warplanes: North American P-51 Mustang, Bill Gunston, Gallery
Books, 1990.
-
Fighters of the United States Air Force, Robert F. Dorr and David
Donald, Temple Press Aerospace, 1990.
-
The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.
-
War Planes of the Second World War, Fighters, Volume 4, William Green,
Doubleday 1964.
-
American Combat Planes, Third Enlarged Edition, Ray Wagner, Doubleday,
1982.
-
United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and
Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.
- Fighter Combat Over Korea, Part 1: First Kills, Wings of Fame, Aerospace Publishing, 1995.
