AeroMaster produced several decals sheets featuring markings for Northrop’s P-61 Black Widow night fighter. One sheet, Black Widows Best Sellers Pt. 1 (48-628), provides markings for three 548th NFS Black Widows that were stationed on Iwo Jima.

As can be seen from the aircraft profiles, 548th NFS Black Widows are identified by their distinctive red spinners and cowl flaps. On this sheet, decals are provided for Midnite Madness, Cooper’s Snoopers, and The Spook/Anonymous III.

This decal sheet was released in 2003 and was printed by Cartograf. The artwork is really nice, and the sheet includes national insignias, squadron badges, uniform markings and stencils in addition to the plane specific nose art. The decals are in register which is what you would expect from Cartograf.

Midnite Madness was a P-61A-11 Black Widow (Serial No. 42-5610) flown by Captain James W. Bradford. The Radar Observer (R/O) was Lt. Lawrence K. Lunt and the Gunner-Observer was MSgt. Reno H. Sukow. Because it is difficult to determine the color of the lettering of the name from black and white photos, AeroMaster has given you three options: light blue, yellow and red. Midnite Madness was written off and salvaged after a landing accident with The Spook/Anonymous III on April 20, 1945.

Cooper’s Snooper was a P-61B-2 Black Widow (Serial No. 42-39454) flown by Captain George C. Cooper. The Radar Observer was 2nd Lt. Stanley S. Babst and the Gunner-Observer was SSgt. James O. Miller. Cooper’s Snooper would survive the war and end up in a boneyard at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines.

The Spook/Anonymous III was P-61B-1 Black Widow (Serial No. 42-39405) flown by Lt. Melvin W. Bode. His Radar Observer was Lt. Avery J. Miller and the Gunner-Observer was Lt. John C. Hope. The Spook/Anonymous III was lost of April 20, 1945, when it landed in dense fog and collided with Midnite Madness. Both Black Widows were written off.

This decal sheet is no longer in production and is hard to find. Every once in a while it shows up on eBay. These three aircraft are also on the following AeroMaster decal sheets:

Midnite Madness – Midnight Widows Part II (48-474)

The Spook/Anonymous III – Midnight Widows Part III (48-475)

Cooper’s Snooper – Midnight Widows Part IV (48-489)

Again, all of these decal sheets are no longer in production and are hard to find. In subsequent posts, I will review decal sheets that contain markings for 548th NFS Black Widows from other decal manufacturers (Kits World and Print Scale) that are in production and readily available to modelers in 1/72nd, 1/48th and 1/32nd scales.