![]() P-70 marked original base Nighthawks numbering 59 examples. Cannon armament - or similar forward-firing firepower - was a prerequisite considering that the crew would have, at best, a single drive against an enemy target and best make the first shots count. The multiple crew spread the workload around helping to reduce pilot fatigue. Its dual-engine configuration, particularly over expansive oceans, meant that the aircraft could fly on a single engine if forced. The Douglas A-20 airframe proved a solid choice for the mission ahead. It was deemed that such an aircraft, in its given role, need not burden itself down with unnecessary protection. The armor protection encountered in the original A-20 was reduced to help lighten the operation loads of the P-70s. In these forms, the radar suite was moved to the bomb bay. 2 x 0.50 machine guns were fitted under the nose to fire tracer rounds, useful in gun-laying. Some fitted a ventral cannon tray with 4 x 20mm cannons while others utilized a "gun nose" mounting 6 or 8 x 0.50 M2 Browning heavy machine guns - continuing the American reliance on all-machine-gun armament for their aircraft. These aircraft too lost their glazed nose sections. The USAAC followed suit, arming their A-20s and outfitting them with local copies of the British AI Mk IV radar (as the SCR-540). The naturally-glazed nose section was painted over/hard-covered to shroud the radar suite and an additional internal fuel tank was fitted for extended operational ranges. It was the British Royal Air Force (RAF) that first realized the A-20 as a night fighter when they converted their A-20 Havocs for the role by installing appropriate air intercept radar and a ventral gun pod. All P-70s were delivered before September of 1942. An XP-70 served as the series prototype to prove the validity of the conversion and the aircraft then operated under the formal designation of P-70 "Nighthawk". As such, 163 conversions were made and these across a few notable marks - some never to see combat exposure at all. Development began in 1942 in anticipation that the series would not have to fight for long as the Northrop P-61 "Black Widow" - purposely designed for night fighting - would soon arrive in 1943. To shore up its need for a dedicated night fighter in 1940, the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) went ahead with modified Douglas A-20 "Havoc" / "Boston" light bombers to suit the role.
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