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| P-38, 42-68008. |
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American
single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World
War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed
Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twin-boom design with a
central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Along with its use as a
general fighter, the P-38 was used in various aerial combat roles, including as
a highly effective fighter-bomber, a night fighter, and a long-range escort
fighter when equipped with drop tanks. The P-38 was also used as a
bomber-pathfinder, guiding streams of medium and heavy bombers, or even other
P-38s equipped with bombs, to their targets. Used in the aerial reconnaissance
role, the P-38 accounted for 90% of American aerial film captured over Europe.
Although it was not designated a heavy fighter or a bomber destroyer by the
USAAC, the P-38 filled those roles and more; unlike German heavy fighters
crewed by two or three airmen, the P-38, with its lone pilot, was nimble enough
to compete with single-engined fighters.
The P-38 was used most successfully in the Pacific and
the China-Burma-India theaters of operations as the aircraft of America's top
aces, Richard Bong (40 victories), Thomas McGuire (38 victories), and Charles
H. MacDonald (27 victories). In the South West Pacific theater, the P-38 was
the primary long-range fighter of United States Army Air Forces until the introduction
of large numbers of P-51D Mustangs toward the end of the war. Unusually for an
early-war fighter design, both engines were supplemented by turbosuperchargers,
making it one of the earliest Allied fighters capable of performing well at
high altitudes. The turbosuperchargers also muffled the exhaust, making the
P-38's operation relatively quiet. The Lightning was extremely forgiving in
flight and could be mishandled in many ways, but the initial rate of roll in
early versions was low relative to other contemporary fighters; this was
addressed in later variants with the introduction of hydraulically boosted
ailerons. The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft in large-scale
production throughout American involvement in the war, from the Attack on Pearl
Harbor to Victory over Japan Day.
Design and Development
The Lockheed Corporation designed the P-38 in response
to a February 1937 specification from the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC).
Circular Proposal X-608 was a set of aircraft performance goals authored by
First Lieutenants Benjamin S. Kelsey and Gordon P. Saville for a twin-engined,
high-altitude "interceptor" having "the tactical mission of
interception and attack of hostile aircraft at high altitude." Forty years
later, Kelsey explained that Saville and he drew up the specification using the
word "interceptor" as a way to bypass the inflexible Army Air Corps
requirement for pursuit aircraft to carry no more than 500 lb (230 kg) of
armament including ammunition, and to bypass the USAAC restriction of
single-seat aircraft to one engine. Kelsey was looking for a minimum of 1,000
lb (450 kg) of armament. Kelsey and Saville aimed to get a more capable
fighter, better at dog fighting and at high-altitude combat. Specifications
called for a maximum airspeed of at least 360 mph (580 km/h) at altitude, and a
climb to 20,000 ft (6,100 m) within six minutes, the toughest set of
specifications USAAC had ever presented. The unbuilt Vultee XP1015 design was
offered to fill this requirement, but was not advanced enough to merit further
investigation. A similar proposal for a single-engined fighter was issued at
the same time, Circular Proposal X-609, in response to which the Bell P-39
Airacobra was designed. Both proposals required liquid-cooled Allison V-1710
engines with turbosuperchargers and gave extra points for tricycle landing
gear.
Lockheed formed a secretive engineering team to
implement the project apart from the main factory; this approach later became
known as Skunk Works. The Lockheed design team, under the direction of Hall
Hibbard and Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, considered a range of
twin-engined configurations, including both engines in a central fuselage with
push–pull propellers.
The eventual configuration was rare in contemporary
production fighter aircraft design, with the Dutch Fokker G.I heavy fighter,
and the later Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter and Swedish SAAB 21
having a similar planform. The Lockheed team chose twin booms to accommodate
the tail assembly, engines, and turbosuperchargers, with a central nacelle for
the pilot and armament. The XP-38 gondola mockup was designed to mount two
.50-caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns with 200 rounds per gun (rpg),
two .30-caliber (7.62 mm) Brownings with 500 rpg, and a United States Army
Ordnance Department prototype T1 23 mm (.90 in) autocannon with a rotary
magazine as a substitute for the nonexistent 25 mm Hotchkiss aircraft
autocannon specified by Kelsey and Saville. In the prototype YP-38s, an Army
Ordnance Department T9 37 mm (1.46 in) autocannon (later designated as the M4
in production) with 15 rounds replaced the 23 mm T1. The 15 rounds were in
three, five-round clips, an unsatisfactory arrangement according to Kelsey, and
the T9/M4 did not perform reliably in flight. Further armament experiments from
March to June 1941 resulted in the P-38E combat configuration of four M2
Browning machine guns, and one Hispano 20 mm (.79 in) autocannon with 150
rounds.
Clustering all the armament in the nose was unusual in
U.S. aircraft, which typically used wing-mounted guns with trajectories set up
to crisscross at one or more points in a convergence zone. The P-38 cannon used
heavier 20 mm rounds, creating a different trajectory, so it was inclined
upward slightly more than the four machine guns such that the trajectories of
the cannon rounds and .50-caliber bullets came together between 350 and 400
yards. Nose-mounted guns did not suffer as much from having their useful ranges
limited by pattern convergence, meaning that good pilots could shoot much
farther. A Lightning could reliably hit targets at any range up to 1,000 yd
(910 m), whereas the wing guns of other fighters were optimized for a specific
range. The rate of fire was about 650 rounds per minute for the 20×110 mm
cannon round (130-gram shell) at a muzzle velocity of about 2,850 ft/s (870
m/s), and for the .50-caliber machine guns (43-gram rounds), about 850 rpm at
2,900 ft/s (880 m/s) velocity. Combined rate of fire was over 4,000 rpm with
roughly every sixth projectile a 20 mm shell. The duration of sustained firing
for the 20 mm cannon was about 14 seconds, while the .50-caliber machine guns
worked for 35 seconds if each magazine were fully loaded with 500 rounds, or
for 21 seconds if 300 rounds were loaded to save weight for long-distance
flying.
The Lockheed design incorporated tricycle
undercarriage and a bubble canopy, and featured two 1,000 hp (750 kW)
turbosupercharged 12-cylinder Allison V-1710 engines fitted with
counter-rotating propellers to eliminate the effect of engine torque, with the
turbochargers positioned behind the engines, the exhaust side of the units
exposed along the dorsal surfaces of the booms. Counter-rotation was achieved
by the use of "handed" engines; the crankshafts of the engines turned
in opposite directions, a relatively easy task for the V-1710 modular-design
aircraft powerplant.
The P-38 was the first American fighter to make
extensive use of stainless steel and smooth, flush-riveted, butt-jointed
aluminum skin panels. It was also the first military airplane to fly faster
than 400 mph (640 km/h) in level flight.
XP-38 and YP-38
Prototypes
Lockheed won the competition on 23 June 1937 with its
Model 22, and was contracted to build a prototype XP-38 for US$163,000, though
Lockheed's own costs on the prototype would add up to $761,000. Construction
began in July 1938 in an old bourbon distillery purchased by Lockheed to house
expanding operations. This secure and remote site was later identified by
Johnson as the first of five Lockheed Skunk Works locations. The XP-38 first
flew on 27 January 1939 at the hands of Ben Kelsey. The 1939 edition of the
German Aviation Manual already contained a detailed drawing and a close-up
photograph of this prototype along with detailed information on the engines, and
indicated that its maximum speed was supposed to be 640–680 km/h (400–420 mph).
Dimensions, equipment, and weaponry were indicated as unknown.
Kelsey then proposed a speed dash to Wright Field on
11 February 1939 to relocate the aircraft for further testing. General Henry
"Hap" Arnold, commander of the USAAC, approved of the record attempt
and recommended a cross-country flight to New York. The flight set a speed
record by flying from California to New York in seven hours and two minutes,
not counting two refueling stops. Kelsey flew conservatively for most of the
way, working the engines gently, even throttling back during descent to remove
the associated speed advantage. Bundled up against the cold, Arnold
congratulated Kelsey at Wright Field during his final refueling stop, and said,
"don't spare the horses" on the next leg. After climbing out of
Wright Field and reaching altitude, Kelsey pushed the XP-38 to 420 miles per
hour (680 km/h). Nearing his destination, Kelsey was ordered by Mitchel Field
tower (Hempstead, New York) into a slow landing pattern behind other aircraft.
Carburetor icing caused it to be brought down short of the Mitchel runway, and
it was wrecked. On the basis of the record flight, though, the USAAC ordered 13
YP-38s on 27 April 1939 for US$134,284 (~$2.31 million in 2023) each. (The
"Y" in "YP" was the USAAC's designation for service test,
i.e. small numbers of early production aircraft, while the "X" in
"XP" was for experimental.) Lockheed's chief test pilot, Tony LeVier,
angrily characterized the accident as an unnecessary publicity stunt, but
according to Kelsey, the loss of the prototype, rather than hampering the
program, sped the process by cutting short the initial test series. The success
of the aircraft design contributed to Kelsey's promotion to captain in May
1939.
Manufacture of YP-38s fell behind schedule, at least
partly because of changes to meet the need for mass production, making them
substantially different in construction from the prototype. Another factor was
the sudden required expansion of Lockheed's facility in Burbank, taking it from
a specialized civilian firm dealing with small orders to a large government
defense contractor making Venturas, Harpoons, Lodestars, and Hudsons, and
designing the Constellation for TWA. The first YP-38 was not completed until
September 1940, with its maiden flight on 17 September. The 13th and final
YP-38 was delivered to the USAAC in June 1941; 12 aircraft were retained for
flight testing and one for destructive stress testing. The YPs were
substantially redesigned and differed greatly in detail from the hand-built
XP-38. They were lighter and included changes in engine fit. The propeller
rotation was reversed, with the blades spinning outward (away from the cockpit)
at the top of their arc, rather than inward as before. This improved the
aircraft's stability as a gunnery platform.
High-speed
Compressibility Problems
Test flights revealed problems initially believed to
be tail flutter. During high-speed flight approaching Mach 0.68, especially
during dives, the aircraft's tail would begin to shake violently, and the nose
would tuck under (see Mach tuck), steepening the dive. Once caught in this
dive, the fighter would enter a high-speed compressibility stall and the
controls would lock up, leaving the pilot no option but to bail out (if
possible) or remain with the aircraft until it got down to denser air, where he
might have a chance to pull out. During a test flight in May 1941, USAAC Major
Signa Gilkey managed to stay with a YP-38 in a compressibility lockup, riding
it out until he recovered gradually using elevator trim. Lockheed engineers
were very concerned by this limitation, but first had to concentrate on filling
the current order of aircraft. In late June 1941, the Army Air Corps was
renamed the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), and 65 Lightnings were finished for
the service by September 1941, with more on the way for the USAAF, the Royal
Air Force (RAF), and the Free French Air Force operating from England.
By November 1941, many of the initial assembly-line
challenges had been met, which freed up time for the engineering team to tackle
the problem of frozen controls in a dive. Lockheed had a few ideas for tests
that would help them find an answer. The first solution tried was the fitting
of spring-loaded servo tabs on the elevator trailing edge designed to aid the
pilot when control yoke forces rose over 30 pounds-force (130 N), as would be
expected in a high-speed dive. At that point, the tabs would begin to multiply
the effort of the pilot's actions. Expert test pilot Ralph Virden was given a
specific high-altitude test sequence to follow and was told to restrict his
speed and fast maneuvering in denser air at low altitudes, since the new
mechanism could exert tremendous leverage under those conditions. A note was
taped to the instrument panel of the test craft underscoring this instruction.
On 4 November 1941, Virden climbed into YP-38 #1 and completed the test
sequence successfully, but 15 minutes later, was seen in a steep dive followed
by a high-G pullout. The tail unit of the aircraft failed at about 3,500 ft
(1,000 m) during the high-speed dive recovery; Virden was killed in the
subsequent crash. The Lockheed design office was justifiably upset, but their
design engineers could only conclude that servo tabs were not the solution for
loss of control in a dive. Lockheed still had to find the problem; the USAAF
personnel were sure it was flutter, and ordered Lockheed to look more closely
at the tail.
In 1941, flutter was a familiar engineering problem
related to a too-flexible tail, but the P-38's empennage was completely skinned
in aluminum rather than fabric and was quite rigid. At no time did the P-38
suffer from true flutter. To prove a point, one elevator and its vertical stabilizers
were skinned with metal 63% thicker than standard, but the increase in rigidity
made no difference in vibration. Army Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth B. Wolfe (head
of Army Production Engineering) asked Lockheed to try external mass balances
above and below the elevator, although the P-38 already had large mass balances
elegantly placed within each vertical stabilizer. Various configurations of
external mass balances were equipped, and dangerously steep test flights were
flown to document their performance. Explaining to Wolfe in Report No. 2414,
Kelly Johnson wrote, "the violence of the vibration was unchanged and the
diving tendency was naturally the same for all conditions." The external
mass balances did not help at all. Nonetheless, at Wolfe's insistence, the
additional external balances were a feature of every P-38 built from then on.
Johnson said in his autobiography that he pleaded with
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to do model tests in its wind
tunnel. They already had experience of models thrashing around violently at
speeds approaching those requested and did not want to risk damaging their
tunnel. Gen. Arnold, head of USAAF, ordered them to run the tests, which were
done up to Mach 0.74. The P-38's dive problem was revealed to be the center of
pressure moving back toward the tail when in high-speed airflow. The solution
was to change the geometry of the wing's lower surface when diving to keep lift
within bounds of the top of the wing. In February 1943, quick-acting dive flaps
were tried and proven by Lockheed test pilots. The dive flaps were installed
outboard of the engine nacelles, and in action, they extended downward 35° in
1.5 seconds. The flaps did not act as a speed brake; they affected the pressure
distribution in a way that retained the wing's lift.
Late in 1943, a few hundred dive flap
field-modification kits were assembled to give North African, European, and
Pacific P-38s a chance to withstand compressibility and expand their combat
tactics. The kits did not always reach their destination. In March 1944, 200
dive flap kits intended for the European Theater of Operations (ETO) P-38Js
were destroyed in a mistaken identification incident in which an RAF fighter
shot down the Douglas C-54 Skymaster (mistaken for a German Focke-Wulf Fw 200)
taking the shipment to England. Back in Burbank, P-38Js coming off the assembly
line in spring 1944 were towed out to the ramp and modified in the open air.
The flaps were finally incorporated into the production line in June 1944 on
the last 210 P-38Js. Despite testing having proved the dive flaps effective in
improving tactical maneuvers, a 14-month delay in production limited their
implementation, with only the final half of all Lightnings built having the
dive flaps installed as an assembly-line sequence.
Johnson later recalled:
I broke an ulcer over compressibility
on the P-38 because we flew into a speed range where no one had ever been
before, and we had difficulty convincing people that it wasn't the
funny-looking airplane itself, but a fundamental physical problem. We found out
what happened when the Lightning shed its tail and we worked during the whole
war to get 15 more kn [28 km/h] of speed out of the P-38. We saw
compressibility as a brick wall for a long time. Then we learned how to get
through it.
Buffeting was another early aerodynamic problem.
Distinguishing it from compressibility was difficult, as both were reported by
test pilots as "tail shake". Buffeting came about from airflow
disturbances ahead of the tail; the airplane would shake at high speed.
Leading-edge wing slots were tried, as were combinations of filleting between
the wing, cockpit, and engine nacelles. Air-tunnel test number 15 solved the
buffeting completely and its fillet solution was fitted to every subsequent
P-38 airframe. Fillet kits were sent out to every squadron flying Lightnings.
The problem was traced to a 40% increase in air speed at the wing-fuselage
junction where the thickness/chord ratio was highest. An airspeed of 500 mph
(800 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7,600 m) could push airflow at the wing-fuselage
junction close to the speed of sound. Filleting solved the buffeting problem
for the P-38E and later models.
Another issue with the P-38 arose from its unique design feature of
outwardly rotating (at the "tops" of the propeller arcs)
counter-rotating propellers. Losing one of two engines in any twin-engined,
non-centerline thrust aircraft on takeoff creates sudden drag, yawing the nose
toward the dead engine and rolling the wingtip down on the side of the dead
engine. Normal training in flying twin-engined aircraft when losing an engine
on takeoff is to push the remaining engine to full throttle to maintain
airspeed; if a pilot did that in the P-38, regardless of which engine had
failed, the resulting engine torque and p-factor force produced a sudden,
uncontrollable yawing roll, and the aircraft would flip over and crash.
Eventually, procedures were taught to allow a pilot to deal with the situation
by reducing power on the running engine, feathering the prop on the failed
engine, and then increasing power gradually until the aircraft was in stable
flight. Single-engined takeoffs were possible, though not with a full fuel and
ammunition load.
The engines were unusually quiet because the exhausts were muffled by the
General Electric turbosuperchargers on the twin Allison V-12s. Early problems
with cockpit temperature regulation occurred; pilots were often too hot in the
tropical sun, as the canopy could not be fully opened without severe buffeting,
and were often too cold in Northern Europe and at high altitude, as the
distance of the engines from the cockpit prevented easy heat transfer. Later
variants received modifications (such as electrically heated flight suits) to
solve these problems.
On 20 September 1939, before the YP-38s had been built and flight tested,
the USAAC ordered 66 initial-production P-38 Lightnings, 30 of which were
delivered to the (renamed) USAAF in mid-1941, but not all these aircraft were
armed. The unarmed aircraft were subsequently fitted with four .50 in (12.7 mm)
machine guns (instead of the two .50 in/12.7 mm and two .30 in/7.62 mm of their
predecessors) and a 37 mm (1.46 in) cannon. They also had armored glass,
cockpit armor, and fluorescent instrument lighting. One was completed with a
pressurized cabin on an experimental basis and designated XP-38A. Due to
reports the USAAF was receiving from Europe, the remaining 36 in the batch were
upgraded with small improvements such as self-sealing fuel tanks and enhanced
armor protection to make them combat-capable. The USAAF specified that these 36
aircraft were to be designated P-38D. As a result, no P-38Bs or P-38Cs were
designated. The P-38D's main role was to work out bugs and give the USAAF
experience with handling the type.
In March 1940, the French and British, through the Anglo-French Purchasing
Committee, ordered 667 P-38s for US$100M, designated Model 322F for the French
and Model 322B for the British. The aircraft was a variant of the P-38E. The
overseas Allies wished for complete commonality of Allison engines with the
large numbers of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks both nations had on order, so they
ordered the aircraft fitted with two right-handed engines (not
counter-rotating) without turbosuperchargers. Turbosuperchargers were not secret
nor restricted by the United States government. Related designs were known from
French and Swiss firms. France and the UK did not want turbosuperchargers; they
had never employed them and they knew the American ones were in short supply
and did not want delivery delayed.
Performance was supposed to be 400 mph (640 km/h) at 16,900 ft (5,200
m). After the fall of France in June 1940, the British took over the entire
order and gave the aircraft the service name "Lightning". By June
1941, the War Ministry had cause to reconsider their earlier aircraft
specifications based on experience gathered in the Battle of Britain and the
Blitz. British displeasure with the Lockheed order came to the fore in July,
and on 5 August 1941, they modified the contract such that 143 aircraft would
be delivered as previously ordered, to be known as "Lightning (Mark)
I", and 524 would be upgraded to US-standard P-38E specifications with a
top speed of 415 mph (668 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m) guaranteed, to be called
"Lightning II", for British service. Later that summer, an RAF test
pilot reported back from Burbank with a poor assessment of the "tail
flutter" situation, and the British cancelled all but three of the 143
Lightning Is. As a loss around US$15M was involved, Lockheed reviewed their
contracts and decided to hold the British to the original order. Negotiations
grew bitter and stalled. Everything changed after Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor on 7 December 1941, after which the United States government seized some
40 of the Model 322s for West Coast defense; subsequently, all British
Lightnings were delivered to the USAAF starting in January 1942. The USAAF lent
the RAF three of the aircraft, which were delivered by sea in March 1942 and
were test flown no earlier than May at Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft Swaythling, the
Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) and the Royal
Aircraft Establishment. The A&AEE example was unarmed, lacked
turbochargers, and restricted to 300 mph (480 km/h), though the undercarriage was
praised and flight on one engine described as comfortable. These three were
subsequently returned to the USAAF, one in December 1942 and the others in July
1943. Of the remaining 140 Lightning Is, 19 were not modified and were
designated by the USAAF as RP-322-I ('R' for 'Restricted', because
noncounter-rotating propellers were considered more dangerous on takeoff),
while 121 were converted to counter-rotating V-1710F-2 engines without
turbosuperchargers and designated P-322-II. All 121 were used as advanced
trainers; a few were still serving that role in 1945. A few RP-322s were later
used as test-modification platforms such as for smoke-laying canisters. The
RP-322 was a fairly fast aircraft below 16,000 ft (4,900 m) and well-behaved as
a trainer. Some of the fastest postwar racing P-38s were virtually identical in
layout to the P-322-II.
Many of the British order of 524 Lightning IIs were fitted with stronger
F-10 Allison engines as they became available, and all were given wing pylons
for fuel tanks or bombs. The upgraded aircraft were deployed to the Pacific as
USAAC F-5A reconnaissance or P-38G fighter models, the latter used with great
effect in the operation that shot down Admiral Yamamoto in April 1943. Robert
Petit's G model named Miss Virginia was on that mission, borrowed by Rex
Barber, who was later credited with the kill. Petit had already used Miss
Virginia to defeat two Nakajima A6M2-N "Rufe" floatplanes in February
and to heavily damage a Japanese submarine chaser in March, which he mistakenly
claimed as a destroyer sunk. Murray "Jim" Shubin used a less-powerful
F model he named Oriole to down five confirmed and possibly six Zeros over
Guadalcanal in June 1943 to become ace in a day.
The British name was retained over Lockheed's original name Atalanta, the
swift-running Greek goddess, following the company tradition of using
mythological and celestial figures.
Range Extension
The strategic-bombing proponents within the USAAF, nicknamed the Bomber
Mafia by their ideological opponents, had established in the early 1930s a
policy against research to create long-range fighters, which they thought would
not be practical; this kind of research was not to compete for bomber
resources. Aircraft manufacturers understood that they would not be rewarded if
they installed subsystems on their fighters to enable them to carry drop tanks
to provide more fuel for extended range. Lieutenant Kelsey, acting against this
policy, risked his career in late 1941 when he convinced Lockheed to
incorporate such subsystems in the P-38E model, without putting his request in
writing. Kelsey possibly was responding to Colonel George William Goddard's
observation that the US sorely needed a high-speed, long-range photo
reconnaissance plane. Along with a change order specifying some P-38Es be
produced with guns replaced by photo reconnaissance cameras, to be designated
the F-4-1-LO, Lockheed began working out the problems of drop-tank design and
incorporation. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, eventually about 100 P-38Es
were sent to a modification center near Dallas, Texas, or to the new Lockheed
assembly plant B-6 (today the Burbank Airport), to be fitted with four K-17
aerial photography cameras. All of these aircraft were also modified to be able
to carry drop tanks. P-38Fs were modified, as well. Every Lightning from the
P-38G onward was capable of being fitted with drop tanks straight off the
assembly line.
In March 1942, General Arnold made an off-hand comment that the US could
avoid the German U-boat menace by flying fighters to the UK rather than packing
them onto ships. President Roosevelt pressed the point, emphasizing his
interest in the solution. Arnold was likely aware of the flying radius
extension work being done on the P-38, which by this time had seen success with
small drop tanks in the range of 150 to 165 US gal (570 to 620 L), the
difference in capacity being the result of subcontractor production variation.
Arnold ordered further tests with larger drop tanks in the range of 300 to 310
US gal (1,100 to 1,200 L); the results were reported by Kelsey as providing the
P-38 with a 2,500-mile (4,000 km) ferrying range. Because of available supply,
the smaller drop tanks were used to fly Lightnings to the UK, the plan called
Operation Bolero.
Led by two Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, the first seven P-38s, each
carrying two small drop tanks, left Presque Isle Army Air Field in Maine on 23
June 1942 for RAF Heathfield in Scotland. Their first refueling stop was made
in far northeast Canada at Goose Bay. The second stop was a rough airstrip in
Greenland called Bluie West One, and the third refueling stop was in Iceland at
Keflavik. Other P-38s followed this route, with some lost in mishaps, usually
due to poor weather, low visibility, radio difficulties, and navigational errors.
Nearly 200 of the P-38Fs (and a few modified Es) were successfully flown across
the Atlantic in July–August 1942, making the P-38 the first USAAF fighter to
reach Britain and the first fighter ever to be delivered across the Atlantic
under its own power. Kelsey himself piloted one of the Lightnings, landing in
Scotland on 25 July.
Operational History
The first unit to receive P-38s was the 1st Fighter Group. After the
attack on Pearl Harbor, the unit joined the 14th Pursuit Group in San Diego to
provide West Coast defense.
Entry to the War
The first Lightning to see active service was the F-4 version, a P-38E in
which the guns were replaced by four K17 cameras. They joined the 8th
Photographic Squadron in Australia on 4 April 1942. Three F-4s were operated by
the Royal Australian Air Force in this theater for a short period beginning in
September 1942.
On 29 May 1942, 25 P-38s began operating in the Aleutian Islands in
Alaska. The fighter's long range made it well-suited to the campaign over the
almost 1,200-mile (1,900 km)-long island chain, and it was flown there for the
rest of the war. The Aleutians were some of the most rugged environments
available for testing the new aircraft under combat conditions. More Lightnings
were lost due to severe weather and other conditions than enemy action; cases
occurred where Lightning pilots, mesmerized by flying for hours over gray seas
under gray skies, simply flew into the water. On 9 August 1942, two P-38Es of
the 343rd Fighter Group, 11th Air Force, at the end of a 1,000-mile (1,600 km)
long-range patrol, happened upon a pair of Japanese Kawanishi H6K
"Mavis" flying boats and destroyed them, making them the first
Japanese aircraft to be shot down by Lightnings.
European Theater
North Africa and Italy
After the Battle of Midway, the USAAF began redeploying fighter groups to
Britain as part of Operation Bolero, and Lightnings of the 1st Fighter Group
were flown across the Atlantic via Iceland. On 14 August 1942, Second
Lieutenant Elza Shahan of the 27th Fighter Squadron, and Second Lieutenant
Joseph Shaffer of the 33rd Squadron operating out of Iceland shot down a
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor over the Atlantic. Shaffer, flying either a P-40C or a
P-39, scored the first hit, causing a fire on the Condor; Shahan in his P-38F
finished it off with a high-speed gunnery pass. This was the first Luftwaffe
aircraft destroyed by the USAAF.
After 347 sorties with no enemy contact, the 1st and 14th Fighter Groups
transferred from the UK to the 12th Air Force in North Africa as part of the
force being built up for Operation Torch. The Lightning's long range allowed
the pilots to fly their fighters over the Bay of Biscay, skirting neutral Spain
and Portugal to refuel in Morocco. The P-38s were initially based at Tafaroui
Airfield in Algeria alongside P-40 Warhawks and the rest of the 12th Air Force.
P-38s were first involved in North African combat operations on 11 November
1942. The first North African P-38 kill was on 22 November, when Lieutenant
Mark Shipman of the 14th downed an Italian airplane with twin engines. Shipman
later made two more kills – a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter and a very large Me
323 Gigant transport.
Early results in the Mediterranean theater of operations were mixed. Some
P-38 pilots scored multiple kills to become aces, while many others were shot
down due to inexperience or tactical strictures. Overall, the P-38 suffered its
highest losses in the Mediterranean theater. The primary function of the P-38
in North Africa was to escort bombers, but the fighters also targeted transport
aircraft, and later in the campaign, they were sometimes given ground-attack
missions. When tied to bomber-escort duties, the P-38 squadrons were vulnerable
to attack from above by German fighters, which selected the most advantageous
position and timing. The initial tactical doctrine of the American units was
for the P-38s to fly near the bombers at all times rather than to defend
aggressively or to fly ahead and clear the airspace for the bombers, and many
American pilots were downed because of this limitation. Losses mounted, and all
available P-38s in the UK were flown over to North Africa to restore squadron
strength. After this painful experience, the American leadership changed
tactics, and in February 1943, the P-38s were given free rein in their battles.
The first German success against the P-38 was on 28 November 1942, when Bf
109 pilots of Jagdgeschwader 53 claimed seven Lightnings for no loss of their
own. Further one-sided German victories were noted on several occasions through
January 1943. The first P-38 pilots to achieve ace status were Virgil Smith of
the 14th FG and Jack Illfrey of the 1st FG, both credited with five wins by 26
December. Smith got a sixth enemy aircraft on 28 December, but was killed two
days later in a crash landing, likely after taking fire from Oberfeldwebel
Herbert Rollwage of JG 53, who survived the war with at least 71 kills. This
was Rollwage's first victory over a P-38, and his 35th claim at the time.
The two squadrons of the 14th Fighter Group were reduced so badly in
December 1942 that the 82nd FG was flown from the UK to North Africa to cover
the shortage. The first kill by the 82nd was during a bomber-escort mission on
7 January 1943, when William J. "Dixie" Sloan broke formation and
turned toward six attacking Bf 109s to shoot one of them down. Known for his
maverick style, Sloan racked up 12 victories by July 1943. After another heavy
toll in January 1943, 14th FG had to be withdrawn from the front to reorganize,
with surviving pilots sent home and the few remaining Lightnings transferred to
the 82nd. The 14th was out of action for three months, returning in May.
On 5 April 1943, 26 P-38Fs of the 82nd claimed 31 enemy aircraft
destroyed, helping to establish air superiority in the area and allegedly
earning it the German nickname "der Gabelschwanz Teufel" – the
Fork-tailed Devil, coming from a recently downed German aviator, as described
by Life in August 1943. However, the reliability of this attribution is
doubtful, as the clear intent of the article was to rehabilitate the P-38's
reputation in the minds of the American public. No earlier independent or
German attestation exists for this claim. The P-38s remained active in the
Mediterranean for the rest of the war, continuing to deliver and receive damage
in combat. On 30 August 1943, 13 P-38s were shot down by German and Italian
fighters while escorting B-26 and B-17 bombers on raids against targets in
Italy. On 2 September, 10 P-38s were shot down in combat with Bf 109s of JG 53,
with four Bf 109s, including that of 67-victory ace Franz Schieß, who had been
the leading "Lightning killer" in the Luftwaffe with 17 destroyed.
The Mediterranean theater had the first aerial combat between German
fighters and P-38s. German fighter-pilot appraisal of the P-38 was mixed. Some
observers dismissed the P-38 as an easy kill, while others gave it high praise,
a deadly enemy worthy of respect. Johannes Steinhoff, commander of JG 77 in
North Africa, said that the unit's old Bf 109s were "perhaps, a little faster"
than the P-38, but a dogfight with the twin-engined fighter was daunting
because its turning radius was much smaller, and it could quickly get on the
tail of the Bf 109. Franz Stigler, an ace with 28 kills, flew Bf 109s against
the P-38 in North Africa. Stigler said the Lightning "could turn inside us
with ease and they could go from level flight to climb almost instantaneously.
We lost quite a few pilots who tried to make an attack and then pull up... One
cardinal rule we never forgot was to avoid fighting the P-38 head on. That was
suicide." Stigler said the best defense was to flick-roll the Bf 109 and
dive, as the Lightning was slow in the first 10° of roll, and it was not as
fast in a dive. Herbert Kaiser, eventually a 68-kill ace, shot down his first
P-38 in January 1943. Kaiser said that the P-38 should be respected as a
formidable opponent, that it was faster and more maneuverable than the Bf
109G-6 model he flew, especially since the G-6 was slowed by underwing cannon
pods. Johann Pichler, another high-scoring ace, said that the P-38 in 1943 was
much faster in a climb than the Bf 109. Kurt Bühligen, third-highest scoring
German pilot on the Western front with 112 victories, recalled: "The P-38
fighter (and the B-24) were easy to burn. Once in Africa, we were six, and met
eight P-38s and shot down seven. One sees a great distance in Africa and our
observers and flak people called in sightings and we could get altitude first
and they were low and slow." General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland was unimpressed
with the P-38, declaring, "it had similar shortcomings in combat to our Bf
110, our fighters were clearly superior to it." Heinz Bäer said that P-38s
"were not difficult at all. They were easy to outmaneuver and were
generally a sure kill".
On 12 June 1943, a P-38G, while flying a special mission between Gibraltar
and Malta, or perhaps, just after strafing the radar station of Capo Pula,
landed on the airfield of Capoterra (Cagliari), in Sardinia, from navigation
error due to a compass failure. Regia Aeronautica chief test pilot Colonnello
(Lieutenant Colonel) Angelo Tondi flew the captured aircraft to Guidonia
airfield, where the P-38G was evaluated. On 11 August 1943, Tondi took off to
intercept a formation of about 50 bombers, returning from the bombing of Terni
(Umbria). Tondi attacked B-17G Bonny Sue, 42–30307, that fell off the shore of
Torvaianica, near Rome, while six airmen parachuted out. According to US
sources, he also damaged three more bombers on that occasion. On 4 September,
the 301st BG reported the loss of B-17 The Lady Evelyn, 42–30344, downed by
"an enemy P-38". War missions for that plane were limited, as the
Italian petrol was too corrosive for the Lockheed's tanks. Other Lightnings
were eventually acquired by Italy for postwar service.
In a particular case when faced by more agile fighters at low altitudes in
a constricted valley, Lightnings suffered heavy losses. On the morning of 10
June 1944, 96 P-38Js of the 1st and 82nd Fighter Groups took off from Italy for
Ploiești, the third-most heavily defended target in Europe, after Berlin and
Vienna. Instead of bombing from high altitude as had been tried by the
Fifteenth Air Force, USAAF planning had determined that a dive-bombing surprise
attack, beginning at about 7,000 feet (2,100 m) with bomb release at or below
3,000 feet (900 m), performed by 46 82nd Fighter Group P-38s, each carrying one
1,000-pound (500 kg) bomb, would yield more accurate results. All of 1st
Fighter Group and a few aircraft in 82nd Fighter Group were to fly cover, and
all fighters were to strafe targets of opportunity on the return trip, a
distance of some 1,255 miles (2,020 km), including a circuitous outward route
made in an attempt to achieve surprise. Some 85 or 86 fighters arrived in
Romania to find enemy airfields alerted, with a wide assortment of aircraft
scrambling for safety. P-38s shot down several, including heavy fighters,
transports, and observation aircraft. At Ploiești, defense forces were fully
alert, the target was concealed by smoke screen, and antiaircraft fire was very
heavy; seven Lightnings were lost to antiaircraft fire at the target, and two
more during strafing attacks on the return flight. German Bf 109 fighters from
I./JG 53 and 2./JG 77 fought the Americans. Sixteen P-38s, called "Indieni
cu două pene" (Indians with two feathers) by the Romanians, of the 71st
Fighter Squadron were challenged by a large formation of Romanian IAR.81C
fighters of the 6th Fighter Group. The fight took place below 300 feet (100 m)
in a narrow valley and lasted 12 minutes. Herbert Hatch saw two IAR 81Cs that
he misidentified as Focke-Wulf Fw 190s hit the ground after taking fire from
his guns, and his fellow pilots confirmed three more of his kills. Three of his
victories were confirmed by gun camera. The outnumbered 71st Fighter Squadron
took more damage than it dished out, though, losing nine aircraft. In all, the
USAAF lost 22 aircraft on the mission. The Americans claimed 23 aerial
victories. The Romanians and Germans lost five Bf 110s, four Ju 52s, and one
Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 on the ground, as well as three Focke-Wulf Fw 58s, three
IAR 38s, and three IAR.81Cs in the air. Eleven enemy locomotives were strafed
and left burning, and flak emplacements were destroyed, along with fuel trucks
and other targets. Results of the bombing were not observed by the USAAF pilots
because of the smoke. The dive-bombing mission profile was not repeated, though
the 82nd Fighter Group was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its part.
Western Europe
Experiences over Germany had shown a need for long-range escort fighters
to protect the Eighth Air Force's heavy-bomber operations. The P-38Hs of the
55th Fighter Group were transferred to the Eighth in England in September 1943,
and were joined by the 20th Fighter Group, 364th Fighter Group, and 479th
Fighter Group soon after. P-38s and Spitfires escorted Flying Fortress raids
over Europe.
Because its distinctive shape was less prone to cases of mistaken identity
and friendly fire, Lieutenant General Jimmy Doolittle, commander of the 8th Air
Force, chose to pilot a P-38 during the invasion of Normandy, so he could watch
the progress of the air offensive over France. At one point in the mission,
Doolittle flick-rolled through a hole in the cloud cover, but his wingman, then–Major
General Earle E. Partridge, was looking elsewhere and failed to notice
Doolittle's quick maneuver, leaving Doolittle to continue on alone on his
survey of the crucial battle. Of the P-38, Doolittle said that it was "the
sweetest-flying plane in the sky".
A little-known role of the P-38 in the European theater was that of
fighter-bomber during the invasion of Normandy and the Allied advance across
France into Germany. Assigned to the IX Tactical Air Command, the 370th Fighter
Group and 474th Fighter Group and their P-38s initially flew missions from
England, dive-bombing radar installations, enemy armor, troop concentrations,
and flak towers, and providing air cover. The 370th's group commander Howard F.
Nichols and a squadron of his P-38 Lightnings attacked Field Marshal Günther
von Kluge's headquarters in July 1944; Nichols himself skipped a 500 lb (230
kg) bomb through the front door. The 370th later operated from Cardonville,
France, and the 474th from various bases in France, flying ground-attack
missions against gun emplacements, troops, supply dumps, and tanks near
Saint-Lô in July and in the Falaise–Argentan area in August 1944. The 370th
participated in ground-attack missions across Europe until February 1945, when
the unit changed over to the P-51 Mustang. The 474th operated out of bases in
France, Belgium, and Germany in primarily the ground-attack missions until
November–December 1945.
After some disastrous raids in 1944 with B-17s escorted by P-38s and
Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, Doolittle, then head of the U.S. Eighth Air Force,
went to the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, asking for an evaluation
of the various American fighters. Test pilot Captain Eric Brown, Fleet Air Arm,
recalled:
We had found out that the Bf 109 and
the FW 190 could fight up to a Mach of 0.75, three-quarters the speed of sound.
We checked the Lightning and it couldn't fly in combat faster than 0.68. So, it
was useless. We told Doolittle that all it was good for was photo reconnaissance
and had to be withdrawn from escort duties. And the funny thing is that the
Americans had great difficulty understanding this because the Lightning had the
two top aces in the Far East.
After evaluation tests at Farnborough, the P-38 was kept in fighting
service in Europe for a while longer. Although many failings were remedied with
the introduction of the P-38J, by September 1944, all but one of the Lightning
groups in the Eighth Air Force had converted to the P-51 Mustang. The Eighth
Air Force continued to conduct reconnaissance missions using the F-5 variant.
Pacific Theater
The P-38 was used most extensively and successfully in the Pacific
theater, where it proved more suited, combining exceptional range with the
reliability of two engines for long missions over water. The P-38 was used in a
variety of roles, especially escorting bombers at altitudes of 18,000–25,000 ft
(5,500–7,600 m). The P-38 was credited with destroying more Japanese aircraft
than any other USAAF fighter. Freezing cockpit temperatures were not a problem at
low altitude in the tropics. In fact, the cockpit was often too hot, since
opening a window while in flight caused buffeting by setting up turbulence
through the tailplane. Pilots taking low-altitude assignments often flew
stripped down to shorts, tennis shoes, and parachute. While the P-38 could not
out-turn the A6M Zero and most other Japanese fighters when flying below 200
mph (320 km/h), its superior speed coupled with a good rate of climb meant that
it could use energy tactics, making multiple high-speed passes at its target.
In addition, its tightly grouped guns were even more deadly to lightly armored
Japanese warplanes than to German aircraft. The concentrated, parallel stream
of bullets allowed aerial victory at much longer distances than fighters
carrying wing guns. Dick Bong, the United States' highest-scoring World War II
air ace (40 victories in P-38s), flew directly at his targets to ensure he hit
them, in some cases flying through the debris of his target (and on one
occasion colliding with an enemy aircraft, which was claimed as a
"probable" victory). The twin Allison engines performed admirably in
the Pacific.
General George C. Kenney, commander of the USAAF 5th Air Force operating
in New Guinea, could not get enough P-38s; they had become his favorite fighter
in November 1942 when one squadron, the 39th Fighter Squadron of the 35th
Fighter Group, joined his assorted P-39s and P-40s. The Lightnings established
local air superiority with their first combat action on 27 December 1942. Kenney
sent repeated requests to Arnold for more P-38s, and was rewarded with
occasional shipments, but Europe was a higher priority in Washington. Despite
their small force, Lightning pilots began to compete in racking up scores
against Japanese aircraft.
On 2–4 March 1943, P-38s flew top cover for 5th Air Force and Australian
bombers and attack aircraft during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, in which
eight Japanese troop transports and four escorting destroyers were sunk. Two
P-38 aces from the 39th Fighter Squadron were killed on the second day of the
battle: Bob Faurot and Hoyt "Curley" Eason (a veteran with five
victories who had trained hundreds of pilots, including Dick Bong). In one
notable engagement on 3 March 1943, P-38s escorted 13 B-17s (part of an attack
including B-25 Mitchells and Beaufighters) as they bombed the Japanese convoy
from a medium altitude of 7,000 ft (2,100 m), which dispersed the convoy
formation and reduced their concentrated antiaircraft firepower. A B-17 was
shot down and when Japanese Zero fighters machine-gunned some of the B-17 crew
members who bailed out in parachutes, three P-38s promptly dived into action,
claiming five Zeros.
Killing of Admiral Yamamoto
Because of its ability to fly long distances, the Lightning figured in one
of the most significant operations in the Pacific Theater – the interception,
on 18 April 1943, of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the architect of Japan's naval
strategy in the Pacific including the attack on Pearl Harbor. When American
code breakers found out that he was flying to Bougainville Island to conduct a
front-line inspection, 16 P-38G Lightnings were sent on a long-range
fighter-intercept mission, flying 435 miles (700 km) from Guadalcanal at
heights of 10 to 50 ft (3 to 20 m) above the ocean to avoid detection. The
Lightnings met Yamamoto's two Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" fast bomber
transports and six escorting Zeros just as they arrived at the island. The
first Betty crashed in the jungle and the second ditched near the coast. The
Americans lost one P-38. Japanese search parties found Yamamoto's body at the
jungle crash site the next day.
Service Record
The P-38's service record shows mixed results, which may reflect more on
its employment than on flaws with the aircraft. The P-38's engine troubles at
high altitudes only occurred with the Eighth Air Force. One reason for this was
the inadequate cooling systems of the G and H models; the improved P-38 J and L
had tremendous success flying out of Italy into Germany at all altitudes. Until
the -J-25 variant, P-38s were easily avoided by German fighters because of the
lack of dive flaps to counter compressibility in dives. German fighter pilots
not wishing to fight would perform the first half of a Split S and continue
into steep dives because they knew the Lightnings would be reluctant to follow.
On the positive side, having two engines was a built-in insurance policy.
Many pilots arrived safely back to base after having an engine failure en route
or in combat. On 3 March 1944, the first Allied fighters reached Berlin on a
frustrated escort mission. Lieutenant Colonel Jack Jenkins of 55th Fighter
Group led the group of P-38H pilots, arriving with only half his force after
flak damage and engine trouble took their toll. On the way into Berlin, Jenkins
reported one rough-running engine, causing him to wonder if he would ever make
it back. The B-17s he was supposed to escort never showed up, having turned
back at Hamburg. Jenkins and his wingman were able to drop tanks and outrun
enemy fighters to return home with three good engines between them.
In the European theater, P-38s made 130,000 sorties with a loss of 1.3%
overall, comparing favorably with P-51s, which posted a 1.1% loss, considering
that the P-38s were vastly outnumbered and suffered from poorly thought-out
tactics. Most of the P-38 sorties were made in the period prior to Allied air
superiority in Europe, when pilots fought against a very determined and skilled
enemy. Lieutenant Colonel Mark Hubbard, a vocal critic of the aircraft, rated
it the third-best Allied fighter in Europe. The Lightning's greatest virtues
were long range, heavy payload, high speed, fast climb, and concentrated
firepower. The P-38 was a formidable fighter, interceptor, and attack aircraft.
In the Pacific Theater, the P-38 downed over 1,800 Japanese aircraft, with
more than 100 pilots becoming aces by downing five or more enemy aircraft.
American fuel supplies contributed to a better engine performance and
maintenance record, and range was increased with leaner mixtures. In the second
half of 1944, the P-38L pilots out of Dutch New Guinea were flying 950 mi
(1,530 km), fighting for 15 minutes and returning to base. Such long legs were
invaluable until the P-47N and P-51D entered service.
Postwar Operations
The end of the war left the USAAF with thousands of P-38s rendered
obsolete by the jet age. Orders for 1,887 more were cancelled. The last P-38s
in service with the United States Air Force were retired in 1949. One-hundred
late-model P-38L and F-5 Lightnings were acquired by Italy through an agreement
dated April 1946. Delivered, after refurbishing, at the rate of one per month,
they finally were all sent to the Aeronautica Militare by 1952. The Lightnings
served in the 4° Stormo and other units including 3° Stormo, flying reconnaissance
over the Balkans, ground attack, naval cooperation, and air-superiority
missions. Due to old engines, pilot errors, and lack of experience in
operations, large numbers of P-38s were lost in at least 30 accidents, many of
them fatal. Despite this, many Italian pilots liked the P-38 because of its
excellent visibility on the ground and stability on takeoff. The Italian P-38s
were phased out in 1956; none survived the scrapyard.
Surplus P-38s were also used by other foreign air forces, with 12 sold to
Honduras and 15 retained by China. Six F-5s and two unarmed black two-seater
P-38s were operated by the Dominican Air Force based in San Isidro Airbase,
Dominican Republic, in 1947. Most of the wartime Lightnings present in the
continental U.S. at the end of the war were put up for sale for US$1,200
apiece; the rest were scrapped. P-38s in distant theaters of war were bulldozed
into piles and abandoned or scrapped; very few avoided that fate.
The CIA "Liberation Air Force" flew one P-38M to support the
1954 Guatemalan coup d'etat. On 27 June 1954, this aircraft dropped napalm
bombs that destroyed the British cargo ship SS Springfjord, which was loading
Guatemalan cotton and coffee for Grace Line in Puerto San José. In 1957, five
Honduran P-38s bombed and strafed a village occupied by Nicaraguan forces
during a border dispute between these two countries concerning part of Gracias
a Dios Department.
P-38s were popular contenders in the air races from 1946 through 1949,
with brightly colored Lightnings making screaming turns around the pylons at
Reno and Cleveland. Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier was among those who bought
a Lightning, choosing a P-38J model and painting it red to make it stand out as
an air racer and stunt flyer. Lefty Gardner, former B-24 and B-17 pilot and
associate of the Confederate Air Force, bought a mid-1944 P-38L-1-LO that had
been modified into an F-5G. Gardner painted it white with red and blue trim and
named it White Lightnin'; he reworked its turbo systems and intercoolers for
optimum low-altitude performance and gave it P-38F-style air intakes for better
streamlining. White Lightnin' was severely damaged in a crash landing following
an engine fire on a transit flight, and was bought and restored with a
brilliant polished-aluminum finish by the company that owns Red Bull. The
aircraft is now located in Austria.
F-5s were bought by aerial survey companies and employed for mapping. From
the 1950s on, the use of the Lightning steadily declined, and only a few more
than two dozen still exist, with few still flying. One example is a P-38L owned
by the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas, painted in the colors of
Charles H. MacDonald's Putt Putt Maru. Two other examples are F-5Gs, which were
owned and operated by Kargl Aerial Surveys in 1946, and are now located in
Chino, California, at Yanks Air Museum, and in McMinnville, Oregon, at
Evergreen Aviation Museum. The earliest-built surviving P-38, Glacier Girl, was
recovered from the Greenland ice cap in 1992, 50 years after she crashed there
on a ferry flight to the UK, and after a complete restoration, flew once again
10 years after her recovery.
Production
Over 10,000 Lightnings were manufactured, becoming the only U.S. combat
aircraft that remained in continuous production throughout the duration of
American participation in World War II. The Lightning had a major effect on
other aircraft; its wing, in a scaled-up form, was used on the Lockheed
Constellation.
P-38D and P-38Es
Delivered and accepted Lightning production variants began with the P-38D
model. The few "handmade" YP-38s initially contracted were used as
trainers and test aircraft. No Bs or Cs were delivered to the government as the
USAAF allocated the 'D' suffix to all aircraft with self-sealing fuel tanks and
armor. Many secondary but still initial teething tests were conducted using the
earliest D variants.
The first combat-capable Lightning was the P-38E (and its photo-recon
variant the F-4) which featured improved instruments, electrical, and hydraulic
systems. Part-way through production, the older Hamilton Standard Hydromatic
hollow steel propellers were replaced by new Curtiss Electric duraluminum
propellers. The definitive (and now famous) armament configuration was settled
upon, featuring four .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns with 500 rpg, and a 20 mm
(.79 in) Hispano autocannon with 150 rounds.
While the machine guns had been arranged symmetrically in the nose on the
P-38D, they were "staggered" in the P-38E and later versions, with
the muzzles protruding from the nose in the relative lengths of roughly
1:4:6:2. This was done to ensure a straight ammunition-belt feed into the
weapons, as the earlier arrangement led to jamming.
The first P-38E rolled out of the factory in October 1941 as the Battle of
Moscow filled the news wires of the world. Because of the versatility,
redundant engines, and especially high-speed and high-altitude characteristics
of the aircraft, as with later variants, over 100 P-38Es were completed in the
factory or converted in the field to a photo reconnaissance variant, the F-4, in
which the guns were replaced by four cameras. Most of these early
reconnaissance Lightnings were retained stateside for training, but the F-4 was
the first Lightning to be used in action in April 1942.
P-38Fs and P-38Gs
After 210 P-38Es were built, they were followed, starting in February
1942, by the P-38F, which incorporated racks inboard of the engines for fuel
tanks or a total of 2,000 lb (910 kg) of bombs. Early variants did not have a
high reputation for maneuverability, though they could be agile at low
altitudes if flown by a capable pilot, using the P-38's forgiving stall
characteristics to their best advantage. From the P-38F-15 model onwards, a
"combat maneuver" setting was added to the P-38's Fowler flaps. When
deployed at the 8° maneuver setting, the flaps allowed the P-38 to out-turn
many contemporary single-engined fighters at the cost of some added drag.
However, early variants were hampered by high aileron control forces and a low
initial rate of roll, and all such features required a pilot to gain experience
with the aircraft, which in part was an additional reason Lockheed sent its
representative to England, and later to the Pacific theater.
The aircraft was still experiencing extensive teething troubles, as well
as being victimized by "urban legends", mostly involving inapplicable
twin-engined factors which had been designed out of the aircraft by Lockheed.
In addition to these, the early versions had a reputation as a "widow
maker", as they could enter an unrecoverable dive due to a sonic surface
effect at high subsonic speeds. The 527 P-38Fs were heavier, with more powerful
engines that used more fuel, and were unpopular in the air war in Northern
Europe. Since the heavier engines were having reliability problems and with
them, without external fuel tanks, the range of the P-38F was reduced, and
since drop tanks themselves were in short supply as the fortunes in the Battle
of the Atlantic had not yet swung the Allies' way, the aircraft became
relatively unpopular in minds of the bomber command planning staffs despite
being the longest-ranged fighter first available to the 8th Air Force in
sufficient numbers for long-range escort duties. Nonetheless, General Spaatz,
then commander of the 8th Air Force in the UK, said of the P-38F: "I'd
rather have an airplane that goes like hell and has a few things wrong with it,
than one that won't go like hell and has a few things wrong with it."
The P-38F was followed in June 1942 by the P-38G, using more powerful
Allisons of 1,400 hp (1,000 kW) each and equipped with a better radio. A dozen
of the planned P-38G production were set aside to serve as prototypes for what
became the P-38J with further uprated Allison V-1710F-17 engines (1,425 hp
(1,063 kW) each) in redesigned booms, which featured chin-mounted intercoolers
in place of the original system in the leading edge of the wings and more
efficient radiators. Lockheed subcontractors, however, were initially unable to
supply both of Burbank's twin production lines with a sufficient quantity of
new core intercoolers and radiators. War Production Board planners were
unwilling to sacrifice production, and one of the two remaining prototypes
received the new engines, but retained the old leading-edge intercoolers and
radiators.
As the P-38H, 600 of these stop-gap Lightnings with an improved 20 mm
cannon and a bomb capacity of 3,200 lb (1,500 kg) were produced on one line
beginning in May 1943, while the near-definitive P-38J began production on the
second line in August 1943. The Eighth Air Force was experiencing high-altitude
and cold-weather issues, which while not unique to the aircraft, were perhaps
more severe as the turbosuperchargers upgrading the Allisons were having their
own reliability issues, making the aircraft more unpopular with senior officers
out of the line. This was a situation unduplicated on all other fronts, where
the commands were clamoring for as many P-38s as they could get. Both the P-38G
and P-38H models' performances were restricted by an intercooler system
integral to the wing's leading edge, which had been designed for the YP-38's
less powerful engines. At the higher boost levels, the new engine's charge air
temperature would increase above the limits recommended by Allison and would be
subject to detonation if operated at high power for extended periods of time.
Reliability was not the only issue, either. For example, the reduced power
settings required by the P-38H did not allow the maneuvering flap to be used to
good advantage at high altitude. All these problems really came to a head in
the unplanned P-38H and sped the Lightning's eventual replacement in the 8th
Air Force; fortunately, the 15th Air Force was glad to get them.
Some P-38G production was diverted on the assembly line to F-5A
reconnaissance aircraft. An F-5A was modified to an experimental two-seat
reconnaissance configuration as the XF-5D, with a Plexiglas nose, two machine
guns, and additional cameras in the tail booms.
P-38J, P-38L
The P-38J was introduced in August 1943. The turbosupercharger intercooler
system on previous variants had been housed in the leading edges of the wings
and had proven vulnerable to combat damage and could burst if the wrong series
of controls was mistakenly activated. In the P-38J series, the streamlined engine
nacelles of previous Lightnings were changed to fit the intercooler radiator
between the oil coolers, forming a "chin" that visually distinguished
the J model from its predecessors. While the P-38J used the same V-1710-89/91
engines as the H model, the new core-type intercooler more efficiently lowered
intake manifold temperatures and permitted a substantial increase in rated
power. The leading edge of the outer wing was fitted with 55 US gal (210 L)
fuel tanks, filling the space formerly occupied by intercooler tunnels, but
these were omitted on early P-38J blocks due to limited availability.
The final 210 J models, designated P-38J-25-LO, alleviated the
compressibility problem through the addition of a set of electrically actuated
dive recovery flaps just outboard of the engines on the bottom centerline of
the wings. With these improvements, a USAAF pilot reported a dive speed of
almost 600 mph (970 km/h), although the indicated air speed was later corrected
for compressibility error, and the actual dive speed was lower. Lockheed
manufactured over 200 retrofit modification kits to be installed on P-38J-10-LO
and J-20-LO already in Europe, but the USAAF C-54 carrying them was shot down
by an RAF pilot who mistook the Douglas transport for a German Focke-Wulf
Condor. Unfortunately, the loss of the kits came during Lockheed test pilot
Tony LeVier's four-month morale-boosting tour of P-38 bases. Flying a new
Lightning named Snafuperman, modified to full P-38J-25-LO specifications at
Lockheed's modification center near Belfast, LeVier captured the pilots' full
attention by routinely performing maneuvers during March 1944 that common 8th
Air Force wisdom held to be suicidal. It proved too little, too late, because
the decision had already been made to re-equip with Mustangs.
The P-38J-25-LO production block also introduced hydraulically boosted
ailerons, one of the first times such a system was fitted to a fighter. This
significantly improved the Lightning's rate of roll and reduced control forces
for the pilot. This production block and the following P-38L model are
considered the definitive Lightnings, and Lockheed ramped up production,
working with subcontractors across the country to produce hundreds of
Lightnings each month.
The P-38L was the most numerous variant of the Lightning, with 3,923
built, 113 by Consolidated-Vultee in their Nashville plant. It entered service
with the USAAF in June 1944, in time to support the Allied invasion of France
on D-Day. Lockheed production of the Lightning was distinguished by a suffix
consisting of a production block number followed by "LO," for example
"P-38L-1-LO", while Consolidated-Vultee production was distinguished
by a block number followed by "VN," for example
"P-38L-5-VN."
The P-38L was the first Lightning fitted with zero-length rocket
launchers. Seven high-velocity aircraft rockets (HVARs) on pylons were placed
beneath each wing, and later, five HVARs were on each wing on "Christmas
tree" launch racks, which added 1,365 lb (619 kg) to the aircraft. The
P-38L also had strengthened stores pylons to allow carriage of 2,000 lb (900
kg) bombs or 300 US gal (1,100 L) drop tanks.
Lockheed modified 200 P-38J airframes in production to become unarmed F-5B
photo-reconnaissance aircraft, while hundreds of other P-38Js and P-38Ls were
modified at Lockheed's Dallas Modification Center to become F-5Cs, F-5Es,
F-5Fs, or F-5Gs. A few P-38Ls were field modified to become two-seat TP-38L
familiarization trainers. During and after June 1948, the remaining J and L
variants were designated ZF-38J and ZF-38L, with the "ZF" designator
(meaning "obsolete fighter") replacing the "P for Pursuit"
category.
Late-model Lightnings were delivered unpainted, per USAAF policy
established in 1944. At first, field units tried to paint them, since pilots
worried about being too visible to the enemy, but the reduction in weight and
drag turned out to be a minor advantage in combat.
The P-38L-5, the most common subvariant of the P-38L, had a modified
cockpit heating system consisting of a plug-socket in the cockpit into which
the pilot could plug his heat-suit wire for improved comfort. These Lightnings
also received the uprated V-1710-112/113 (F30R/L) engines, and this
dramatically lowered the number of engine-failure problems experienced at high
altitude so commonly associated with European operations.
P-38K
Two P-38Ks were developed from 1942 to 1943, one official and one an
internal Lockheed experiment. The first was actually a battered RP-38E
"piggyback" test mule previously used by Lockheed to test the P-38J
chin intercooler installation, now fitted with paddle-bladed
"high-activity" Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propellers similar to
those used on the P-47. The new propellers required spinners of greater
diameter, and the mule's crude, hand-formed sheet steel cowlings were further
stretched to blend the spinners into the nacelles. It retained its
"piggyback" configuration that allowed an observer to ride behind the
pilot. With Lockheed's AAF representative as a passenger and the maneuvering
flap deployed to offset Army Hot Day conditions, the old "K-Mule"
still climbed to 45,000 feet (14,000 m). With a fresh coat of paint covering
its crude, hand-formed steel cowlings, this RP-38E acts as stand-in for the
"P-38K-1-LO" in the model's only picture.
The 12th G model originally set aside as a P-38J prototype was
redesignated P-38K-1-LO and fitted with the aforementioned paddle-blade
propellers and new Allison V-1710-75/77 (F15R/L) powerplants rated at 1,875 bhp
(1,398 kW) at War Emergency Power. These engines were geared 2.36 to 1, unlike
the standard P-38 ratio of 2 to 1. The AAF took delivery in September 1943, at
Eglin Field. In tests, the P-38K-1 achieved 432 mph (695 km/h) at military
power and was predicted to exceed 450 mph (720 km/h) at War Emergency Power
with a similar increase in load and range. The initial climb rate was 4,800 ft
(1,500 m)/min and the ceiling was 46,000 ft (14,000 m). It reached 20,000 ft
(6,100 m) in five minutes flat; this with a coat of camouflage paint, which
added weight and drag. Although it was judged superior in climb and speed to
the latest and best fighters from all AAF manufacturers, the War Production
Board refused to authorize P-38K production due to the two- to three-week
interruption in production necessary to implement cowling modifications for the
revised spinners and higher thrust line. Some had also doubted Allison's
ability to deliver the F15 engine in quantity. As promising as it had looked,
the P-38K project came to a halt.
|
Version and Total Manufactured or Converted
|
|
Variant
|
Built or
converted
|
Comment
|
|
XP-38
|
1
|
Prototype
|
|
YP-38
|
13
|
Evaluation
aircraft
|
|
P-38
|
30
|
Initial
production aircraft
|
|
XP-38A
|
1
|
Pressurized
cockpit
|
|
P-38D
|
36
|
Fitted
with self-sealing fuel tanks/armored windshield
|
|
P-38E
|
210
|
First
combat-ready variant, revised armament
|
|
F-4
|
100+
|
Reconnaissance
aircraft based on P-38E
|
|
Model 322
|
3
|
RAF order:
twin right-hand props and no turbo
|
|
RP-322
|
147
|
USAAF
trainers
|
|
P-38F
|
527
|
First
fully combat-capable P-38 fighter
|
|
F-4A
|
20
|
Reconnaissance
aircraft based on P-38F
|
|
P-38G
|
1,082
|
Improved
P-38F fighter
|
|
F-5A
|
180
|
Reconnaissance
aircraft based on P-38G
|
|
XF-5D
|
1
|
A one-off
converted F-5A
|
|
P-38H
|
601
|
Automatic
cooling system; improved P-38G fighter
|
|
P-38J
|
2,970
|
New
cooling and electrical systems
|
|
F-5B
|
200
|
Reconnaissance
aircraft based on P-38J
|
|
F-5C
|
123
|
Reconnaissance
aircraft converted from P-38J
|
|
F-5E
|
705
|
Reconnaissance
aircraft converted from P-38J/L
|
|
P-38K
|
2
|
Paddle
blade props; up-rated engines with a different propeller reduction ratio
|
|
P-38L-LO
|
3,810
|
Improved
P-38J new engines; new rocket pylons
|
|
P-38L-VN
|
113
|
P-38L
built by Vultee
|
|
F-5F
|
–
|
Reconnaissance
aircraft converted from P-38L
|
|
P-38M
|
75
|
Night
fighter converted from P-38L
|
|
F-5G
|
–
|
Reconnaissance
aircraft converted from P-38L
|
Pathfinders, Night-fighter, and Other Variants
The Lightning was modified for other roles. In addition to the F-4 and F-5
reconnaissance variants, several P-38Js and P-38Ls were field modified as
formation bombing "pathfinders" or "droopsnoots", fitted
with a Norden bombsight or an H2X radar system. Such pathfinders would lead a
formation of other P-38s, each loaded with two 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs; the
entire formation releasing their ordnance when the pathfinder did.
A number of Lightnings were modified as night fighters. Several field or
experimental modifications with different equipment fits finally led to the
"formal" P-38M night fighter, or Night Lightning. In total, 75 P-38Ls
were modified to the Night Lightning configuration, painted flat-black with
conical flash hiders on the guns, an AN/APS-6 radar pod below the nose, and a
second cockpit with a raised canopy behind the pilot's canopy for the radar
operator. The headroom in the rear cockpit was limited, requiring radar
operators who were preferably short in stature.
One of the initial-production P-38s had its turbosuperchargers removed,
with a secondary cockpit placed in one of the booms to examine how flight crews
would respond to such an "asymmetric" cockpit layout. One P-38E was
fitted with an extended central nacelle to accommodate a tandem-seat cockpit
with dual controls, and was later fitted with a laminar-flow wing.
Very early in the Pacific War, a scheme was proposed to fit Lightnings
with floats to allow them to make long-range ferry flights. The floats would be
removed before the aircraft went into combat. Concerns arose that saltwater
spray would corrode the tailplane, so in March 1942, P-38E 41-1986 was modified
with a tailplane raised some 16–18 in (41–46 cm), booms lengthened by 2 ft, and
a rearward-facing second seat added for an observer to monitor the
effectiveness of the new arrangement. A second version was crafted on the same
airframe with the twin booms given greater sideplane area to augment the
vertical rudders. This arrangement was removed and a final third version was
fabricated that had the booms returned to normal length, but the tail raised 33
in (84 cm). All three tail modifications were designed by George H.
"Bert" Estabrook. The final version was used for a quick series of
dive tests on 7 December 1942 in which Milo Burcham performed the test
maneuvers and Kelly Johnson observed from the rear seat. Johnson concluded that
the raised floatplane tail gave no advantage in solving the problem of
compressibility. At no time was this P-38E testbed airframe actually fitted
with floats, and the idea was quickly abandoned, as the U.S. Navy proved to
have enough sealift capacity to keep up with P-38 deliveries to the South
Pacific.
Still another P-38E was used in 1942 to tow a Waco troop glider as a
demonstration. However, there proved to be plenty of other aircraft, such as
Douglas C-47 Skytrains, available to tow gliders, and the Lightning was spared
this duty.
Standard Lightnings were used as crew and cargo transports in the South
Pacific. They were fitted with pods attached to the underwing pylons, replacing
drop tanks or bombs, that could carry a single passenger in a lying-down
position, or cargo. This was a very uncomfortable way to fly. Some of the pods
were not even fitted with a window to let the passenger see out or bring in
light.
Lockheed proposed a carrier-based Model 822 version of the Lightning for
the US Navy. The Model 822 would have featured folding wings, an arresting
hook, and stronger undercarriage for carrier operations. The Navy was not
interested, as they regarded the Lightning as too big for carrier operations
and did not like liquid-cooled engines; therefore, the Model 822 never went
beyond the paper stage. The Navy did operate, though, four land-based F-5Bs in
North Africa, inherited from the USAAF and redesignated FO-1.
A P-38J was used in experiments with an unusual scheme for midair
refueling, in which the fighter snagged a drop tank trailed on a cable from a
bomber. The USAAF managed to make this work, but decided it was not practical.
A P-38J was also fitted with experimental retractable snow-ski landing gear,
but this idea never reached operational service, either.
After the war, a P-38L was experimentally fitted with armament of three
.60 in (15.2 mm) machine guns. The .60 in (15.2 mm) caliber cartridge had been
developed early in the war for an infantry antitank rifle, a type of weapon
developed by a number of nations in the 1930s when tanks were lighter, but by
1942, armor was too tough for this caliber.
Another P-38L was modified after the war as a "super strafer",
with eight .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in the nose and a pod under each wing
with two .50 in (12.7 mm) guns, for a total of 12 machine guns. Nothing came of
this conversion, either.
Type:
Fighter
Fighter-bomber
Aerial reconnaissance
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Lockheed Corporation
Primary users:
United States Army
Air Forces
Free French Air
Force
Number built: 10,037
Manufactured: 1941–45
Introduction date: July 1941
First flight: 27 January 1939
Retired:
1949 (United States
Air Force)
1965 (Honduran Air
Force)
Developed into:
Lockheed XP-49
Lockheed XP-58
Variants
XP-38: United States Army Air Force
designation for one prototype Lockheed Model 22 first flown in 1939
YP-38: Redesigned pre-production batch with
armament, 13 built
P-38: First production variant with 0.5 in
guns and a 37 mm cannon, 30 built
XP-38A: Thirtieth P-38 modified with a
pressurized cockpit
Lightning I: Former Armée de l'air order for 667
aircraft (being reduced to 143 Lighting Is), it was taken by the Royal Air
Force, three delivered to RAF, and the remainder of the order was delivered to
USAAF. It used C-series V-1710-33 engines without turbochargers, and right-hand
propeller rotation (not counter).
Lightning II: The Royal Air Force designation for
a cancelled order of 524 aircraft using F-series V-1710 engines, the only one
built was retained by the USAAF for testing. The rest of the order was
completed as P-38F-13-LO, P-38F-15-LO, P-38G-13-LO, and P-38G-15-LO aircraft.
P-322-I: 22 Lightning Is of the 143 built
were retained by the USAAF for training and testing. Most were unarmed,
although some retained the Lighting I armament of two .50 cal and two .30 cal
guns.
P-322-II: 121 Lightning Is were re-engined
with the V-1710-27/-29 and used for training. Most were unarmed.
P-38B: Proposed variant of the P-38A, not
built
P-38C: Proposed variant of the P-38A, not
built
P-38D: Production variant with modified
tailplane incidence, self-sealing fuel tanks, 36 built
P-38E: Production variant with revised
hydraulic system, 20 mm cannon rather than the 37 mm of earlier variants, 210
built
P-38E Floatplane: A proposed floatplane variant of the
P-38E with upswept tail booms and fitted with droppable and fuel-filled floats,
one prototype was converted from P-38E 41-1986 with modified tail booms, but
was not fitted with floats. It did not enter production.
P-38F: Production variant with inboard
underwing racks for drop tanks or 2000 lb of bombs, 527 built
P-38G: Production variant with modified
radio equipment, 1082 built
P-38H: Production variant capable of
carrying 3200 lb of underwing bombs, improved intercooler design along with
automatic oil radiator flaps, 601 built
P-38J: This production variant was built in
1943 with improvements to each batch, notably an increase of Hp that came with
an improved turbocharger. It also included chin radiators, flat bullet-proof
windshields, power-boosted ailerons, and increased fuel capacity* 2970 were
built. Some were modified to pathfinder configuration and to F-5C, F-5E, and
F-5F.
P-38K: With V-1710-75/77 (F15R/L)
powerplants rated at 1875 hp (1,398 kW) at War Emergency Power, larger Hamilton
Standard Paddle-bladed propellers were added to compensate for increased power,
one was built, a single P-38E was additionally converted to the same propeller
as the P-38K.
P-38L: With 1600 hp engines, 3923 were
built, which included 113 built at Vultee* later conversions to pathfinders and
F-5G were made.
Crew: 1
Length: 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m)
Wingspan: 52 ft 0 in (15.85 m)
Height: 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
Wing area: 327.5 sq ft (30.43 m2)
Aspect ratio: 8.26
Airfoil:
Root: NACA 23016
Tip: NACA 4412
Empty weight: 12,800 lb (5,806 kg)
Gross weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg)
Maximum takeoff weight: 21,600 lb (9,798 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Allison V-1710 (-111 left hand
rotation and -113 right hand rotation) V-12 liquid-cooled turbo-supercharged
piston engine, 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) each WEP at 60 inHg (2.032 bar) and 3,000
rpm
Propellers: 3-bladed Curtiss electric
constant-speed propellers (LH and RH rotation)
Maximum speed: 414 mph (666 km/h, 360 kn) on
Military Power: 1,425 hp (1,063 kW) at 54 inHg (1.829 bar), 3,000 rpm and
25,000 ft (7,620 m)
Cruise speed: 275 mph (443 km/h, 239 kn)
Stall speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)
Combat range: 1,300 mi (2,100 km, 1,100 nmi)
Ferry range: 3,300 mi (5,300 km, 2,900 nmi)
Service ceiling: 44,000 ft (13,000 m)
Rate of climb: 4,750 ft/min (24.1 m/s)
Lift-to-drag: 13.5
Wing loading: 53.4 lb/sq ft (261 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.26 kW/kg)
Drag area: 8.78 sq ft (0.82 m2)
Zero-lift drag
coefficient: 0.0268
Guns:
1× Hispano M2(C) 20 mm cannon with 150 rounds
4× M2 Browning machine gun 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine
guns with 500 rpg.
Rockets: 4× M10 three-tube 4.5 in (112 mm) M8
rocket launchers; or:
Bombs:
Inner hardpoints:
2× 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs or drop tanks; or
2× 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs or drop tanks, plus either
4× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs or
4× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs; or
6× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs; or
6× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs
Outer hardpoints:
10× 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity Aircraft
Rockets); or
2× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs; or
2× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs
TP-38L: Two P-38Ls were converted as
tandem-seated operational trainers.
P-38M: Conversion of P-38L as a
radar-equipped night-fighter
F-4: Photo-reconnaissance variant of the
P-38E, 99 built
F-4A: Photo-reconnaissance variant of the
P-38F, 20 built
F-5A: Reconnaissance variant of the P-38G,
181 built
F-5B: Reconnaissance variant of the P-38J,
200 were built, and four were later sent to the United States Navy as FO-1s.
F-5C: Reconnaissance variant of the P-38J,
123 conversions
XF-5D: Prone-observer variant, one
conversion from a F-5A
F-5E: Reconnaissance variant converted
from the P-38J and P-38L, 705 converted
F-5F: Reconnaissance variant conversions
of the P-38L
F-5G: As reconnaissance variant
conversions of the P-38L, they had a different camera configuration from the
F-5F.
XFO-1: United States Navy designation for
four F-5Bs operated for evaluation.
Operators
Military
Australia
Republic of
China
Dominican
Republic
Free France
France
Honduras
Kingdom of
Italy
Italy
Portugal
United Kingdom
United States
Civil
Colombia
Noted P-38s
The 5,000th Lightning built, a P-38J-20-LO, 44-23296, was painted bright
vermilion red, and had the name YIPPEE painted on the underside of the wings in
large white letters, as well as the signatures of hundreds of factory workers.
This and other aircraft were used by a handful of Lockheed test pilots
including Milo Burcham, Jimmie Mattern, and Tony LeVier in remarkable flight
demonstrations, performing such stunts as slow rolls at treetop level with one
prop feathered to dispel the myth that the P-38 was unmanageable.
Surviving Aircraft
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American two-engine fighter used by the
United States Army Air Forces and other Allied air forces during World War II.
Of the 10,037 planes built, 26 survive today, 22 of which are located in the
United States, and 10 of which are airworthy.
Background
In
late 1945 when the last P-38 came off the production line, 9,923 aircraft had
been delivered to the USAAF. The P-38 was quickly declared obsolete in 1946 and
the last USAF flight was in 1948.
This
was an extremely complicated aircraft to maintain. The P-38 Lightning has been
consistently on the civil registry since 1946 since the first aircraft were
released from the military. It does remain a demanding aircraft with numerous
crash incidents; several of the surviving planes have been rebuilt many times.
A
considerable number of late model Lightnings which had been converted by
Lockheed to Photo Reconnaissance (F-5) models found a niche with photo mapping
companies and until the middle 1960s these aircraft earned their keep through
photo mapping assignments around the globe. Additionally, the latest military
use of the P-38 was with several South American air forces, the largest of
these being Fuerza Aérea Hondureña which operated the Lockheed Lightning until
the early 1960s. There were also a small number of P-38s that were purchased
after the war for civilian air racing. It is from these sources that until the
early 1980s all the remaining stocks of the P-38 Lightning could be drawn from.
One
historic note was that in 1948, representatives of the then-new country of
South Korea attempted to purchase the brand new P-38L Lightnings stored in the
Philippines (approximately 100 aircraft). Instead, the USAF persuaded them to
accept AT-6s modified to ground attack role as well as worn out P-51D Mustangs;
the brand new P-38s were destroyed.
As
with all remaining warbirds, collectors began scouring the world for forgotten
aircraft. From the jungle of New Guinea, the wildness of Alaska and under the
ice of Greenland are but some of the places previously unrestorable wrecked
airframes are being recovered and being restored for both static display and
airworthy exhibition.
Individual Histories
Glacier Girl (41-7630): This P-38F-1 flown by 1st Lt. Harry L.
Smith Jr., 94th Fighter Squadron, was one of six P-38 fighters of the 1st
Fighter Group escorting two B-17 bombers on a ferry flight to the United
Kingdom as part of Operation Bolero on 15 July 1942. While en route over
Greenland, bad weather caused the eight aircraft to turn back, the entire
flight attempting to land together before they ran out of fuel. Although one
P-38 overturned, the flight successfully belly-landed. The crews were rescued
within a few days, but the airplanes were abandoned and, over the years,
covered by ice. A few attempts to salvage the airplanes were made but were
unsuccessful. In 1981 Pat Epps of Epps Aviation in Atlanta, GA, and Richard
Taylor, an Atlanta architect, bought the salvage rights from Roy Degan, who had
gotten them from the Danish Government to search for the planes. They formed
the Greenland Expedition Society. Don Brooks, a south Georgia businessman,
joined the team in 1986 and bought a DC3 to help with the recovery. Joined to
this were the efforts of many adventurers, aviation enthusiasts, and investors.
It took seven trips and almost two million dollars to recover the plane. In
1992, 50 years after the planes landed, a P-38 recovery mission was undertaken.
Using photos taken by the original crews while they were awaiting rescue as
well as modern seismographic equipment, the salvage workers located the buried
squadron and selected the least damaged of the planes. They reached it by
boring a hole using hot water through the layer of ice 268 feet thick. Roy
Shoffner, a businessman from Middlesboro, Kentucky was the major investor of
the 1992 expedition. He also gets credit for 100% of the restoration of Glacier
Girl. The airplane was transported to Middlesboro, where a ten-year restoration
began using many parts from late model aircraft. Nicknamed Glacier Girl, the
restored P-38F Lightning made its first post-restoration flight on 26 October
2002.
Maid of Harlech (41-7677): P-38F-1LO ex-49th Squadron, 14th Fighter
Group, 8th Air Force, in the summer of 2007 this aircraft was discovered on a
beach in Wales, having been buried in the sand for 65 years. A wingtip had come
off the aircraft during its belly landing, but the pilot—Second Lt. Robert F.
'Fred' Elliot—escaped unhurt. Elliot was on a gunnery practice mission when a
fuel supply error forced him to make an emergency landing. American airmen
salvaged the nose guns but were unable to fly the fighter off the beach,
abandoning it in place where it became covered by naturally shifting sand.
Elliot was shot down less than three months later while flying combat missions
over Tunisia. His body and aircraft were never found.
Surviving Aircraft
Australia
Under restoration
P-38F
42-12647
Dottie from Brooklyn – Under restoration to display by the Historical Aircraft
Restoration Society for the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery in
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
P-38G
42-12847
Dumbo! – Under restoration to display by the Historical Aircraft Restoration
Society for the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.
P-38
Unknown
– Under restoration to airworthiness by the Historical Aircraft Restoration
Society in Albion Park, New South Wales.
Austria
Airworthy
P-38L
44-53254
– The Flying Bulls in Salzburg. Formerly called "White Lightnin'" and
owned until 2008 by Marvin L. "Lefty" Gardner. Gardner, along with
Lloyd Noland, co-founded what is now the Commemorative Air Force. Registered to
Aircraft Guaranty Title Corp. Trustee in Onalaska, Texas.
Serbia
Under restoration
P-38L
44-25786
– Museum of Aviation in Belgrade. In storage, awaiting restoration.
United Kingdom
Under restoration
P-38H
42-66841
Scarlet Scourge – Sold and transported to the United Kingdom during the late
2014 where it might be restored to airworthy condition.
United States
Airworthy
P-38F
41-7630
Glacier Girl – based at Lewis Air Legends in San Antonio, Texas.
42-12652
White 33 – based at the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado
Springs, Colorado.
P-38J
44-23314
23 Skidoo – based at Planes of Fame in Chino, California.
P-38L
44-26981
Honey Bunny – based at Allied Fighters in Sun Valley, Idaho.
44-27053
Relampago – based at War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
44-27083
Tangerine – based at Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon.
44-27183
23 Skidoo – based at Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.
44-27231
Scat III (Formerly Ruff Stuff) – based at Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite
Falls, Minnesota.
44-53095
Thoughts of Midnite – privately owned in Houston, Texas.
44-53186
"Pudgy V" – based at Collings Foundation in Stow, Massachusetts.
On display
P-38G
42-13400
(unnamed) – Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (formerly Elmendorf AFB) in
Anchorage, Alaska; crash landed on Attu Island in 1945, recovered in 1999.
P-38J
42-67638
(unnamed) – Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill AFB, Utah.
42-67762
(unnamed) – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum in
Chantilly, Virginia.
P-38L
44-53015
Pudgy V – McGuire AFB, New Jersey.
44-53087
Marge – EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
44-53097
Lizzie V / Wyandotte Mich. – Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.
44-53232
(unnamed) – National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson
AFB in Dayton, Ohio.
44-53236
Marge – Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin.
Under restoration or in storage
P-38H
42-66534
– to airworthiness by private owner in Wilmington, Delaware.
P-38J
42-103988
Jandina III – to airworthiness by WestPac Restorations for the National Museum
of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
42-104088
– in storage at the Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, Washington.
P-38L
44-26761
– in storage at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.
Noted P-38 Pilots
Richard Bong and Thomas McGuire: The American ace of aces and his closest
competitor both flew Lightnings and tallied 40 and 38 victories, respectively.
Majors Richard I. "Dick" Bong and Thomas B. "Tommy" McGuire
of the USAAF competed for the top position. Both men were awarded the Medal of
Honor.
McGuire
was killed in air combat in January 1945 over the Philippines, after
accumulating 38 confirmed kills, making him the second-ranking American ace.
Bong was rotated back to the United States as America's ace of aces, after
making 40 kills, becoming a test pilot. He was killed on 6 August 1945, the day
the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, when his Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star jet
fighter flamed out on take-off.
Charles Lindbergh: Charles Lindbergh became famous for his transatlantic solo
flight before the war. By WWII he was a civilian working for Vought in the
South Pacific area. He received preferential treatment as if a visiting
colonel. In Hollandia, Lindbergh attached himself to the 475th Fighter Group
which was flying P-38s. Although new to the aircraft, Lindbergh was
instrumental in extending the range of the P-38 through improved throttle
settings, or engine-leaning techniques, notably by reducing engine speed to
1,600 rpm, setting the carburetors for auto-lean and flying at 185 mph (298
km/h) indicated airspeed, which reduced fuel consumption to 70 gal/h, about 2.6
mpg. This combination of settings had been considered dangerous as it was
believed this would upset the fuel mixture, causing an explosion.
While
with the 475th, he took part in a number of combat missions. On 28 July 1944,
Lindbergh shot down a Mitsubishi Ki-51 "Sonia" flown by the veteran
commander of the 73rd Independent Flying Chutai of the Imperial Japanese Army
Captain Saburo Shimada. In an extended, twisting dogfight in which many of the
participants ran out of ammunition, Shimada turned his aircraft directly toward
Lindbergh, who was just approaching the combat area. Lindbergh fired in a
defensive reaction brought on by Shimada's apparent head-on ramming attack. Hit
by cannon and machine-gun fire, the "Sonia's" propeller visibly
slowed, but Shimada held his course. Lindbergh pulled up at the last moment to
avoid collision as the damaged "Sonia" went into a steep dive, hit
the ocean, and sank. The unofficial kill was not entered in the 475th's war
record. On 12 August 1944, Lindbergh left Hollandia to return to the United
States.
Charles MacDonald: The third-ranking American ace of the Pacific theater,
Charles H. MacDonald, flew a Lightning against the Japanese and scored 27 kills
in his aircraft, the Putt Putt Maru.
Martin James Monti: Martin James Monti was an American pilot who defected to the
Axis powers in a stolen F-5E Lightning, which was handed over to the Luftwaffe
Zirkus Rosarius for testing afterward.
Robin Olds: Robin Olds was the last P-38 ace in the 8th Air Force and the
last in the ETO. Flying a P-38J, he downed five German fighters on two separate
missions over France and Germany. He subsequently transitioned to P-51s and
scored seven more kills. After World War II, he flew F-4 Phantom IIs in
Vietnam, ending his career as brigadier general with 16 kills.
John H. Ross: Ross is a decorated World War II pilot who flew 96 missions
for the U.S. Army Air Forces under the U.S. 8th Air Force's 7th Reconnaissance
Group in the 22nd Reconnaissance Squadron. Ross flew the Lockheed P-38
Lightning as a photo-reconnaissance pilot out of RAF Mount Farm in England
during the war. He received 11 medals and was awarded the Distinguished Flying
Cross twice for missions that were integral to Allied victory at the Battle of
the Bulge.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: At midday on 31 July 1944, noted aviation
pioneer and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Night Flight, Wind, Sand and Stars
and The Little Prince) vanished in his P-38 of the French Armée de l'Air's
Groupe de Chasse II/33, after departing Borgo-Porreta, Corsica. His health,
both physically and mentally, had been deteriorating. Saint-Exupéry was said to
be intermittently subject to depression and talk had arisen of taking him off
flying status. Saint-Exupéry suffered recurring pain and immobility from
previous injuries due to his numerous aircraft crashes, to the extent that he
could not dress himself in his own flight suit. After his death, vague
suggestions were made that his disappearance was the result of suicide rather
than an aircraft failure or combat loss. He was on a flight over the
Mediterranean, from Corsica to mainland France, in an unarmed F-5B
photo-reconnaissance variant of the P-38J, described as being a
"war-weary, non-airworthy craft".
He was flying a P-38-F-5B-1-LO, 42-68223, c/n 2734.
In
2000, a French scuba diver found the partial remnants of a Lightning spread
over several thousand square meters of the Mediterranean seabed off the coast
of Marseille. In April 2004, the recovered component serial numbers were
confirmed as being from Saint-Exupéry's F-5B Lightning. Only a small amount of the
aircraft's wreckage was recovered. In June 2004, the recovered parts and
fragments were given to the Air and Space Museum of France in Le Bourget,
Paris, where Saint-Exupéry's life is commemorated in a special exhibit.
In
1981 and also in 2008, two Luftwaffe fighter pilots, respectively Robert
Heichele and Horst Rippert, separately claimed to have shot down
Saint-Exupéry's P-38. Both claims were unverifiable and possibly
self-promotional, as neither of their units' combat records of action from that
period made any note of such a shoot-down.
Popular Culture
Harley
Earl arranged for several of his designers to view a YP-38 prototype shortly
before World War II, and its design directly inspired the tail fins of the
1948–1949 Cadillac.
The
P-38 was also the inspiration for Raymond Loewy and his design team at
Studebaker for the 1950 and 1951 model-year Studebakers.
The
whine of the speeder bike engines in Return of the Jedi was partly achieved by
recording the engine noise of a P-38, combined with that of a North American
P-51 Mustang.
The
popular eight-bit video game "1942" puts the player in command of a
P-38 flying over the Pacific, fighting against Japanese Zeros and the Nakajima
G10N bomber. The game was made by Japanese company Capcom, intended for Western
markets, and finishes with the player raiding Tokyo.
Notable Appearances in Media
A
Guy Named Joe (1943) has Spencer Tracy returning as a guiding spirit looking
after young Lockheed P-38 Lightning pilot Van Johnson.
The
1944 short feature P-38 Reconnaissance Pilot, starring William Holden as Lt.
"Packy" Cummings, dramatizes the work of photo reconnaissance pilots
in World War II.
The
1965 film Von Ryan's Express begins with main protagonist, USAAF Colonel Joseph
Ryan (Frank Sinatra), crash landing a P-38 Lightning in World War II Italy and
being held as a prisoner of war.
P-38s
appear in the 1968 novel Order of Battle by Alfred Coppel, a work that portrays
US P-38Fs in the fighter-bomber role over Europe in WW2.
In
the 1992 action film Aces: Iron Eagle III, the main character, Brig. Gen.
Chappy Sinclair (Louis Gossett Jr.), pilots a P-38J as part of a mission to
field old Second World War airshow aircraft against a drug cartel in Peru. The
aircraft, registration N38BP, came from the Planes of Fame museum.
The
CAPCOM game 1942 for the arcades and the Nintendo Entertainment System features
the P-38 as the default plane of choice.
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| This P-38 compressibility chart is taken from a USAAF P-38 pilot training manual. Pilots of early P-38s (ones without the 1943 dive flap retrofit) were advised against steep dives as compressibility would force the plane to dive more steeply as well as immobilizing the controls, a situation that could prove fatal if initiated below 25,000 feet. (USAAF P-38 pilot training manual) |
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| A 3-view line drawing of the Lockheed P-38G Lightning. Although named in the manual title, the drawing does not depict the P-38 through P-38E, which lacked the ability to carry underwing stores. (Erection and Maintenance Instructions for Airplanes: Army Models P-38 Series Through P-38G-15, F-4 Series, F-5A Series, AN 01-75F-2, 1945) |
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| Lockheed P-38L Lightning. |
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| Lockheed F-5B-1 Lightning. |
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| U.S. Navy Twin Interceptor Fighter-VF proposal. Basically, a P-38 for carrier operations, but highly impractical for various reasons. The U.S. Navy had 4 F-5Bs (FO-1), used exclusively from land bases. Regarding Lockheed's model 822 proposal, the U.S. Navy didn't want such a large aircraft, regardless of Lockheed's proposal for folding wings, strengthened tail structure tailhook, so the model 822 never left the drawing board. Keep in mind that with liquid-cooled engines or radial engines, the model 822 would present several problems. First of which, is the "handed" engine requirement. If an engine is damaged on the 822, it can't be swapped for any engine, it has to be either a right-hand engine or a left-hand engine, so this increases the need for more engine reserves and necessary parts specific to each engine. Also, the Navy did not want to dedicate additional room on already cramped carriers, for ethylene glycol storage. Also, the 822 would also take up more space on the deck as well as below, reducing the available number of fighters the carrier needed to have on hand. The Navy also felt that the 822 may be problematic for launches and was too heavy for safe recovery, as the P-38 was over 7,000 pounds heavier than the F4F, 3,000 pounds heavier than the F6F. |
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| Lockheed Lightning F-5, 7th Photographic Group, 8th United States Army Air Force based at Mount Farm, Oxfordshire. |
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| Lockheed Lightning F-5B-1-LO No.42-67389 taxiing, 7th Photographic Group, 8th United States Army Air Force based at Mount Farm, Oxfordshire. |
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| A row of Lockheed Lightning F-5's, 7th Photographic Group, 8th United States Army Air Force based at Mount Farm, Oxfordshire. |
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| A row of Lockheed Lightning F-5's, 7th Photographic Group, 8th United States Army Air Force based at Mount Farm, Oxfordshire. |
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An operations officer of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, U.S. 8th Air Force, briefs a pilot of an F-5 Lightning before an operation.
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| An operations officer of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group briefs a pilot of an F-5 Lightning before an operation. August 7, 1943. |
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Colonel James G Hall, Commander, Major James Wright, Group operations and Captain George A Lawson of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group with the nose of an F-5 Lightning. 1943.
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Personnel of the 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Group at Fürth airfield in Germany. F-5 Lightnings and a captured FW 190D are visible in the background.
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An F-5 Lightning of the 13th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group taxiing at Mount Farm.
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| Captured Lockheed P-38, Zirkus Rosarius, Luftwaffe. |
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| Maintenance crews servicing a P-38 Lightning, USAAF. |
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| A formation of P-38 Lightning aircraft of the 20th Fighter Group over France, June 1944. |
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| P-38 Lighting flying back to Saipan after receiving battle damage over Iwo Jima, 15 January 1945. Photo taken from an accompanying B-24 Liberator. |
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| P-38J Lightning aircraft "Yippee'" circa 1945. |
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| The 5,000th Lightning built, a P-38J-20-LO, 44-23296, was painted bright vermilion red, and had the name YIPPEE painted on the underside of the wings in big white letters as well as the signatures of hundreds of factory workers. This and other aircraft were used by a handful of Lockheed test pilots including Milo Burcham, Jimmie Mattern and Tony LeVier in remarkable flight demonstrations, performing such stunts as slow rolls at treetop level with one prop feathered, to dispel the myth that the P-38 was unmanageable. In-flight footage of the YIPPEE P-38 can be seen in the pilot episode of the Green Acres television series. Completed in May 1944. After publicity photos were taken, "Yippee" was stripped of its red paint and assigned to the 431st Fighter Squadron of the 475th Fighter Group during the summer of 1944, operating in the Pacific Theater. "Yippee" was forced to return early from a mission on December 20, 1944 due to engine trouble. The P-38 was reported damaged in a taxiing accident in January 1945, and was presumably turned over to a training or service unit as not combat-worthy sometime thereafter. "Yippee" was presumably scrapped after the war. |
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| Major Arthur L. Post was shot down on 20 June 1943 and rescued on 28 September 1943 after 101 days in the jungle. Here he is pictured in a P-38 similar to his unarmed photo plane, "Limping Lizzie," that was shot down. The airfield where this image was taken was located near Port Moresby, New Guinea. Robert Doyle was not allowed to publish Post's story at that time. It was finally published in January 1947 by the Milwaukee Journal. Major Post intended to write his own story, but was killed in a test airplane on 25 August 1944 before he had the chance. 21 October 1943. |
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| Major Arthur L. Post was shot down on 20 June 1943 and rescued on 28 September 1943 after 101 days in the jungle. Here he is pictured in a P-38 similar to his unarmed photo plane, "Limping Lizzie," that was shot down. The airfield where this image was taken was located near Port Moresby, New Guinea. Robert Doyle was not allowed to publish Post's story at that time. It was finally published in January 1947 by the Milwaukee Journal. Major Post intended to write his own story, but was killed in a test airplane on 25 August 1944 before he had the chance. 21 October 1943. |
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| Major Arthur L. Post of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was shot down on 20 June 1943 and rescued on 28 September 1943 after 101 days in the jungle. Here he is pictured leaning on the tail assembly of a P-38 similar to his unarmed photo plane, "Limping Lizzie," that was shot down. The airfield where this image was taken was located near Port Moresby, New Guinea. 21 November 1943. |
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| War Correspondent Robert Doyle admires the golden oak leaf of Major Post's collar insignia. They are standing in front of the tail assembly of a P-38 similar to Post's. Major Arthur L. Post was shot down on 20 June 1943 and rescued on 28 September 1943, after 101 days in the jungle. The airfield where this image was taken was located near Port Moresby, New Guinea. 21 November 1943. |
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| Major Arthur L. Post was shot down on 20 June 1943 and rescued on 28 September 1943, after 101 days in the jungle. Here Post is showing War Correspondent Robert Doyle the seat cushion emergency kit exactly like the one he landed with in the jungle. It was attached to his parachute and contained the only food and medicine he had until he found an indigenous village. He also had a walking stick to help him walk with his injured knee. The military base where this image was taken was located near Port Moresby, New Guinea. 21 November 1943. |
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| Lockheed P-38 "Babe" undergoing gun maintenance. |
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| Lockheed P-38 with pilot Lt. Keinholtz, 1FG. |
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| Lockheed P-38 "Chicken Dit," 1st Lt. Gerald I. Rounds, 97FS, 82FG,Foggia, Italy. |
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| Lockheed P-38 at sunset, Chico, California, December 1, 1944. |
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| The top two U.S. aces of World War II. Maj Richard Bong and Maj Thomas McGuire. McGuire was killed in combat on January 7, 1945 and Bong died in the crash of a P-80 jet he was test flying on August 6, 1945. |
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| P-38H, “Copperhead,” marked with a “C” on the nose, 80th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group. The aircraft was lost on 22 December 1943 with Lt. Jennings Myers. |
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| F-5, “A’Peel’N Baby”, 34th Photo Squadron, Haguenau, France, fall 1944. |
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| P-38H, 475th Fighter Group, Townsville, Australia, May 1943. |
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| P-38H, “142”, 432nd Fighter Squadron, en route to Wewak, August 1943. |
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| P-38. |
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| P-38 with two sets of three-tube rocket pods on nose. Pilot is holding one of the rockets. |
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| P-38, Capt. Jay T. Robbins, 22 victories, “Jandina III”, 80th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group. |
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| P-38, Capt. Jay T. Robbins, “Jandina IV”. |
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| P-38, “Jandina IV”, Jay T. Robbins, 80th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group. |
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| P-38, Edward Cragg, “Porky II”, 80th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group. |
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| Major Ed Cragg, the commander of the 80th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, beside his Lockheed P-38H-1 Lightning (66506), “Porky II,” in early October 1943. Cragg is generally credited with coining the squadron’s nickname, “Headhunters.” |
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| Lockheed P-38, 40-747, fourth production P-38, in flight. |
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| P-38, 40-747, fourth production P-38, in flight. |
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| A P-38 makes a strafing pass on a ground target in Panama. |
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| Lockheed P-38. |
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| “Stinky 2,” Lockheed F-5A Lightning, 9th Photographic Squadron, attached to 7th Bomb Group, Pandaveswar, India, 1943. |
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| James M. Bray, right, pilot Malcolm E. Henry next to him, and Henry’s crew chief and assistant crew chief. They are standing in front of the “Droop Snoot” P-38 that Bray used as a camera plane. |
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| Close up of Bray in nose of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning showing the logo painted on the nose. |
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| Lockheed F-4 Lightning, “Snooper.” |
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| “Miss Virginia E,” Lockheed F-5B-1-LO Lightning, 9th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, India. |
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| First Lieutenant Olds with his P-38 during operational training in California. |
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| Captain Thomas J. Lynch, commanding officer, 39th Fighter Squadron, killed in action in March 1944, with 20 confirmed victories. |
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| Lockheed YP-38 Lightning US Army Air Corps. |
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| The P-38 Lightning became an icon during World War II. The turbosuperchargers for the Allison engines protrude above the booms at the wing trailing edges, their cooling intakes just behind on either side of each boom. |
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| The Lockheed F-5B reconnaissance version of the P-38 Lightning. The F-5B was the most successful U.S. reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. |
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| P-38s, Shemya Army Air Base, Aleutians. |
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| P-38 landing on a rain-soaked airfield on Attu. |
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| Lockheed P-38 Lightning cockpit USAAF. |
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| P-38, 347th Fighter Group. |
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| P-38J, 43-28776, “Billy Boy”, Lt.Col. Benjamin Mason, Jr., 82nd Fighter Group. |
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| P-38, 42-104309. |
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| Polished and immaculate, the first YP-38 and second “Lightning” passes a top-brass inspection at its roll-out in 1940. Lockheed chief engineer, his back to the compact nacelle, talks to U.S. war production chief W. M. Knudsen (white hat, facing camera) and, in the gray hat, USAAC commander General H. H. Arnold. |
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| P-38, “444,” on a Pacific island. |
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| P-38. |
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| A P-38 offers some welcome shade for ground crew at a Pacific airfield. |
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| P-38, “84”, undergoing maintenance at an airfield in the Pacific. Two P-39 fighters are visible in the background. |
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| P-38, 44-25419. |
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| P-38H, “Copperhead,” marked with a “C” on the nose, 80th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group. The aircraft was lost on 22 December 1943 with Lt. Jennings Myers. |
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| P-38, “G.I. Miss U”, 35th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, on a Pacific island. |
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| Lockheed XP-38 Lightning (37-457) US Army Air Corps. One of the best-known USAAF fighters operational in World War II, the P-38 was already in mass production before the War started. Production continued until 1945, and the Lightning served in every combat area in a variety of roles. Construction started in July 1938, the XP-38 being moved from Burbank to March Field on the last day of the year. Lieutenant B.S. Kelsey made the first flight from March Field on January 27, 1939. Two weeks after the first flight, on February 11, 1939, the XP-38 was delivered across the continent to Mitchell Field, taking 7 hr 2 min with two refueling stops, but it undershot on landing and was destroyed. |
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| Lockheed F-5, “Picture Packing Mama.” Ground crewman is carrying camera which will be loaded in the nose. |
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| Captain Morgan Giffin briefs 54th Fighter Squadron pilots prior to a fighter sweep over the Aleutians. |
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| Lieutenant Herbert Hasenfus enters the cockpit of his shark mouth decorated P-38 before take-off from an airfield in the Aleutians. |
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| The .50-caliber guns normally carried 300 rounds of ammunition each. The 20mm cannon was fed by a 150-round drum. |
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| The Germans wasted no time mounting their first bombing raid against the newly arrived P-38s at Maison Blanche, Algiers, 16 November 1942. |
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| Lieutenant Richard Bracey had 35 hours in P-38s when he went to the Aleutians, but logged 250 hours in the world’s worst flying weather. All but ten of the original 31 pilots of the 54th Fighter Squadron were killed in the Aleutians. |
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| Lightnings of the 27th Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Group, tuck in close to a B-17 over North Africa on long-range escort. |
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| A P-38 arrives in England after being shipped across the North Atlantic. Note the protective covering. |
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| The soft, often muddy wasteland at Youks took its toll. Berber tribesmen watch as a salvage crew works on a crash-landed P-38. |
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| Engine change. The national insignia was outlined in red on 48th Fighter Squadron machines while yellow outline was used by most others. |
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| Ubiquitous entertainer Bob Hope was in North Africa in 1943 posing with P-38 pilots (left to right) Lts. George Richards, John Meidinger, A. G. Barber, and Richard Jennings of the 14th Fighter Group. |
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| Vision obscured by dust, two P-38 pilots of the 1st Fighter Group collided during take-off at Biskra, January 1943. |
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| A 94th Fighter Squadron Lightning at Biskra. “Ace,” “Daisy,” “Eunice,” and “Dick” are among the names painted on this aircraft. |
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| Lightnings arrive in New Caledonia, November 1942, for the 339th Fighter Squadron on Guadalcanal. |
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| A 39th Fighter Squadron Lightning at Port Moresby, early in 1943. |
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| Captain Herbert E. Johnson, 48th Fighter Squadron, flew into the ground while strafing enemy vehicles on 31 December 1942, but brought his badly damaged Lightning back to base. |
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| A brave photographer got this shot of 39th Fighter Squadron P-38s returning to Laloki (14-Mile Drome), Port Moresby, New Guinea, late in 1942. The Lightning at left, No. 23, was usually piloted by Charles Sullivan. |
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| Capable of lifting over short tactical ranges a bomb load equal to that of medium bombers, the Lightning lacked, in its standard single-seater form, the ability to bomb accurately whilst flying level. To remedy this deficiency and take advantage of the aircraft’s load-carrying capability, a “droop snoot” version of the P-38J and P-38L was developed and was characterized by a revised nose configuration in which the forward-firing guns were replaced by a bombardier station complete with second seat and Norden bombsight. |
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| Close-up details of the bombardier position and Allison V-1710-89 and -91 engines of a “droop snoot” P-38J. The bomb racks beneath the inner wing panels could each carry bombs of up to 2,000 pounds. |
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| Lockheed P-38 Lightning "Stinker III". |
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| A 48th Fighter Squadron Lightning is serviced at Youks les Bains. |
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| Flak-damaged Lightning, coded ES-T, of the 48th Fighter Squadron apparently has national insignia outlined in red. Red photographs darker than blue on certain black and white films of the period. |
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| A P-38 Lightning (B9-A, serial number 42-67297) of the 496th Fighter Training Group in flight. USAAF. |
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| Lockheed P-38 Lightning. |
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| P-38H of the AAF Tactical Center, Orlando Army Air Base, Florida, carrying two 1,000 lb. bombs during capability tests in March 1944. |
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| The same P-38H with a feathered prop. |
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| Lockheed P-38 Lightning. |
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| Richard Bong's P-38, "Marge"; photo signed by his widow Marge in 1995. |
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| P-38 with radar unit mounted on the nose beneath the guns. |
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| P-38, "Marjorie Ann". |
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| P-38 “Happy Jack’s Go Buggy”. Natural metal finish with yellow spinners and white nose band. 'Happy Jack's Go Buggy' written next to kill markings on the port side of the nose, mission markings in front of the cockpit also on port side. Coded (MC-O) with black square on tail of the 79th Fighter Squadron. Piloted by Jack Milton Ilfrey (July 31, 1920 – October 15, 2004) a USAAF fighter ace who was credited with shooting down seven and a half enemy aircraft during World War II and evading capture twice. Ilfrey was known as Happy Jack for his cheerful disposition, and his ground crews in England nicknamed each of his planes "Happy Jack's Go Buggy". |
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| P-38G, 43-2308, “Shoot.. You’re Faded”, 27FS, 1FG, pilot 2LT John A. MacKay. A formation of Lockheed P-38 Lightnings had completed a successful fighter bomber mission on 25 May 1943 and was headed home when they were jumped by four Fw 190s and 20 Me 109s. The dogfight lasted 25 minutes, and resulted in a victory for the P-38s. Left to right: 2LT John A. Mackay, 2LT Samuel F. Sweet, officially credited with four confirmed aerial victories, 2LT Warren A. Holden, officially credited with two confirmed aerial victories, 1LT Frank J. McIntosh, officially credited with three confirmed aerial victories. Holden shot down two Fw 190’s and the other three shot down two Me 109’s each. |
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| P-38 being re-armed. |
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| P-38F-15, 42-112 AS, “The Sad Sack,” 95th Fighter Squadron, pilot Ernie “Hawk” Osher at right with ground crew. More than 30 pilots flew this aircraft on 183 combat missions between December 1942 and May 1944, scoring 16 victories including the group’s first victory over North Africa. |
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| P-38 with invasion stripes. |
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| Capt. Thomas B. McGuire with his P-38 “Pudgy III.” |
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| McGuire’s P-38 “Pudgy III” scoreboard. |
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| Capt. Thomas B. McGuire with his P-38 “Pudgy III.” |
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| Adjusting the nose guns of a P-38. |
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| P-38 “Scrapiron IV”. Assigned to 393FS, 367FG, 9AF. Personal aircraft of Capt Laurence E. Blumer. Transferred to 326 Ferrying Squadron, 1 Transport Group, 9AF USAAF. |
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| P-38. |
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| P-38 with drop tanks. |
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| P-38 cutaway. |
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| P-38H-5-LO, 42-66905, “Japanese Sandman II”, pilot Lt. Dolphus Ransome Dawson II. |
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| P-38 on a strafing run. |
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| P-38, Aleutians. |
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| P-38’s under construction at the factory outdoors. |
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| F-5C-1-LO (P-38J), 42-67128, "Dot+Dash" of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group at Mount Farm, Oxfordshire England. |
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| Loading a bomb on a P-38. |
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| Lockheed P-38 advertisement. |
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| P-38 with a slightly different external fuel tank. Some minor testing was conducted as a means to transport a person in these pods. |
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| The crash of the XP-38. The conclusion of the record flight across the country. The loss of the aircraft did set the program back, but the performance of this new design showed much promise. |
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| 2nd Lt. Robert M. Caywood in P-38, CBI. |
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| Scoreboard indicates the number of fighter and bombing missions flown by this P-38. |
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| Pilot in P-38 preparing for takeoff. |
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| ‘Drop tank car’ with P-38 in background. |
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| F-5 (P-38) "Maxine" on takeoff, part of the 7PRG, RAF Benson, Mt Farm, England. |
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| P-38 “Moonlight Cocktail”. |
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| Left to right: Dick Bong, Wallace Jordan, Edward Howes, Warren Curton. |
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| Left to right: P-38 pilots Bob Adams, John Johes, Jess Gidley. |
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| Left to right front row: Charles Sullivan, Tom Lynch, Ken Sparks. Left to right back row: Richard Suehr, John Lane, Stanley Andrews. |
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| Left to right: Thomas Fowler, Sidney Woods, Jack Mankin, Dick Bong. |
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| Pilot in cockpit of P-38. |
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| The P-38 did not have much space in the cockpit for a passenger. This one, a P-38F, named “Piggyback” was slightly modified to allow an engineer/passenger to ride along with the pilot, as seen in the photo. |
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| P-38. |
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| The P-38 was tested as a torpedo bomber. The lifting capability of the P-38 was impressive, and the tests conducted were very successful. However, the nature of war in the Pacific really did not allow an opportunity to be used in actual combat situations. This particular aircraft is ex-RAF as indicated by the serial number AF221 and the British style camouflage on the upper surfaces. |
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| Another view of P-38 AF221. |
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| Maintenance on a P-38. |
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| P-38 testing drop tanks and bazooka rocket tubes. |
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| P-38 testing drop tanks and bazooka rocket tubes. |
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| Pilots run to their P-38s, Aleutians. |
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| Pilot P-38 in flight gear. |
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| P-38, "Peg O'My Heart". |
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| P-38 postcard “Keep ‘em Flying!” |
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| P-38s Aleutians. |
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| P-38s. |
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| P-38M “Night Lightning”. This angle shows not only the radar operator crammed in the back, but also the radar pod up front. The airframe was essentially unchanged in other regards. This version of the P-38 did not see actual combat operations, but was deployed late in the war. |
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| A great view of the radar pod of the P-38 M “Night Lightning” version. Modified from a P-38L frame, the night fighter variant P-38 contained the radar pod with a radar operator passenger. |
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| Note the radar operator in the back seat with the protruding radar unit under the nose. |
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| Lockheed P-38M Lightning night fighter. |
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| Passengers and freight on board USS Lunga Point (CVE 94) for New Guinea on shakedown cruise. Aircraft in foreground appears to be Lockheed P-38M Lighting night fighter. |
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| F-4 or F-5 photo reconnaissance Lightning. |
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| Fifteenth Air Force P-38s return to base, Italy, 1944. |
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| P-38. |
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| An uncommon sight of a P-38J with skis in place of the wheels. |
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| P-38. |
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| P-38J with an F-5B (rear). |
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| P-38J, 42-67557. |
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| P-38. |
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| P-38H, "Katy-Did II". |
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| P-38F. |
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| Factory maintenance crews working on a P-38. |
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| P-38E. |
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| P-38E. |
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| P-38D. |
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| P-38F “The Bat Out of Hell” with nose art in progress, while ground crew inspect drop tanks. 94th Fighter Squadron, Twelfth Air Force, Tunisia, 1943. |
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| Maintenance crew arming a P-38 prior to a mission. |
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| Ground crew filling a drop tank on a P-38. |
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| Crashed P-38. |
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| Captain Norman Jackson and crew chief Sgt. S. Mamore with P-38. |
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| Lt. Murray Shubin with his P-38. |
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| Lt. Shubin flew one of the most impressive single day missions in the war. June 16, 1943, flying with the 37th Fighter Group, Shubin scrambled from Guadalcanal to intercept a force of Japanese heading for the Russell Islands. Shubin led his flight towards the Japanese at 23,000 ft. He used his height advantage to good effect, and shot down one fighter immediately. During the course of the battle, he was separated from his flight, and was soon alone flying against five enemy fighters. Shubin fought and scrapped for over forty minutes. He managed to shoot down all five enemy fighters attacking him. Capt. F. P. Mueller of G Company, 35th Infantry, witnessed the entire fight, and was able to confirm all five of the fighters destroyed. Overall, Shubin was able to shoot down six Japanese fighters in one mission. |
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| Lt. Monty Powers. |
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| Lightning I, AF161, Y-10-A. |
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| Lockheed test pilot Marshall Headle. |
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| Marion Kirby, five victories. |
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| P-38. |
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| P-38 “Putt Putt Maru” with Charles MacDonald (pilot) and Charles Lindbergh. |
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| Charles Lindbergh consulting with Thomas McGuire. |
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| Col. Thomas Lanphier on the left engaging in typical pilot conversation with Maj. John Mitchell. |
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| Captain Kenneth G. Ladd, C.O. 36th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, KIA October 15, 1944. P-38 “Nulli Secundus,” Latin for “Second to None.” Took off on a mission to escort B-24 Liberators over Balikpapan. Over the target, the P-38s intercepted Ki-44 Tojos to keep them away from the bombers. One B-24 crew said this Lighting turned into the enemy formation and was overwhelmed and observed spinning downward. Ladd was officially credited with 11 victories: 17 Dec 43, 29 Jul 43, 2 Sep 43, 15 Sep 43, 13 Dec 43, 17 Dec 43, 26 Dec 43 (double victory), 23 Jan 44, 31 Mar 44, 3 Apr 44. |
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| Maj. James A Watkins. Finished the war with 12 victories. “The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Captain (Air Corps) James A. Watkins (ASN: 0-427786), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-40 Fighter Airplane in the 9th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Group, Fifth Air Force, in action over New Guinea on 26 July 1943. Captain Watkins, leading one of three four-ship flights on a mission north of Lae, sighted an enemy formation of twenty planes. He immediately signaled for attack, and of two enemy planes approaching him head on, he shot one down. After regaining altitude, he dove on two of the enemy which were attacking one of our planes. With superb marksmanship, he sent one of these down in flames. Two other enemy fighters then attacked him from the front, and he shot down the first. Having gained altitude again, and maneuvering with great skill, he attacked still another plane and destroyed it. In this action in which the enemy had numerical superiority of more than two to one, the flight led by Captain Watkins destroyed six enemy planes without loss, and he personally, by his boldness in attack and his brilliant shooting, accounted for four enemy planes. General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, General Orders No. 62 (1943). Action Date: 26 Jul 43.” |
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| John O'Neill, 9th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Group, 8 victories. |
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| Lt. Jim Weir with his P-38. |
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| Lockheed test pilot Jimmy Mattern with YP-38. |
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| P-38 pilots Lt.Col. Jack Jenkins and Lt. Russell Gustke. |
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| Lt. Jay Robbins, 22 confirmed kills, 6 probable and 4 damaged. |
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| James Hagenback, P-38 “Bat Out Of Hell.” |
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| Lt. Herbert “Stub” Hatch with his P-38. |
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| Capt. Harry Brown. Brown was one of five pilots to score victories during the attack on Pearl Harbor, shooting down one Val and damaging another while flying a P-36. |
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| Capt. Frank Lent. Credited with 11 victories and was a recipient of Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross. Capt. Lent was lost during a test flight on December 1, 1944. In the background is Thomas McGuire. |
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| Lt. Col. Frank James with his P-38. |
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| The concept for a P-38 that would have floats was an idea that never got off the drawing board. |
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| Pilots run to their P-38’s, Aleutians. |
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| F-4 or F-5 photo recon Lightning. |
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| F-5 (P-38) "Tough Kid", 22PRS, 7PRG, RAF Benson, Mt Farm, England. |
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| F-5B photo recon Lightning with P-38 escort. |
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| F-4 reconnaissance version of the P-38. When the guns were removed, cameras could be placed in the nose. The glass window seen in this photo would allow pictures to be taken. |
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| P-38 Droopsnoot. This variation of the P-38 pulled out the guns and ammunition in the nose, and had a Plexiglas window in its place. A lone bombardier would lay down, and through the use of a bomb sight, could transform the P-38 into a quality level bomber. The lifting characteristics of the P-38 were very good and was able to hold two 2,000 lbs. The 4,000 lb. load was actually similar to the B-17 Flying Fortress. |
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| P-38 Droopsnoot. |
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| A lone P-38 Droopsnoot variant would lead a formation of regular P-38s with bombs and could deliver their ordnance with the same amount of precision as any large bomber. Unlike heavy bombers, the P-38s could act as fighters on the way home. This original and excellent idea did not gain traction due to the prevailing bomber first mindset in the leadership in the ETO. |
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| Introduced in later variants of the P-38, a pilot could deploy the flap and execute a high speed dive without any concerns or fears of the dreaded compressibility problem. This problem was common in early P-38s and was characterized by the airflow over the wings approaching and passing the speed of sound (not the aircraft speed, as no World War II aircraft was supersonic), causing the control surfaces to lose effectiveness. This was one of the first problems associated with the sound barrier, hence the reference to a “barrier.” In some instances, structural failure resulted and several crashes were directly associated with compressibility. The photo shows one of the test pilots, Tony Levier, who was very key in testing the aircraft as well as traveling into war zones to demonstrate P-38 handling characteristics. To the right, Kelly Johnson who would later be instrumental in the design of the F-104, U-2, and the SR-71. |
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| Captain Daniel “Preacher” Roberts. Capt. Roberts was killed in action on November 9, 1943. At the time, he was among the leading American aces in the Pacific with 14 confirmed victories. |
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| Maj. Cy Homer with his P-38 “Uncle Cy’s Angel”. Homer was a recipient of the Silver Star and Distinguished Service Medal and finished the war with 15 confirmed victories. |
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| P-38, "Uncle Cy's Angel", Cy Homer, 16 Victories. |
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| Curran Jones with his P-38. |
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| P-38 cockpit. |
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| Pilot entering P-38 cockpit. |
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| Charles Lindbergh, in the cockpit of Bong’s P-38, was an important figure in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Through his instruction, P-38 pilots learned valuable fuel saving measures. Missions could now cover longer distances, and also saved lives with more pilots returning back to home base. He also shot down one Japanese aircraft, in spite of strict orders to keep Lindbergh far removed from any combat operations or encounters. |
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| Charles W. King with his P-38. |
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| Camera installation on the F-4/-5 photo reconnaissance variant of the P-38. |
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| Lt. Col. Besby Holmes with his P-38. |
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| Early P-38 with the new 300 gal. drop tanks. |
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| Group of P-38 pilots, including Dick Bong (third from right) and Thomas McGuire (second from right). |
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| Lt. Ben Kelsey with XP-38. |
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| Colonel Charles Henry “Mac” MacDonald. MacDonald commanded the 475th Fighter Group for 20 months in his P-38 Lightning "Putt Putt Maru" with the aircraft number “100," becoming the third ranking fighter ace in the Pacific during World War II. |
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| P-38. |
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| Lieutenant Virgil H. Smith, 48th Fighter Squadron, 14th Fighter Group, scored five aerial victories during his first month in combat over North Africa. Smith became the first P-38 Ace of the war when he shot down his fifth enemy aircraft on December 12, 1942. |
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| P-38 pilot Lieutenant Mark Shipman (center) upon his return to Berteaux after a 250-mile walk through enemy territory. At one point in his journey he strode boldly through an Italian encampment. |
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| P-38 pilot Captain Daniel T. Roberts, commanding officer, 433rd Fighter Squadron, killed in action 9 November 1943, with 15 confirmed aerial victories. |
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| Lieutenant Robert Faurot, 39th Fighter Squadron, 35th Fighter Group, made the first P-38 kill in the Southwest Pacific. |
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| P-38 “Glamour-Puss II.” |
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| Lockheed YP-38 Lightning, US Army Air Corps. |
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| P-38 pilot runs to his plane after being dropped off by a truck loaded with other pilots on the way to their planes. |
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| A Training Command P-38F awaits its pilot for a practice bombing mission. |
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| P-38 "Little Buckaroo" 367th FG. |
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| P-38, “Miss Cheri”, 8th Fighter Group. Artwork based on a Vargas Esquire painting. |
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| First P-38 (42-68071) to land at an American airfield in France. |
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| P-38M in flight. |
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| P-38M, converted P-38L-5-LO, 44-26865. |
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| P-38D. |
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| P-38, “My Gal Sal II”, pilot Seth McKee. His P-38 had its engine shot out nine times throughout his 69 missions. After World War II, McKee rose through the ranks eventually becoming a four star General and Commander of NORAD. |
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| Working on the machine guns of a P-38. |
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| P-38’s being transported on a carrier. |
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| P-38. |
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| P-38. |
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| P-38, 41-7582, UN-Q, North Africa. |
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| Major Bill Leverette, left, commanding officer, 37th Fighter Squadron, 14th Fighter Group, led eight P-38s against 25 Stukas with Ju 88 escorts attacking British shipping near the Dodecanese Islands, 9 October 1943. Leverette shot down seven of the enemy, and the other P-38 pilots, including Bob Margison (right), accounted for ten more. |
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| P-38 pilots leave their briefing tent to be ferried to their aircraft at an advanced field, Belgium. |
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| Pilots of the 48th Fighter Squadron just after arriving at Youks les Bains, 21 November 1942. Back row, left to right: Lts. Yates, Eubank, Sorensen, Tollen, Beimdiek, Ethell, Goebel, Carroll, Bestegen, Schottelkorb, and V. Smith. Front row: Capts. Wroten, Bing, Walles, Watson, and Lts. Shipman and Ziegler. |
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| Lockheed Lightning I AE979, RAF. |
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| Lockheed Lightning I AE979. |
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| Lockheed Lighting I AE978. Early in the war, the British expressed interest in the early designs of the P-38. However, the Model 322 was sent to the British for evaluation, but was limited by not having the turbosuperchargers. These “Castrated Lightnings” flew well enough at lower altitudes, but lacked the high altitude capabilities of other aircraft. None were ordered, and none of these variants were in a production status to see combat. |
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| Model 322 Lightning I, basically a P-38E minus the turbochargers. |
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| Maintenance men of the 2nd Service Group repair a Lockheed P-38 (42-12595) at an air base somewhere in Iceland, 29 January 1944. |
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| Lockheed F-5, photographic plane, receives repairs at Meeks Field, Iceland. 2nd Service Group, 9 August 1943. |
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| Aftermath of a crack-up of a Lockheed P-38 (42-12595). Iceland, 2nd Service Group, 3 February 1944. |
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| Lockheed P-38s at refueling stop at 2nd Air Base Group airfield in Iceland on their way to England, 6 July 1942. |
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| A Lockheed P-38 of the 2nd Service Group, warms up for take-off after a snow storm at Camp Tripoli, Iceland, 16 March 1943. |
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| Lockheed P-38s of the 2nd Service Group, parked on the airfield after a snow storm at Camp Tripoli, Iceland, 16 March 1943. |
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| The demolished remains of a Lockheed P-38 (42-12575) which crashed somewhere in Iceland. 2nd Service Group, 25 April 1943. |
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| The demolished remains of a Lockheed P-38 (42-12575) which crashed somewhere in Iceland. 2nd Service Group, 25 April 1943. |
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| 2nd Lt. Harry R. Stengle and 2nd Lt. James M. McNulty, Jr., pose by a Lockheed P-38 after a mission on which they brought down a German Junkers Ju 88 over Iceland on 24 April 1943. Reykjavik Airport, Iceland, 2 May 1943. |
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| YP-38, US Army Air Corps. |
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| The P-38 became an icon during World War II. The turbosuperchargers for the Allison engines protrude above the booms at the wing trailing edges, their cooling intakes just behind on either side of each boom. |
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| The F-5B reconnaissance version of the P-38. The F-5B was the most successful U.S. reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. |
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| F-5A, “Stinky 2", 9th Photographic Squadron, attached to 7th Bomb Group, Pandaveswar, India, 1943. |
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| F-5B-1-LO, “Miss Virginia E", 9th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, India. |
