Lockheed P-38 Lightning

Postwar operations


The end of the war left the USAAF with thousands of P-38s rendered obsolete by the jet age.

A total of 100 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 AMI by 1952.

The Lightnings served in 4 Stormo and other units including 3 Stormo, flying reconnaissance over the Balkans, ground attack, naval cooperation and air superiority missions.

Due to unfamiliarity in operating heavy fighters, old engines, and pilot errors, a large number 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 at takeoff.

The Italian P-38s were phased out in 1956; none survived the inevitable scrapyard.

Surplus P-38s were also used by other foreign air forces with 12 sold to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and fifteen 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.

The majority of 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.

Lockheed test pilot [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] was among those who bought a Lightning, choosing a P-38J model and painting it red to make it stand out as an [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Lefty Gardner, former B-24 and B-17 pilot and associate of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], 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.

P-38s were popular contenders in the air races from 1946 through 1949, with brightly colored Lightnings making screaming turns around the pylons at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

F-5s were bought by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] companies and employed for mapping.

From the 1950s on, the use of the Lightning steadily declined, and only a little more than two dozen still exist, with few still flying.

One example is a P-38L owned by the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] at Yanks Air Museum, and in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

P-38Fs and P-38Gs


After 210 P-38Es were built, they were followed, starting in April 1942, by the P-38F, which incorporated racks inboard of the engines for fuel tanks or a total of 2,000 lb (907 kg) of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], and the aircraft was still experiencing
extensive teething troubles as well as being victimized by "urban legends", mostly involving inapplicable twin engine 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 it could enter an unrecoverable dive due to a sonic surface effect at high sub-sonic speeds.

This problem was resolved by the design of a dive flap which was sent out as a retrofit kit modification to all P-38s in the field.

Consequently, Lockheed dispatched its chief test pilot, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], to England to train and lecture about the fighter so as to restore confidence in it as an effective weapon.

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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] hadn't 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, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], 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 early 1943 by the P-38G, utilizing more powerful Allisons of 1,400 hp (1,040 kW) each and equipped with a better radio.

The P-38G was followed in turn by the P-38H, with further uprated Allisons (1,425 hp/1,060 kW each), an improved 20 mm cannon and a bomb capacity of 3,200 lb (1,450 kg).

The Eighth Air Force was also experiencing high altitude and cold weather issues which while not unique to the plane, were perhaps more severe as the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] upgrading the Allison's were having their own reliability issues making the planes 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.

These models were also field-modified into F-4A and F-5A [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

An F-5A was modified to an experimental two-seat reconnaissance configuration, with additional cameras in the tail booms.

Both the P-38G and P-38H models' performance was restricted by an intercooler system integral to the wing's
leading edge; one which had been designed for smaller engines.

The new engines could heat up too much and were subject to explosive detonation in the carburetor if operated beyond recommended limits.

Early variants did not enjoy 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

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.

Lightning in maturity: P-38J, P-38L



The definitive P-38J was introduced in August 1943.

The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] system on previous variants had been housed in the leading edges of the wings and had proven vulnerable to combat damage and could explode if the wrong series of controls were mistakenly activated.

In the P-38J model, 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 gal (208 l) fuel tanks, filling the space formerly occupied by intercooler tunnels.

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.

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.

With a truly satisfactory Lightning in place, Lockheed ramped up production, working with subcontractors across the country to produce hundreds of Lightnings each month.

There were two P-38Ks developed in 1942–1943, one official and one an internal Lockheed experiment.

The first was a battered RP-38E test mule fitted with paddle-bladed "high activity" [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Hydromatic
propellers similar to those used on the P-47.

The new propellers required spinners of greater diameter, and the thrust line was slightly higher.

New cowlings were fashioned to properly blend the spinners into the nacelles.

The aircraft also received the chin intercoolers developed for the P-38J.

The first prototype's performance led to an official request for the second aircraft, a modified P-38G-10-LO (re-designated P-38K-1-LO) fitted with the aforementioned four-blade propellers and new Allison V-1710-75/77 (F15R/L) powerplants rated at 1,875 bhp (1,398 kW) at War Emergency Power.

The AAF took delivery in September 1943, at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

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.

However, 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 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.

The P-38L was the most numerous variant of the Lightning, with 3,923 built, 113 by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in their [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] plant.

It entered service with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in June 1944, in time to support the Allied invasion of France on [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (HVARs) on pylons beneath each wing, and later, ten rockets on each wing on "Christmas tree" launch racks.

The P-38L also had strengthened stores pylons to allow carriage of 2,000 lb (900 kg) bombs or 300 USgal (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 field-modified to become F-5Es, F-5Fs, and F-5Gs.

A few P-38Ls were field-modified to become two-seat TP-38L familiarization trainers.

Late model Lightnings were delivered unpainted, as 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 it turned out the reduction in weight and drag was a minor advantage in combat.

The P-38L-5, the most common sub-variant of the P-38L, had a modified cockpit heating system which consisted 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-1710-111/113 (F30R/L) engines, and this dramatically lowered the amount of engine failure problems experienced at high altitude so commonly associated with European operations.

Pathfinders, Night Fighter and other variants


The Lightning was modified for other roles. In addition to the F-4 and F-5 reconnaissance variants, a number of P-38Js and P-38Ls were field-modified as formation bombing "pathfinders" or "droopsnoots", fitted with a glazed nose with a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], or a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] "bombing through overcast" nose.

A pathfinder would lead a formation of other P-38s, each overloaded with two 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs; the entire formation releasing when the pathfinder did.

A number of Lightnings were modified as night fighters.

There were several field or experimental modifications with different equipment fits that finally led to the "formal" P-38M night fighter, or Night Lightning.

75 P-38Ls were modified to the Night Lightning configuration, painted flat-black with conical [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 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.

The additional external clutter imposed surprisingly little penalty on the P-38M's performance, and it remained faster than the purpose-built[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The Night Lightnings saw some combat duty in the Pacific towards the end of the war, but none engaged in combat.

One of the initial production P-38s had its turbochargers removed, with a secondary cockpit placed in one of the booms to examine how flightcrew 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.

There were concerns that saltwater spray would corrode the tailplane, and so in March 1942, P-38E c/n 5204 was modified with a tailplane raised some 16-18 in (41–46 cm), booms lengthened by two feet 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] capacity to keep up with P-38 deliveries to the South Pacific.

Still another P-38E was used in 1942 to tow a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] as a demonstration.

However, there proved to be plenty of other aircraft, such as [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], 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 weren't even fitted with a window to let the passenger see out or bring in light, and one fellow who hitched a lift on a P-38 in one of these pods later said that "whoever designed the damn thing should have been forced to ride in it."

Lockheed proposed a carrier-based Model 822 version of the Lightning for the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

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 anyway, and the Model 822 never went beyond the paper stage.

However, the Navy did operate 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], a type of weapon developed by a number of nations in the 1930s when tanks were lighter but, by 1942, the idea of taking on a tank with a large-caliber rifle was considered to be somewhere between "outdated" and "suicidal".

The cartridge was not abandoned, with the Americans designing a derivative of the German 15 mm (.59 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] around it and designating the weapon the "T17", but though 300 of these guns were built and over
six million .60 in (15.2 mm) rounds were manufactured, they never worked out all the bugs, and the T17 never saw operational service.

The cartridge was "necked up" to fit 20 mm projectiles and became a standard U.S. ammunition after the war.

The T17-armed P-38L did not go beyond unsuccessful trials.

Maquette de soufflerie. Archive NASA

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

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.

A P-38L was modified by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in India as a fast VIP transport, with a comfortable seat in the nose, leather-lined walls, accommodations for refreshments and a glazed nose to give the passenger a spectacular view.

Un lien NASA sur les problèmes de compressibilité :

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]


[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

Noted P-38 pilots


Richard Bong and Thomas McGuire



The American ace of aces and his closest competitor both flew Lightnings as they tallied 40 and 38 victories each.

Majors [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] competed for the top position, a rivalry made interesting by the contrast in personalities of the two men. Both Bong and McGuire were very aggressive and fearless in the air.

After dogfights, their P-38s would be warped out of shape by overstress.

On the ground, they were completely different men.
Dick Bong was a modest, quiet, almost shy man, while the egotistical McGuire was "an unpleasant individual with a talent much bigger than he was", as one of his colleagues remembered him.

Bong was rotated back to the States as America's ace of aces, after making 40 kills. He was killed on 6 August 1945, the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, when his [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] jet fighter flamed out on [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

McGuire had been killed in air combat in January 1945 over the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], after racking up 38 confirmed kills, making him the second-ranking American ace.

Both men were awarded the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].