Lockheed P-38 Lightning

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a WW2, twin-engine, twin-boom fighter, which was in service with the US Air Force between 1941 and 1949. It was a fast, rugged, and versatile aircraft as many American pilots considered it to be one of the finest American fighter in that period. It was used in every theater of operations of World War II, from the Pacific and the Far East to North Africa and Europe. With over 10,000 built in several versions, it also one of the most massively produced warplane in history. It was also employed by the British Royal Air Force.

The prototype, the XP-38, made its maiden flight on January 27, 1939. It was certainly like nothing else that had ever flown in America, because of its strange shape and size as it was larger than any other fighter aircraft. It had been designed to meet a 1937 requirement for a high-altitude interceptor. The first operational version was the P-38D, which entered service in July 1941; it was powered by two Allison V-1710-27/29 piston engines and it was fitted with one 37mm cannon and four 12.7mm (.50-cal.) M2 Browning machine guns. This variant would be followed by the P-38E, in which the 37mm cannon was replaced by a 20mm gun. The P-38M version was a two-seat night-fighter equipped with a radar and more powerful engines. The F-4 and F-5 were photo-reconnaissance models.

Below, the two-seat, night-fighter P-38M version, which was fitted with a radar, which was mounted under the nose.

The Lockheed P-38 first saw combat action on August 14, 1942, when two Lightnings, one of them flown by 2nd Lieutenant Joseph Shaffer, shot down a German Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor maritime patrol aircraft. On November 22, 1942, a P-38E would shoot down an Italian ground-attack aircraft, and later that year, a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter would be its next kill. During the Normandy landing, on June 6, 1944, it would be used as a light bomber to provide fire support to Allied ground forces. However, it was in the Pacific Theater and the Far East where this American fighter aircraft would be used in very military campaign, in Burma, China, New Guinea, and the Philippines.

Technical Characteristics

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a twin-engine monoplane, with twin booms. It was of all-metal construction. It had shoulder-wings, each one containing one engine. The cockpit was housed in a central pod (nacelle), on which the wings were mounted. The rear portion of each engine ended up in the boom, which tapered to a cone. The rear ends of both booms held the tail, which had one horizontal plane for both.

Turbo-charged engines, with boom-mounted radiators, gave the P-38 great high-altitude performance. All the latest aeronautical technology had been employed in building the airframe. The flush riveting was first rate, holding strong metal plates. The long slim booms housed the General Electric Type F turbosuperchargers and propped up the graceful twin tail. The nose landing gear was housed in the forward portion of the cockpit nacelle.

Specifications (P-38L)

Type: fighter/fighter-bomber

Length: 11.53 m (37-ft, 10-inch)

Wingspan: 15.85 m (52-ft)

Wing Area: 30.42 m2 (327 sq ft)

Height: 3 m (9-ft, 10-inch)

Power Plant: two, turbo-charged Allison V-1710-111/113 in-line piston engines, each producing 1,600 HP.

Maximum Speed: 666 km/h (414 mph)

Range: 765 km (475 miles)

Ceiling: 13,400 m (44,000 ft)

Armament: one 20-mm cannon and four 12.7-mm machine guns; plus 1,500-kg of ordnance, usually two 726-kg bombs.

Crew: one

Below, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning flying in the skies over Italy in 1943.

The reconnaissance F-5 version of the P-38. You can see the small ports for the photographic cameras under the greatly extended nose.

The P-38 Lightning in action in Europe (video)