Lockheed P-38 Lightning
Originally designed as a high-altitude interceptor, the P-38 proved very versatile and
went on to become one of the most famous aircraft of all time. The Air Corps was so
impressed with the XP-38 in its early trials that on February 11, 1939, even though the
prototype had less than five hours of flight time, 1st Lt. Benjamin S. Kelsey tried to
break the transcontinental speed record, but he crashed on approach to Mitchel Field, N.
Y. Despite this setback, ground speeds of 420 mph and an elapsed time of only seven hours
convinced the Air Corps to order the type into production. Britain ordered 667 P-38s,
which it nicknamed "Lightning," but only three P-38s were delivered. The rest
(and the nickname) were absorbed by the US.
After some developmental troubles, the P-38 entered US service in 1941 and served in
every theater of the war. 2d Lt. Elza Shahan, flying a P-38F, recorded the first American
victory in the European theater of operations when he and a P-40 pilot downed a Focke-Wulf
FW-200 near Iceland on August 14, 1942. The P-38 saw extensive service in North Africa,
where the Germans called the aircraft the "Fork-Tailed Devil." On April 18,
1943, P-38 pilots from the 339th Fighter Squadron, using external tanks, flew from
Guadalcanal to Bougainville and shot down Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto. The top two
American aces of all time, Maj. Richard I. Bong (40 confirmed victories) and Maj. Thomas
B. McGuire, Jr. (38), both flew P-38s in the southwest Pacific. P-38s also were used for
photoreconnaissance (these dedicated aircraft were designated F-4 and F-5), bomber, and
night fighter. Consolidated-Vultee built 113 P-38Ls in Nashville, Tenn., to meet wartime
needs.
The last P-38 was delivered in September 1945, and the type was phased out of service in
1949.
| General characteristics P-38F |
| Primary function |
Long range fighter |
| Contractor |
Lockheed Aircraft Corp. |
| Power plant |
One Allison V-1710-111 and one Allison V-1710-113 (the
different engine submodels turned the P-38's propellers in opposite directions)
liquid-cooled V-12s engines |
| Thrust |
2x 1,600 HP |
2x 1,193 kW |
| Wingspan |
52 ft |
15.85 m |
| Length |
37.8 ft |
11.53 m |
| Height |
12.8 ft |
3.91 m |
| Wingarea |
328.3 sq ft |
30.5 sq m |
| Weight |
empty |
13,012 lb |
5,902 kg |
| max. |
15,814 lb |
7,173 kg |
| Max. speed |
390 mph |
628 km/h |
| Ceiling |
39,042 ft |
11,900 m |
| Max. range |
700 miles |
1,125 km |
| Armament |
1x 20mm cannon, 4x 12.7mm machine guns |
| Crew |
One |
| First flight |
January 27, 1939 (XP-38) |
| Date deployed |
1942 |
| General characteristics
P-38J |
| Primary function |
Fighter |
| Power plant |
One Allison V-1710-111 and one Allison V-1710-113 (the
different engine submodels turned the P-38's propellers in opposite directions)
liquid-cooled V-12s engines |
| Wingspan |
52 ft |
15.85 m |
| Length |
37.8 ft |
11.53 m |
| Height |
12.8 ft |
3.91 m |
| Wingarea |
328.3 sq ft |
30.5 sq m |
| Weight |
empty |
14,112 lb |
6,401 kg |
| max. |
21,620 lb |
9,806 kg |
| Speed |
414 mph |
666 km/h |
| Range |
1,880 miles |
3,025 km |
| Armament |
1x 20mm cannon, 4x 12.7mm machine guns, 2x 726 kg bombs |
| Crew |
One |
| Date deployed |
1943 |
| Cost |
$95,150 |
| Number built |
10,038 (all versions) |
Jirka Wagner
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