Lockheed P-38L Lightning. The P-38 was originally conceived as an advanced, high-performance twin-engine interceptor. On Feb. 11, 1939, Lt. Ben Kelsey set a coast to coast record of 7 hours, 48 minutes in the sleek prototype Lightning, but crashed while landing. Despite the accident, development continued and the first of 13 service test YP-38s. 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.
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As a fighter, P-38 armament typically consisted of four .50-caliber machine guns and a 20mm cannon. The final production version of many was the P-38L. Equipped with more powerful engines and other upgrades, it was considered by many to be the best of the breed. Of approximately 10,000 P-38 airframes produced, over 3,800 were L-models. 1945 Lockheed P-38L Lightning - N3800L. Built in 1945, this P-38 saw action as a fighter in World War II and later served as a civilian mapping platform. It came off Lockheed's assembly line in June of 1945 as a P-38L-5-LO, serial number 44-53087, and cost $15,000. It saw brief action as a fighter and was then converted to a night fighter. The P-38 had been given a new nickname: the "fork-tailed devil." The Ultimate Weapon First conceived in 1937 by Lockheed chief engineer Hall L. Hibbard and his then assistant, Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, the twin-boomed P-38 was the most innovative plane of its day, combining speed with unheard-of advances: two supercharged engines and a. P-38L 44-53232 at the United States Air Force Museum. The Lockheed P-38 Lighting 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.
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The P-38J, in service by the spring of 1944, had a top speed of 414 miles (666 km) per hour and a ceiling of 44,000 feet (13,400 metres); it was armed with a 0.8-inch (20-mm) automatic cannon and four .50-inch (12.7-mm) machine guns. The P-38 was one of the first aircraft to encounter buffeting caused by shock waves that formed in high. The P-38 design had been improving rapidly as this aircraft was being assembled in 1945. 44-53186 would be born as an "L dash 5" P-38, considered the best and most capable of the fighter P-38 variants. All of the combat experience and hard lessons learned by the USAAF were poured into this plane, making it the deadliest Lightning to date.. 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. lsoroku 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. At 17,500 pounds gross, the P-38 was the largest, heaviest, and fastest "P" type to date. An internal fuel capacity of 410 gallons could be increased to 1,010 gallons with two external drop tanks. This gave the Lightning a combat range of 450 miles, and an astonishing maximum range of 2,600 miles—making it the first long-range bomber escort.
Engineering Channel Lockheed P38 Lightning
The P-38 was the first fighter to use power-boosted flight controls as well as the first to have a tricycle landing gear. Curiously, Lockheed did not have much luck in creating advanced versions of the Lightning. The more powerful XP-49 and XP-58 took too long to mature, and neither was successful.. Jeffery L. Ethell: P-38 Lightning in World War II Color - Enthusiast Color Series; J. Kozlovsky: Twin Dragons P-38 Lightnings over Burma; Martin W. Bowman: FIGHTER BASES OF WWII US 8TH ARMY AIR FORCE FIGHTER COMMAND USAAF 1942-45 -P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt & P-51 Mustang Squadrons in East Anglia, Cambridge, Northamptonshire.
The P-38 Lightning turned out to be a real "work horse" for the USAAF. It served around the world as a fighter, fighter-bomber, and photographic/ reconnaissance aircraft and will always be considered one of three great USAAF fighters of World War II. Sources. Bodie, Warren M. The Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Hiawassee, GA: Widewing Publications, 1991. It flew at amazing speed and altitude for its time, faster and higher than any other. The sight of a P‑38 Lockheed Lightning so terrified the enemy that the Luftwaffe dubbed it the "der gabelschwanz-teufel" (fork-tailed devil). Guess they knew there'd be hell to pay if a P‑38 crossed their path! More about the 38's versatility later.
Lockheed P38L Lightning Untitled Aviation Photo 2434259
The P-38 was the greatest fighter of WW2. If it loss and engine it could go on, try that with a P-51,P-47. Look up the life of Richard Ira Bong the top scoring ace of all time. Hed flew only the P-38. He shot down Forty, that right 4o Japs. The runner-up Thomas McGuire shot down 38, which makes him second american ace of al time. The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was designed and built by Lockheed for the United States Army Air Corps during the Second World War. It is a piston-engined general fighter introduced in July 1941 and served as a fighter-bomber and night fighter, as well as aerial reconnaissance. The P-38 was produced from 1941 to 1945 with a total number of 10,037 aircraft built.
