IN FOCUS
KING’S CLIFFE P-3886 Airfi x Model World http://www.airfi xmodelworld.com 87
seven months it flew the P-38
against the Luftwaffe, struggling
through a series of serious
technical problems and heavylosses at the enemy’s
hand, but also dealing
devastating blows of
its own.Teething problems
During the first few months
of operations the 20th FG had
little success with its Lightnings.The aircraft was no match for
the Luftwaffe’s single-engined
fighters at high altitude,
where much of the air-to-air
combat was taking place. The
extreme cold at that height
led to a series of engine and
supercharger failures, and even
with its second engine these
issues often led to losses at the
hands of the Luftwaffe. Early
indications of these problems
were provided on November 7,
1943 when supporting 55th FG
operations; Maj John Wilkins
was lost without trace and Capt
Herbert Cummings was forced
to bail out over the North Sea
after an engine failure and was
posted missing in action (MIA).
Similarly, on November 30, the
group provided eight aircraft as a
fourth squadron for the 55th FG,
to escort bombers to Solingen.
Just seven launched successfully
but three turned back early due
to technical problems. Of these,
the aircraft piloted by Lt Robert
Thomas was found flying over
the North Sea on just one engine
by Hptm Klaus Mietusch,A close-up photo of the artwork and mission tally on the nose of P-38J 42-67916/KI-S ‘California Cutie’.