FP_2015_05_

70 FLYPAST May 2015

Lockheed

P-38 Lightning

Spotlight

The Lockheed

Scrutinizes the history of...

O

ne of the least likely

aircraft to be shot

down by ‘friendly

fire’ due to its almost

unmistakeable shape, the Lockheed

P-38 Lightning was an innovative

design that introduced several ‘firsts’

to the USAAF. Nicknamed ‘Fork-

Tailed Devil’ by the Germans, the

P-38’s twin boom configuration

almost made it unique – it was

also America’s first twin-engined

single-seat fighter and the first

to have a tricycle undercarriage,

counter-rotating propellers and

turbocharged engines.

Under the direction of Clarence

‘Kelly’ Johnson and Hall Hibbard,

Lockheed designed the Model 22 in

response to a 1937 requirement from

the United States Army Air Corps

(the USAAF’s predecessor) for a twin-

engined high-altitude interceptor.

Construction on the XP-38 prototype

began in 1938, and

with Ben Kelsey at the controls of

the futuristic-looking machine, it

flew for the first time on January 27,

1939. It was powered by two 1,150hp
      (857kW) Allison V-1710C liquid
      cooled V-12s, upgraded versions
      of which would equip the type
      throughout its service life.
      Despite losing the prototype two
      weeks later when it landed short
      of the runway due to carburettor
      icing, development work continued
      at a rapid pace. Thirteen Y-38 trials
      aircraft were soon flying, fitted
      with improved engines and other
      modifications. The first production
      machine, designated P-38, flew
      in June 1941. Outside the US,
      the British were quick to take an
      interest, and christened the aircraft
      the ‘Lightning’.
      The P-38D featured self-sealing
      fuel tanks and armour protection,

but the first combat-ready

version was the ’E, which was built

in significant numbers. Among

its many revisions was the type’s

definitive nose-mounted armament –

one cannon and four machine guns.

Star of the Paci c

The Lightning made its combat

debut in the Aleutian Islands in

mid-1942 where it was sent to

counter the Japanese threat to

Alaska. It subsequently equipped

units serving in the South Pacific

where it proved an extremely

effective deterrent to enemy aircraft.

Despite being less manoeuvrable,

in the right hands the P-38 was

more than a match for the nimble

but slower Japanese fighters – and

it soon became the favoured mount

of many US aces, including its top-

scoring exponent, Maj Dick Bong

(see panel on page 71).

Above

Lockheed P-38J-10

Lightning 42-68008

fl ying over southern

California in 1944.

70-71_Spot history_fpSBB.indd 70 24/02/2015 15:48