FP_2015_05_

Origin & history

May 2015 FLYPAST 71

Japanese  ghters were downed in two days by P-38 ace Maj Thomas McGuire

SPOT FACT It was in production throughout

US involvement in World War Two

available in large numbers and often

flown by seasoned ‘Experten’.

The trend was gradually reversed

with the advent of the P-38H,

which had improved Allisons and

greater ordnance-carrying capability,

and the P-38J, which had greater

fuel capacity and could fly all the

way to Berlin from England. The

most numerous version was the ’L,

of which 3,810 were built.

With Luftwaffe resistance crumbling

in 1945, the Lightning was among the

USAAF’s most capable and trusted

fighters. While less manoeuvrable than

the North American P-51 Mustang,

its combination of range, formidable

firepower and the safety offered by two

engines made it popular with pilots.

It was also versatile, and could

be adapted to perform bombing

missions by having a special

nose fitted to accommodate a

bombardier. Others were modified

as night-fighters and many

were converted to the photo-

reconnaissance role, for which they

were designated F-4 or F-5. The

latter was still being used in the

1950s for aerial mapping, but the

fighter versions were rapidly phased

out of service following the end of

World War Two.

The type’s last operator is believed

to have been the Honduran Air

Force, which retired the last of its

‘fleet’ in 1965.

in 1945, the Lightning was among the

USAAF’s most capable and trusted

fighters. While less manoeuvrable than

the North American P-51 Mustang,

its combination of range, formidable

firepower and the safety offered by two

engines made it popular with pilots.

On April 18, 1943, a total of 16

Lightnings took off from Henderson

Field, Guadalcanal, to intercept

an aircraft believed to be carrying

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Japan’s

naval leader and one of the main

architects of the attack on Pearl

Harbor. The mission required the

P-38s to fly a considerable distance

(around 500 miles) but they

nevertheless located and shot down

the Mitsubishi G4M ‘Betty’ the

admiral was travelling in.

Two of the escorting A6M ‘Zero’

fighters were also claimed by the

Americans for the loss of one

of their own. Yamamoto’s body

was identified the next day when

the wreckage of the ‘Betty’ was

discovered.

Escort duties

While the P-38 excelled in the

warmer conditions of the Pacific,

it was initially not as successful in

the colder, damper skies of Europe

where the climate contributed to a

number of technical malfunctions.

In both theatres, the distances over

which Lightning units were required

to operate were slowly extended,

and the aircraft fitted with drop

tanks. When further upgrades had

corrected its tendency to perform

badly in cold weather, the P-38

became a potent – and feared –

weapon in European skies, leading

to its demonic nickname.

Although units had been stationed

in Iceland prior to America’s entry

into the war, the P-38F was the

first widely used variant in Europe,

reaching squadrons in 1942.

Escorting US bombers on daylight

missions over occupied territory,

both in Europe and North Africa,

proved risky. Lightning pilots were

hard pushed to deal with intercepting

Luftwaffe fighters, at that time still

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning might have lacked the agility of some of its contemporaries,

but in the right hands it was as deadly as any of the war’s top fi ghters. Major Richard

‘Dick’ Bong was not only the type’s leading ace but remains the top-scoring US pilot of

all time. He fi nished his career with at least 40 victories over Japanese aircraft, claiming

his fi rst two on December 27, 1942 when he despatched a ‘Zero’ and a Nakijima Ki-43

‘Oscar’. The following July he shot down four aircraft in one day, for which he received

the Distinguished Service Cross, and he was later awarded the Medal of Honor. Incredibly,

Bong survived a collision with an enemy aircraft, for which he claimed a ‘probable’. Sadly,

he was killed test-fl ying a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star jet on August 6, 1945.

Saluting the Major

77

Left

The RAF used three

Lightnings for evaluation

purposes, including

AE979.

Below

Lt David D Fisher fl ying

Lockheed P-38J Lightning

42-67757. Fisher fl ew 22

missions in this aircraft.

ALL KEY

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