Lockheed P-38 Lightning

132 Pages·2012·22.577 MB·English

by  Tim Callaway

2aviationclassics.co.uk
The beautifully restored cockpit of P-38
’Glacier Girl’shows just what a
spacious cockpit the Lightning had.
Note the only concession to modernity,
the removable GPS on the top of the
instrument panel. Luigino Caliaro
Contents
8 Building a legend 32 Into service – Australia,
the Aleutians and Europe
14 Tricycle and twin
– defining a classic 36 The French and British orders
22 Testing and compressibility 40 Higher, faster & further
– developing the prototype –The P-38G, H and J
28 Fine tuning & first production 46 The Pacific and China,
–The P-38D, E and F Burma and India
A rare formation of
five US based P-38s in
the California sky.
Frank B Mormillo
Editor: TimCallaway
[email protected]
52 Tony LeVier Publisher: DanSavage
Contributors: LuiginoCaliaro,NormdeWitt,Keith
Draycott,JulianHumphries,Maurice
McElroy,FrankBMormillo,Constance
56 Flying with Allisons Redgrave,CliveRowley,ScottSlocum,
WarrenEThompson,Mikeand
MargaretWilson
60 Allisons again Designer: CharlottePearson
Reprographics: JonathanSchofield
– flying on the water
Groupproductioneditor: TimHartley
Divisionaladvertisingmanager: SandraFisher
sfi[email protected]
70 The ultimate Lightnings Advertisingsalesexecutive: JamieMoulson
[email protected]
–The P-38K, L and M 01507529465
Subscriptionmanager: PaulDeacon
Newstrademanager: SteveO’Hara
74 Europe and the Mediterranean Marketingmanager: CharlottePark
Productionmanager: CraigLamb
Operationsdirector: DanSavage
Commercialdirector: NigelHole
78 Beyond the Lightning Businessdevelopmentdirector: TerryClark
Managingdirector: BrianHill
Editorialaddress: AviationClassics
MortonsMediaGroupLtd
82 Ace of Aces – Richard Ira Bong
POBox99
Horncastle
LincsLN96JR
88 The lost P-38 photo Website: www.aviationclassics.co.uk
reconnaissance pilots – Generalqueries 01507529529
andbackissues: (24houranswerphone)
Adrian Warburton [email protected]
www.classicmagazines.co.uk
Archiveenquiries: JaneSkayman
94 P-38 Lightnings over Italy [email protected]
01507529423
Subscription: Fullsubscriptionrates(butseepage
129foroffer):(12months4issues,inc
100 Glacier Girl
postandpacking)-UK£20.Export
ratesarealsoavailable-seepage69
formoredetails.UKsubscriptionsare
zero-ratedforthepurposesofValue
104 Lockheed’s night fighter AddedTax.
Lightning –The P-38M Distribution: COMAG
TavistockRoad,WestDrayton,
MiddlesexUB77QE
01895433800
108 The lost P-38 photo
Printed: WilliamGibbonsandSons,
reconnaissance pilots – Wolverhampton
Antoine de Saint Exupéry
©2012MortonsMediaGroupLtd.
Allrightsreserved.
Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmittedinany
formorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,including
118 Inside the Lightning photocopying,recording,oranyinformationstorageretrievalsystem
withoutpriorpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.
ISBNNo978-1-906167-61-5
122 Postwar air forces
Havingtroublefindingacopy
ofthismagazine?Whynot
justaskyourlocalnewsagent
toreserveyouacopy
124 From White Lightnin’ to Red Bull
126 Survivors
Independentpublishersince1885 Memberofthe
PeriodicalPublishers
Association
LockheedP-38Lightning5
Big, bad & dangerous
to get in front of
W
ell,thisturnedouttobea However,only113ofthetotalof10,037 forserviceallovertheworld.Itsabilityto
fascinatingaircraftto P-38sbuiltwereproducedtherebeforethe carrylargepayloadsmadetheP-38an
research,sinceittied warendedandthecontractswerecancelled. incrediblypowerfulgroundattackaircraft,
togethersomanyfamous Strangely,consideringtheP-38’sworldwide oneofthemoreamazingstatisticsbeing
peopleinasingledesign. success,itwasinEuropethatthefighterwas thatthedifferencebetweentheemptyand
Oneofthegreatestaircraftdesignersofall toexperienceitsonlyrealoperational maximumloadedweightoftheP-38Lwas
time,ClarenceL“Kelly”Johnsonwas difficultieswhichweretosullyitsotherwise 8800lb(3990kg),atremendouspayloadand
responsibleforthelayoutoftheaircraft, superbreputation.Thisbeganwiththe morethanaP-51DMustangweighed!
famoustestpilotssuchasMiloBurchamand cancellationoftheBritishandFrenchorderfor Itshighspeed,fastclimbandlongrange
TonyLeVierwereresponsibleforworking amodifiedversionoftheP-38E,butlackingthe gavethefighterpilotswhoflewitenormous
thebugsoutoftheadvanceddesign,and turbosuperchargersandhavingenginesthat advantagesincombat,buttwootherfacetsof
manyofthegreatestUSacesoftheSecond drovethepropellersthesameway.Bothof theP-38sdesignweretomakeitthelegenditis
WorldWarweretoflythebigfighterin thesemodificationshadpooreffectsonthe today.Firstly,thenosemountedarmamentmade
combat,achievingremarkableresultswith P-38,thefirstontheperformance,thesecond iteasytoaimandtheconcentratedfirepower
thelargetwinagainstmuchmoreagile onthehandling,andtheaircraftwasrejected producedhasbeenlikenedtoabuzzsaw,cutting
opponents.Again,Ifoundmyselflearninga aftertrialsbytheRAF.Althoughitdidn’tdo throughanything.Lastly,itwastheonlysingle
vastamountaboutanaircraftIthoughtI anythingforthereputationofthefighter,the seatUSfighterofthewarthatwouldgetyou
knewwell,andIsincerelyhopeIhave RAFatleastgavethetypeitsinspiringname, homewithonepropellerfeatheredwhich,
capturedthatfascinationinthesepages. theLightning.Later,operationalproblems consideringitsuseovertheMediterranean
TheP-38wastheonlyUSfightertobe weretoplaguetheP-38sbasedintheUK, andPacific,wouldbeacomfortbeyondprice,
inproductionfortheentirelengthofthe whichwereonlyunderstoodandsolvedaftera endearingthebigsleekmachinetoitscrews.
SecondWorldWar,yetiswasproducedin visitbyTonyLeVierinFebruary1944.Oneof Withtheadventofthejetage,
smaller numbers than its single engined the less well known achievements of the P-38 the Lightnings were retired and
counterparts, none of which had such in Europe was that itwas the first Allied fighter scrapped with what old time writers
longevity. Partly, this was due to the to escort bombers all the way to Berlin, a feat would call scant ceremony. There
complexity of the design and partly it was often credited to the P-51 Mustang. are very few of the
downto the fact that Lockheed wasbusy Even though the original design was mighty beasts left
designing and producing a wide range of intended as a pure fighter interceptor, the prowling the skies
other aircraft. Front line demand for the high performance of the Lightning was to see today, enjoy
fighter was high in every theatre, but it was it excel in a wide variety of missions, such as them whenever
not until 1944 that a second production line a photographic reconnaissance platform. Its you can.
was set up by Consolidated Vultee Aircraft at success in this role is evinced by the large All best,
its facility in Nashville Tennessee. numbers that were purpose built or modified Tim
A P-38 photographed
at Chico, California
against the sunset of
December 1,1944. USAF
C8
C8 Pilot MkII U-2 Vintage Edition
£415.00
Exclusivelyavailableonline
BBBuuuiiillldddiiinnnggg aaa
legend
TThhee ccoommppaannyy
aanndd mmeenn bbeehhiinndd
tthhee mmaacchhiinnee..
TThhee LLoocckkhheeeedd AAiirrccrraafftt CCoorrppoorraattiioonn,, HHaallll
HIibbard and Clarence “Kelly” Johnson.
tisimpossibletotellthestoryofthe returningtoKansas,hefoundthatLloyd
P-38withoutincludingtwomenin StearmanhadestablishedStearmanAircraft
particular.Whileitistruethatmany atWichita,andjoinedthenewlyformed
menandwomenwereresponsiblefor companyasadraughtsmanin1927.
bringingtheLockheedP-38Lightning FromStearmanAircraft,Hibbardmoved
intoservice,anditsremarkablesuccess totheVikingFlyingBoatCompanyofNew
therein,onlytwocanbesaidtohavetruly Haven,Connecticut,whereheworkedon
craftedtheunusualandadvanceddesign. LouisSchreck’sredesignoftheFrenchFirst
Thefirstofthesetwomenisanamemostare WorldWarflyingboat,theFBA17.Produced
unfamiliarwith,atleast,thoseoutsidethe underlicencefortheUSCoastGuardasa
LockheedCorporationortheairlineand twoseatflyingboattrainer,onlysixwereto
HallHibbard,theman
defenceindustries.Theotheristhatrarity bebuilt,thecompanybeingoneofthoseto
behindLockheed’swide
amongaerospaceengineersanddesigners,a fallvictimtotheGreatDepressionthatwas rangingsuccess.Lockheed
householdname,notjustfortheLightning, closingfactoriesalloverAmericaatthat
butmoreoftenforwhatheachievedafter time.Althoughthismeanttheyoung CCoommppaannyy iinn SSaannttaa BBaarrbbaarraa,, CCaalliiffoorrnniiaa.. LLaatteerr,,
workingonthisproject. Hibbardwassuddenlyunemployed,the thebusinesswasrenamedtheLoughead
ThefirstmanisHallLivingstoneHibbard, experienceofworkingattheVikingFlying AircraftManufacturingCompany,butin1926,
borninKansasonJuly25,1903,theyearof BoatCompanyhadintroducedhimtoits thisenterprisefailed,largelyduetoalackof
theWrightBrother’sfirstflight.Aninveterate owner,thebusinessmanandentrepreneur orders.Laterthatyear,AllanLougheadformed
tinkererwithafascinationformachines, RobertEllsworthGross,amanwhowasto theLockheedAircraftCompany,movingthe
Hibbardgrewupwithapassionforhowthe figuregreatlyinHibbard’sfutureinthe baseofoperationstoHollywood,thena
worldworked.In1925,Hibbardachieveda aviationindustry. thriving,largelyindustrialsuburbofLos
bachelor’sdegreeinmathematicsand WemustleaveHallHibbardforthe Angeles.HechosethenameLockheedashe
physicsattheCollegeofEmporia,after moment,tounderstandthebackgroundto wassofedupwithpeoplenotbeingableto
whichhespenttwoyearsstudyinginpost- whathappenednext.Yearsearlier,in1912,two pronouncehisnameproperly,heusedforthe
graduatecoursesatthenowfamous brothers,AllanandMalcolmLoughead,had phoneticspellingofit.Lockheedfoundsuccess
MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology.On establishedtheAlcoHydro-Aeroplane in1927,withthefirstflightoftheLockheed
Vega,afour-passengersingleengine
monoplaneofsleekmonocoqueconstruction.
ThisaircraftwasdesignedbyJohnKnudsen
NorthropandGerrardVultee,bothofwhom
wouldgoontoformtheirownaircraft
companiesafterleavingLockheed.
AfteritsmaidenflightonJuly4,the
135mph(217kmh)LockheedVegawasan
instanthit.In1928,LockheedVegaswon
everyspeedevent,oftencompetingagainst
singleseatracingaircraft.Altogether,141
Vegaswouldbebuilt,growinginsizetotake
sixpassengersandmorepowerfulengines.
WileyPost(thefirstpilottoflysoloaround
theworld)flewhisVegaaroundtheworld,
twice,andAmeliaEarhartusedherVegato
becomethefirstwomantoflytheAtlantic
Oceansinglehanded.Withdeliveriesofthe
morepowerfulVega5beginningin1929,and
businessthatappearedtobebooming,the
managementofLockheedsoldthemajority
shareholdinginthecompanytotheDetroit
AircraftCorporationinJuly.
Initially,thecompanycontinuedtoflourish
ClarenceLeonard‘Kelly’Johnson,thedesignerwhosegeniusdeliveredsomeofthemosthigh withadditionalmodelsoftheVegabeing
performanceaircrafttheworldhaseverseen.Lockheed producedforawidevarietyofclients,aswell
8aviationclassics.co.uk
VikingOO-1belongingtoUSCoastGuard,oneofthefewproductsoftheill-fatedVikingFlyingBoatCompany.USCG
astwofortheUSArmyAirCorps.Thenew Armedwiththis dAtA,AndwellAwAre ofthe cApAbilities
Sirius,AltairandOriondesignswere
ofthe competition,the boeing 247And douglAs dc-2,hAll
produced,theOrionbeingoneofthefastest
aircraftintheworldwhenitfirstflewin1931. hibbArd decidedthAt his first new lockheed designwAs
However,theoveralleconomicsituationin
to beAnAll metAl,high speedtrAnsportAircrAft
theUSwastobeLockheed’sundoing,aswith
theVikingFlyingBoatCompanyonthe
oppositecoast.TheGreatDepressioncaused Corporation’sbankruptcy,Varneycontacted consideringthatamounttobeinsufficientfor
thecollapseofthemarketfornewaircraft,so hisfriendsRobertandhisbrother, awinningbid.VarneyandtheGrossbrothers
onOctober27,1931,theDetroitAircraft CourtlandtSherrington‘Cort’Gross,inorder re-establishedandreorganisedtheLockheed
Corporationwentintoreceivership. tomakeanofferfortheLockheedAircraft AircraftCompanyatBurbankAirport,north
Atthispoint,RobertEGrossre-entersour Company.VarneyandtheGrossbrothers andeastofitsoriginalHollywoodbase.
story,courtesyofafriendofhis,Walter raised$20,000eachandmadeasuccessful Productionandsalesoftheexisting
Varney.VarneywasaCaliforniabasedaviation bidfortheentireestablishmentin1932.Allan designscontinuedonasmallscale,butall
pioneerwhohadalreadyestablisheda Lougheadhadtriedtoraisethecapitaltobuy threeinvestorsknewtheyhadtodevelop
successfulairmailcompany,VarneyAir hisowncompanyback,butwhenhehadonly newandworldbeatingaircraftiftheywere
Service,in1926.In1930,aftertheacquisition gathered$50,000hegaveuptheattempt, goingtoremaincompetitive.➤
offiveothersmallercompanies,hesoldthe
muchexpandedbusinesstotheUnited
AircraftandTransportCorporation(UAT).
UAT,youmayrememberfromAviation
Classic’sCorsairissue,wastheamalgamation
ofBoeing,ChanceVought,Sikorsky,
Stearman,HamiltonStandardandPrattand
Whitney,agroupofcompaniestryingto
survivethedepressionbyworkingtogether.
UATwasalreadytheownerandoperatorof
PacificAirTransport,BoeingAirTransport
andNationalAirTransport,butwanted
Varney’sextensiveandlucrativeairmail
routes.In1933,theairtransportdivisionwas
renamedUnitedAirLines,becomingan
independentbusinesswhenUATwasbroken
upinthewakeofthe1934airmailscandaland
USGovernmentanti-trustlaws.
VarneyAirServicehadbeenlookingat
thenewLockheeddesignsforhighspeedair
mailuse,soitwasfamiliarwiththefirm’s ALockheedOrionofVarneySpeedLanes.WalterVarneywasoneoftheaviationpioneerswho
fortunes.OnhearingoftheDetroitAircraft boughttheLockheedcompanyfromthedefunctDetroitAircraftCorporation.Editor’sCollection
LockheedP-38Lightning9
BeforereturningtothestoryofHall
Hibbard,itisworthrecordingthatoverthe
next35yearsthethreeinvestorsweretobuild
theLockheedAircraftCorporationintothe
industrialgiantitistoday.WalterVarneyserved
asaco-directorofthenewLockheedCompany
from1932throughtohisretirementin1951.
Whilesoengaged,alongwithhispartnerLouis
Mueller,Varneyalsoformedanewairline,
VarneySpeedLanesin1934.Thisusedthe
highspeedLockheedOrion,soVarneywasin
effecthisowncustomer.Laterthatyear,he
gaveovercontroloftheairlinetoMueller,sohe
couldconcentrateontheLockheedbusiness.
ThiswasthesecondcaseofVarneyfoundinga
moderndaygiantoftheairlineworld,as
MuellersoldthebusinesstoRobertSixin1936,
whorenameditContinentalAirlinesin1937.
Itisinterestingthatbothairlinesfounded
byWalterVarney,UnitedandContinental,
mergedin2009toformasinglemassive SwallowJ-5builtin1924withmarkingsofCAM5asoperatedbyVarneyAirlines.Displayedat
company.Varneylivedtoseethebusinesses theMuseumofFlight,BoeingField,Seattle,May1989.Editor’sCollection
hefoundedallbearfruit,beforedyingof
pneumoniaonJanuary25,1967.RobertGross company,theAvionCorporation.Hewas Theseaircrafthadaperformanceedgeover
beganasaco-directorin1932,thenservedas followedbyGerrardVulteein1932,whohad theirall-woodcounterpartsaswellasa
theLockheedAircraftCorporation’spresident lefttodevelophisowncompanyandasix numberofpracticaladvantages.Thelighter
from1934to1956.Hediedofpancreatic passengerdesignofhisownforAmerican weightoftheairframemeantthemetalOrions
canceronSeptember3,1961.Courtlandt Airlines.Thisessentiallyleftthereorganised couldcarrymorepayloadandfurther,andit
Grossservedasadirectorthenchairmanof andreformedLockheedAircraftCompany gavethemaslightspeedadvantage.
theLockheedCorporationfrom1932to1967 withnodesignteam.RobertGrossofcourse Armedwiththisdata,andwellawareofthe
beforeheretiredfromthecompany.Hewas hadareadysolutiontothis. capabilitiesofthecompetition,theBoeing247
livinginVillanova,Pennsylvania,withhiswife HecontactedHallHibbardfromhisfailed andDouglasDC-2,HallHibbarddecidedthat
andhousekeeper,when,onJuly15,1982,all VikingFlyingBoatCompanyandofferedhim hisfirstnewLockheeddesignwastobeanall
threeweremurderedintheirhome.Although ajobatLockheedasitsnewdesigner.His metal,highspeedtransportaircraft.Notonly
RogerBuehlwasconvictedofthecrimeand firstprioritywastoimproveuponthealready wasthisthefirstallmetalLockheedaircraft,it
sentencedtodeath,heremainsinprisonand excellentreputationLockheedaircrafthad wasalsotobeitsfirsttwin-engineddesign.
therearestrongdoubtsaboutthevalidityof establishedforspeedandreliability,which Thechoiceoftwoengineswasbasedonan
hisconviction.Thissadtaleisastrangeand wasnoeasytask. ongoingUSGovernmentstudyintoair
terribleendtotheGrossbrothers’great TheearlierLockheeddesigns,suchasthe transportsafety.Hibbardknewaboutthe
aviationlegacy. VegaandOrion,hadbeenofallwooden study,andimmediatelyrecognisedits
Toreturnto1932,VarneyandtheGross constructionwithstreamlinedmonocoque potentialramificationswhileconsideringthe
brothersfoundthemselvesownersofthe fuselages.Duringthebrieftimeitowned possiblelayoutsfortheModel10,orElectra
buildersofsomeoftheworld’sfastest Lockheed,theDetroitAircraftCorporation asitcametobeknown.
aircraft,butwithonemajorproblem.In1929, hadchangedthespecificationandbuilta Consequently,whenthestudywas
JohnNorthrophadlefttofoundhisown numberofOrionswithallmetalfuselages. translatedintolawinOctober1934and
WalterVarney,whocouldbesaidto
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havebeenresponsibleforthe
Lockheedweknowtoday,seenherein flfloowwnn bbyy AAmmeelliiaa EEaarrhhaarrtt nnooww oonn ddiissppllaayy iinn tthhee bbeeaauuttiiffuull SSaann DDiieeggoo AAiirr aanndd SSppaaccee MMuusseeuumm..
morerelaxedtimes.ViaEmmettForbes ConstanceRedgrave
10aviationclassics.co.uk