If I remember correctly they're still several buried under the ice in Greenland, part of "The Lost Squadron". It's one of my dreams that if I ever end up being obscenely rich someday with more money than sense I'd go try to retrieve one of them for restoration.
Wouldn't THAT make a bad ass family heirloom to pass down.
Ever read the Wikipedia article on the P-38? It says, "The majority of wartime Lightnings present in the continental U.S. at the end of the war were put up for sale for US$1,200 apiece; the rest were scrapped.
@neverboardproduction If you assemble as good as you type, it'll never fly. I suggest a plastic model kit. Even then...(probably would end up gluing his forehead to the table)
Amber Rigby. 97. Mother of my late best friend. Assembled P38's and Connies at Burbank. She used to tell lots of storys about her time (5 yrs.) at Lockheed. Hubby George worked there. I have some of her Lockheed litho's of aircraft, including a P-38. Also, a nice wooden promotional model of one. I need to know if anyone knows about the promo model and the lithographs. I will send pictures. Contact: daviddaveinternational@gmail.com I want to chat with anyone who knows anything. Thanks.
"The European P-38 is owned by Red Bull, the maker of the energy drink. It is based in Salzburg, Austria and makes several appearances in Europe during the airshow season"
I've seen a P-38 flying around here, North England, must have been a decade or so ago. First time I saw one, it appeared out of nowhere and it was the first prop plane were I was shocked by how nice it sounded - sooooo smooth.
Wondering now if might be the one Red Bull bought, props to them for picking one up!
What a gorgeous aircraft. The Allison engine really got to shine in this beauty and makes a beautiful sound just like the Merlin engines. Thank you for sharing this!
I want to see one go into a full, high altitude dive, I know it can be quite dangerous seeing as the aircraft is quite old, but I hear it is amazing, or at least relative to other WWII planes.
My late-father's favorite aircraft. A child of The Great Depression, Dad was 10 years old at the end of WWII. His neighbor across the street in Monessen, PA, was in the Air Corp circa 1946 and would fly his P-38 from up over the hill out of the east, for a very dramatic presentation of the aircraft, sweeping southwest and out of sight toward Charleroi, PA. Dad said his neighbor was a hero, for obvious reasons to those that'd lived through the war, to all of the kids on that street.
I visited this museum in the mid 90's. Every vintage aircraft fan would love the place. Walking through dusty old hangers and coming across unrestored aviation treasures I was the only one there for the most part. The main display area was also excellent with several lovingly restored static displays.
My grandfather was in the 11th airborn 511th P.I. during WWII. He fought along side of men like Manuel Perez, a fellow Oklahoman. My grandpaw, now in his late 80's can still remember everything about this era in time, tho he can barely get out of bed in the morning. He has told me numerous times, the very sight of the P-38 was enough to frighten the Japanese to the point of confusion. He said the best thing "those guys" (p-38 pilots) could do was fly low & fast to intimidate the enemy.
I read an interesting article about how during the war some tests were done with the P38 and the RR Merlin motors and a National Standard (I believe) prop. The result was pretty stunning and if this configuration had gone into production then the P38 would have been the fastest and best performing aircraft of WWII, hands down. The war department wouldn't allow it because production would have had to have been shut down for two weeks for retooling. Couldn't stop. Sad.
Beautiful! Probably the nicest of the American planes of the second world war. (The Supermarine Spitfire, de Havilland DH98 Mosquito and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 were among the nicest ones in the European theatre, in my opinion.)
@MowgliX I was under the impression that the Bearcat was inspired by the Hellcat. Mosquito was a beauty! Brits had some interesting designs. Simplicity wasn't the rule.
@acfinney1 Yes, the DH.98 Mosquito was one of the best pre jet fighter aircraft. It was only overshadowed by the supremely powerful Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe. But thankfully, the Me 262 arrived too late and in too few numbers to change the course of the war. Do a Wikipedia search for Messerschmitt Me 262. Beautiful design, so far ahead of its time. The allies had nothing remotely like it, otherwise the war would probably have been won a year earlier with millions of lives saved.
@MowgliX Yes. It is good thing that the quality of German pilots had eroded by that time. Chuck Yeager said that he would wait until they ran low on fuel, then pounce on them at landing. Sea Furys and P-51s did the same in Korea. 262 looks more like a shark than a swallow. Ha Ha.
@acfinney1 It may have looked like a shark, but it sure flew like a swallow. It had 30 mm relatively short-range autocannons and anti-bomber rockets. It would be fun to know how the Me 262 would do compared to the British Gloster Meteor. Adolf Galland, the German Luftwaffe ace, flew both and was head of the Argentinian air force after the war and used them there. He said the Gladiator had a better engine and I think he much preferred it. Both aircraft were amazing for their time.
@MowgliX I never knew that the 262s were used after the war. This has peaked my interest. Or, were you saying that the Gladiator was used in Argentinia? In either case, It's good to hear that Mr.Galland's talents weren't wasted after the war. Thanks for the info.
@acfinney1 No, I got it all wrong! They used the Gloster Meteor. I wrote Gloster Gladiator, which as we know was a 1930s inter-war biplane, by mistake! I think Galland said something along the lines that the Rolls-Royce engines used in the Meteor were vastly superior. But by that time the Meteor would have evolved even more, and there were also other, more modern jet fighters coming along by the late 1940 and early '50s. Sorry about the confusion...
@acfinney1 I was wrong about the name of the plane - see my earlier comment. The British and Americans, and let's not forget the other allies, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis etc, had chromium and other metals that made all the difference when it came to jet engines. Oh yes, and Galland was a really decent fellow, apparently. He became friends with a bunch of his former enemies after the war, and spoke English quite well. War is always hell, let's hope our generation never have to experience that!
@MowgliX I knew what you meant. I was curious about the fate of the 262. I collect old Popular Science books from the forties and fifties, and quite a few British jet fighters as well as bombers grace the pages. My favorite edition shows the famous Comet airliner in it's infancy. B.O.A.C. was the first jet airliner I believe. I always loved that plane. A DH something?? Anyway, I need to look through some of those magazines again.
@acfinney1 de Havilland DH 106 Comet? It was beautiful, but suffered a number of crashes and was beaten by the Boeing 707 as the first successful jet airliner. I haven't flown either of them, but I have flown the three-engine Sud Aviation Caravelle and Douglas DC-8 from the same era. The DC-9 (MD-80) came a little later of course.
@MowgliX Wow! Caravelle and DC-8? That was back when you could actually identify planes in the sky. Now, they all look alike to me. I love those old DC-8s. I've only seen a three engine Caravelle in a magazine. I toured Elvis's private four engine Caravelle. My brother flew a 727 before they switched him to an L1011, then an Airbus something or other. He loved the old 727. The Airbus basically pilots itself. You were an airline pilot?
@acfinney1 Oh really? I will look for it, at least read about it! It's on IMDb. Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Dietrich were in it. Story by the British-Australian author Nevil Shute, who famously wrote On the Beach!
@MowgliX On the Beach is one of my favorite "doom" movies, followed by Failsafe. They are both chilling movies. Kids today have no idea what it feels like to grow up in fear of the "BOMB" The only problem with On the Beach was Anthony Perkin's fake Aussie accent. They couldn't have found a real Aussie?
@acfinney1 I haven't seen On the Beach, but I loved Fail-safe and Dr. Strangelove of course. And let's not forget The Bedford Incident! I remember the cold war. It was still very much going on when I was a kid and a teenager. And I remember when the western allies deployed Pershing II missiles in Western Germany and the United States (and maybe in Britain) in response to the Soviet Union's SS-20 missiles in East Germany and Czechoslovakia. That was a very scary time!
@acfinney1 The Me 262 Schwalbe was phased out after the war, except that the Czech Air Force (the country was called Czechoslovakia at the time) used them, and derivatives, for a number of years. The Argentinians chose the British Gloster Meteor, also a competent jet fighter. Others of the same generation were the Bell P-59 Airacomet and Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star.
I had a dream about this plane, and all i remembered was the dual wing connected together on the back, and finnally i found it! i still have no idea why it was in my dream tho...
Great video and great aircraft! The steed of Richard Bong and Robin Olds, plus the last thing Admiral Yamamoto saw in this world. Kelly Johnson and the Skunk Works boys could always be counted on to innovate in order to get the performance numbers they wanted.
I need to ask my grandpa, which was better in a ground attack role, the P-38 Lightning or P-47 Thunderbolt, as he flew both. P-47 has the reputation as ground attack plane. P-47 had all that armor protecting pilot and could take a lot of punishment, but the P-38 had two engines to get you home and faster climb rate. I myself would side with the P-38, because its guns and cannon fired straight out and you could buzzsaw slice up targets 5x as far out, so you wouldn't have to get as close.
@panrierrr: The European P-38 is owned by Red Bull, the maker of the energy drink. It is based in Salzburg, Austria and makes several appearances in Europe during the airshow season. See their website. This aircraft was formerly flown by then-owner Lefty Gardner for 40 years at airshows in the USA as "White Lightnin'." An in-flight fire in 2001 resulted in a crash landing. It was restored by Nelson Ezell in Texas after Red Bull bought the aircraft. The aircraft arrived in Austria in 2009.
Skill in landing is true. I was able to attend the first flight of Glacier Girl in 2002. When Steve landed her, all three of the gear touched down at the same time!! It was so soft ans smooth. What a pilot, and what a plane!! If you love the plane, why not let others know how much by joining the P-38 National Association!!
What a magnificent and superb aircraft! Great to know there is one airworthy. Does someone know if there are more in flying status? Thanks for posting.
@billace90: Yes, as of Jan. 2011 there are 7 airworthy examples of the P-38 in the world, 6 in the US and 1 in Europe. All of them are very actively flown too. Several more are being restored right now to flying status. Thanks!
@DOWNwithDICTATORS2 What I mean to say is, with a such short wheelbase wouldn't it be more likely to spin with the slightest amount of over control, especially landing on a wet airstrip? Or do the flight surfaces negate this by wanting to keep the aircraft straight?
@trevorpom I'm guessing that the relatively wide track of the main gear adds some stability when touching down. I know a P-47 pilot. He told me that in general warbirds were skitish and glitchy. Not designed for easy, comfortable flying. WWII was very serious business, as I'm sure you know.
@DOWNwithDICTATORS2 I don't think it could have been any more serious, for all involved. I love this plane, I have built two (a keen modeller for many years) and they look good from any angle. The skill that the pilots have in just taking off and landing alone is truly amazing let alone flying them in combat. My hat is off to the gentlemen who flew and fought in these aircraft.
@trevorpom I feel I owe just about everything to those who fought and defeated the Japanese, Nazis, and Italian facists. They came to gether to do a very great thing!
One of the P38s was built just 1 mile from my house it took over 10 years. They sold it and flew it out about 2 years ago. Hated to see that thing leave it was amazing i live in direct route of the air port so my last glimpse of the p38 glacier girl was 50 feet over head.
My grandpa's wingman's P-38 is still sitting on the ground in the woods in New Guinea right where he left it. Google "Injury Slight". The plane I want to get tho is a Sopwith Camel just rotting out in the weather in front of a outback museum in Ausutralia. That is a criminal, a 100 year old WW1 plane just rotting in the weather. I don't have any money though, only enhusiasm.
Just seen 3 or 4 of these at the Sacramento, Capital Air Show. I did see these last year, but only a few minutes, as of today, I really liked these planes, very nice design
I have been a WW II fighter buff since I was a little kid. Tons of books on all the various fighters Walter J. Boyne being one of the best authors. Your videos brought back a flood of memories. I recall my uncles and fathers remarks on their encounters in WW II. Dads USMC experiences in Okinawa and the F4u Corsairs, and my uncles experiences with the P40 Tomahawk and the P38 Lightnings while he was in the Philippines and Australia. Thank you for the great posts!
I saw a P-38 flying with one of the new F-22s at an airshow last summer. It was amazing. Propellers can't compare to jet engines when it comes to power and speed, of course, but at modest speeds, the P-38 was doing tricks, sharp turns and loops right along with the F-22, and showed it was just as nimble as any modern fighter jet. A really impressive plane.
"The 5,000th Lightning built, a P-38J-20-LO, 44-23296, was painted bright vermilion red, and had the name YIPPEE" Wikipedia. The plane had a number of problems, including the "freezing" of the controls in a high speed dive that killed a number of pilots. Lockheed went to great lengths to solve this problem, and they eventually claimed to have solved it.
@warhawk40 They were building so many aircraft in the war effort that they needed many different engines of different types.Allison engines were a good choice because all the merlin engines were being used in other airplanes.Each lancaster bomber required 4 merlins,the mosquito 2 the spitfires 1 and the mustang 1.Some of the merlins were shipped to england because they could not produce enough merlins for their own aircraft.Packard had to change the original design for mass production.
@916fanatic1 If the P-38 was given Merlins that had two stage two speed superchargers this would have been able to match the P-51 in speed and been able to escort the B-17s and B-24s over Europe. I read that they had many problems with the superchargers on the Allisons freezing up at high altitudes over Europe which is why they used the P-38 more in the Pacific theater where it was warmer.
@warhawk40 No. The P-38 did a decent job of trying to match the P-51. And the turbocharged Allisons isn't to blame for what lacked. They performed very well, in terms of providing excellent power at all altitudes. Regardless of pilot workload. The P-51 is simply in an entirely different league when it comes to aerodynamics.
But the ultimate reason P-38 was retracted from Europe was it's diving characteristics and low crit. mach no. making it unsuitable for combat against german fighters.
@916fanatic1 oddly the grand daddy Vee Twelve is the Curtis D-12....Napier Lion 3 banks of 4 cyclinders couldn't streamline as nicely and when they were hired away to work for Rolls Royce they were tasked immediately redesign and make a Cast block Vee Twelve like the Curtiss......The Kestrel was the result...
WWI the Cylinders were the bottle neck for aircraft production then but the cast block by Curtiss innovated the whole industry..... Curtiss is now RR of America...
As I recall, there were less than 50 of these planes ever built.They could never get the engines to work right and the entire program had to be scrapped.
@sallymaggiespotty sorry to say but NO the only ones with probblems were the ones sold to England they sent them with out the turbo charger which is probably the most important item for the engines. I was in the Air Force for 9 years 6 of those were at Holloman AFB N.M. . 8TFS/AMU which during WWII that unit flew P-38's out of Austraila in I believe it was 42-43 before moving on to new bases as the Allies island jumped towards Japan. So there were deffenatly more then 50 made.
@sallymaggiespotty sorry forgot to add if only 50 made how did at least 2 units I know of in the pacific fly them and not sure how many in the ETO plus others in pacific.
@TamiyaExperienced : The entire video is of the same aircraft, the Planes of Fame Museum's P-38L. Portions of the aircraft were repainted during the time span that the video clips were taken, explaining the difference that you noticed :). Thanks for watching my video.!
@bl00dbon3 : Things have been moving very quickly lately with the numbers of flyable P-38s. As of June 2010, SIX are flyable in the USA, with one in Europe (the Red Bull P-38). Some very exciting news is that all six of the USA P-38 owners have indicated that they will bring their P-38s to the California Capital Airshow on September 11 & 12, 2010. What a sight that will be!! They will also move on to the Reno Air Races the next weekend (not to race, of course, but to show). Good times!
@octane130 I was at the CCA and of the 6 supposed to be there, one didn't make it (Tangerine) and another cracked a head en route. 4 made it and flew and were amazing to see and hear. Glacier Girl, Thoughts of Midnite, Ruff Stuff and Honey Bunny.
@bl00dbon3 According the the "List of surviving Lockheed P-38 Lightnings" Wiki page, there are 9 flyable, 10 on display, 7 being restored, 6 stored and 4 wrecked.
The majority of Pilots who flew both the P-51 and P-38 in combat preferred the P-38 as a fighter.
For those of you who like stats, the rest of the story. Only 6000 P-38 fighters were deployed throughout the world. In the ETO by 1945 there were 4,500 P-51s deployed, 2,500 were combat losses and roughly 2000 in operation compared to the 950 peak P-38 deployment. P-38 kills world wide were a minimum of 3,800, many records were lost in 42 and 43 and were not counted. Considering mission mix
I remember seeing one of these over here in England and the noise from the engines and props was like pure cream, best noise I've ever heard from a plane
In the MTO, the P-12th and 15th air force's mission was high altitude deep penetration bomber escort. These two air forces using P-38s flew as far or farther than any ETO unit did. P-38s in the MTO shot down more enemy aircraft than did P-51s and P-47s combined. Most of the stories printed about P-38s being sub par seem to originate from the 8th air force. This leads me to believe that it's either misinformation or that the P-38 was simply a scapegoat for some unit's troubles.
@anynameplease Yes,it was ONLY in the the AF groups that there was any dissent about the performance/fighting qualities of the aircraft @ any altitude. In that theatre there was also much trouble with the Allison engines, turbo chargers and intercoolers that caused an unacceptably high mission abort rate & sudden loss of loss of power at critical moments. Low oil temperature, causing lubrication failure was a serious problem there, not often seen in other areas, especially in pre-J models...
It should also be pointed out that the 8th AF never fully committed to the P-38 as say, the 5th had & there was a culture of negativity that existed there toward it or any twin-engined fighter design. Nearly all of the 8th's P-38 pilots received their advanced training in the Lightning at a base where the head instructor confessed to being "a P-40 man" & who held a negative bias toward the Lightning...
..resulting in a situation where all personnel were demoralized & poorly informed about the capabilities of the aircraft and a deployment where far too few P-38s were availiable for the job. A visit & flight demonstration by the Lockheed test pilot Tony Levier changed the situation & after the defensive tactical restrictions were removed the combat results improved dramatically. Through it all, P-38s still held a solid advantage in victories vs losses from all sources, even with the 8th AF.
In his memoirs Adolf Galland wrote that early P-38s were easy pickins for a Me-109 or Fw-190 but once the P-38s recieve hydraulic assisted Ailerons and thier roll rates increased the P-38 became a fantastic fighter. Galland himself said he had plenty of respect for them
@MadMilitiaMen They were never "easy pickens" below about 25,000 ft. They were always faster & could outclimb & turn more tightly than their ETO opponents. The achillies heel was the high alt. "split-ess" & the compressibility effect. P-38s did very well in N. Africa & the MTO, where most combat was at lower & med. altitudes.
@TopLayerEscort i only stated what Adolf Galland said. Take into consideration that he was a renowned pilot and that your only a dude behind a computer, i think ill take his word over yours. Cheers
@MadMilitiaMen And you're only a dude quoting from a tome by a pilot, who'd only faced P-38s under some of the most unfavorable conditions imaginable for that aircraft & the men who flew it. I was sumarizing accounts by many pilots who flew P-38s & knew it's unique capabilities; like Jack Ilfrey, Tommy McGuire & Col Oliver Taylor (15th AF), who stated that though it took nearly twice as long to become truly proficient in it, a skilled pilot could become virtually "invincible" in the P-38.
holy damn sounds like a jet!
cdudetheassassin 2 days ago
Excellent!
OU812ICRUNVS 6 days ago
Amazingly refined engines! No smoke, no fuss. Switch on, vrooom.
Besides that, great video from a beautiful aircraft. Thanks for putting this up.
CreRay 1 week ago
I wonder if there are any Nightfighter variants left?
HachiZenki 2 weeks ago
Such a beautiful aircraft.
If I remember correctly they're still several buried under the ice in Greenland, part of "The Lost Squadron". It's one of my dreams that if I ever end up being obscenely rich someday with more money than sense I'd go try to retrieve one of them for restoration.
Wouldn't THAT make a bad ass family heirloom to pass down.
nickp1987 2 weeks ago 2
California's airports have the best airplanes!!!
ramonasidneybaker 1 month ago
There is also one in Air museum of Serbia and soon they will sell it to US
srbenda888 1 month ago
Ever read the Wikipedia article on the P-38? It says, "The majority of wartime Lightnings present in the continental U.S. at the end of the war were put up for sale for US$1,200 apiece; the rest were scrapped.
allencrider 1 month ago
Great taxi out and flight sounds. Thanks.
chrisnzella 1 month ago
@neverboardproduction If you assemble as good as you type, it'll never fly. I suggest a plastic model kit. Even then...(probably would end up gluing his forehead to the table)
47485ksc 2 months ago
Amber Rigby. 97. Mother of my late best friend. Assembled P38's and Connies at Burbank. She used to tell lots of storys about her time (5 yrs.) at Lockheed. Hubby George worked there. I have some of her Lockheed litho's of aircraft, including a P-38. Also, a nice wooden promotional model of one. I need to know if anyone knows about the promo model and the lithographs. I will send pictures. Contact: daviddaveinternational@gmail.com I want to chat with anyone who knows anything. Thanks.
47485ksc 2 months ago
My father was an armorer on P-38's. (Making them my favorite of course!)
RalphReagan 2 months ago
I'd rather have the P38 than the P51 any day in a fight.
JPStrikesBack 3 months ago
The P-38 is still my favorite WWII fighter.
FLJuJitsu 3 months ago
My friend's dad flew these in the pacific, amazing!
edgecityfilms 4 months ago
"The European P-38 is owned by Red Bull, the maker of the energy drink. It is based in Salzburg, Austria and makes several appearances in Europe during the airshow season"
I've seen a P-38 flying around here, North England, must have been a decade or so ago. First time I saw one, it appeared out of nowhere and it was the first prop plane were I was shocked by how nice it sounded - sooooo smooth.
Wondering now if might be the one Red Bull bought, props to them for picking one up!
lexichronicle2 4 months ago
What a gorgeous aircraft. The Allison engine really got to shine in this beauty and makes a beautiful sound just like the Merlin engines. Thank you for sharing this!
TTULangGenius 4 months ago
What happened to the drop tank on the plane that was on the ground versus the one in flight that has a drop tank?
bwilson4web 4 months ago
I want to see one go into a full, high altitude dive, I know it can be quite dangerous seeing as the aircraft is quite old, but I hear it is amazing, or at least relative to other WWII planes.
21yoshi 4 months ago
@megamillions2274 strike it hard n feel cool man...
olimshalom 5 months ago
Sniff... Smells like America!
kkoloftt 5 months ago
Very clear vid, awesome !
Thank you for sharing, grtz. Jan/ Holland
meklopfklopf 5 months ago
what about the landing,spectaculare video thanks for uploading.
racerxxy 5 months ago
Der Gabelschwanz Teufel
HauptmannAmerica 5 months ago
My late-father's favorite aircraft. A child of The Great Depression, Dad was 10 years old at the end of WWII. His neighbor across the street in Monessen, PA, was in the Air Corp circa 1946 and would fly his P-38 from up over the hill out of the east, for a very dramatic presentation of the aircraft, sweeping southwest and out of sight toward Charleroi, PA. Dad said his neighbor was a hero, for obvious reasons to those that'd lived through the war, to all of the kids on that street.
TralfazConstruction 6 months ago
This is comming to offutt air show again this year if any one is from kansas nebraska or iowa make sure to come out the 27 and 28th of aug
Thecrazydude777 6 months ago
thx. awesome vid. thx again.
polarroids 6 months ago
Well done video.......thanks.
C17Inspector 6 months ago
god damn, this plane is one of the greatest planes ever to grace the skies
badassninja33 6 months ago
real fighters have counter-rotating props.
mindeloman 6 months ago
I visited this museum in the mid 90's. Every vintage aircraft fan would love the place. Walking through dusty old hangers and coming across unrestored aviation treasures I was the only one there for the most part. The main display area was also excellent with several lovingly restored static displays.
MrMousekillaz 6 months ago
This plane has the coolest design ever.
tipttt 7 months ago
My grandfather was in the 11th airborn 511th P.I. during WWII. He fought along side of men like Manuel Perez, a fellow Oklahoman. My grandpaw, now in his late 80's can still remember everything about this era in time, tho he can barely get out of bed in the morning. He has told me numerous times, the very sight of the P-38 was enough to frighten the Japanese to the point of confusion. He said the best thing "those guys" (p-38 pilots) could do was fly low & fast to intimidate the enemy.
papabugs71 7 months ago
Cool clip!!! Awesome sound... music :-)
matthiashaenni 7 months ago
my all time favorite airplane!!!!!!!
emoore1978 7 months ago
This is the plane of any from WW2 i would have wanted to be in.....IMHO
ADDMOREMAPS 7 months ago
Pretty sharp !!!
MrCayoCoco 7 months ago
Wonder what it would of been like, for a Do-335 and a P-38 to have squared off over the skies of Europe...
cobrachoppergirl 7 months ago
I love it...
"It can climb like a homesick angel"
who knows there history....
FlashKatIV 8 months ago
I read an interesting article about how during the war some tests were done with the P38 and the RR Merlin motors and a National Standard (I believe) prop. The result was pretty stunning and if this configuration had gone into production then the P38 would have been the fastest and best performing aircraft of WWII, hands down. The war department wouldn't allow it because production would have had to have been shut down for two weeks for retooling. Couldn't stop. Sad.
localcrew 8 months ago
Beautiful! Probably the nicest of the American planes of the second world war. (The Supermarine Spitfire, de Havilland DH98 Mosquito and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 were among the nicest ones in the European theatre, in my opinion.)
MowgliX 9 months ago
@MowgliX Although they came at the end of the war, the F8F Bearcat and Sea Fury would be my favorites.
acfinney1 8 months ago
@acfinney1 While those were both fine planes, and inspired by the excellent German Fw 190, they are not exactly beautiful like the P-38!
MowgliX 8 months ago
@MowgliX I was under the impression that the Bearcat was inspired by the Hellcat. Mosquito was a beauty! Brits had some interesting designs. Simplicity wasn't the rule.
acfinney1 8 months ago
@acfinney1 Yes, the DH.98 Mosquito was one of the best pre jet fighter aircraft. It was only overshadowed by the supremely powerful Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe. But thankfully, the Me 262 arrived too late and in too few numbers to change the course of the war. Do a Wikipedia search for Messerschmitt Me 262. Beautiful design, so far ahead of its time. The allies had nothing remotely like it, otherwise the war would probably have been won a year earlier with millions of lives saved.
MowgliX 8 months ago
@MowgliX Yes. It is good thing that the quality of German pilots had eroded by that time. Chuck Yeager said that he would wait until they ran low on fuel, then pounce on them at landing. Sea Furys and P-51s did the same in Korea. 262 looks more like a shark than a swallow. Ha Ha.
acfinney1 8 months ago
@acfinney1 It may have looked like a shark, but it sure flew like a swallow. It had 30 mm relatively short-range autocannons and anti-bomber rockets. It would be fun to know how the Me 262 would do compared to the British Gloster Meteor. Adolf Galland, the German Luftwaffe ace, flew both and was head of the Argentinian air force after the war and used them there. He said the Gladiator had a better engine and I think he much preferred it. Both aircraft were amazing for their time.
MowgliX 8 months ago
@MowgliX I never knew that the 262s were used after the war. This has peaked my interest. Or, were you saying that the Gladiator was used in Argentinia? In either case, It's good to hear that Mr.Galland's talents weren't wasted after the war. Thanks for the info.
acfinney1 8 months ago
@acfinney1 No, I got it all wrong! They used the Gloster Meteor. I wrote Gloster Gladiator, which as we know was a 1930s inter-war biplane, by mistake! I think Galland said something along the lines that the Rolls-Royce engines used in the Meteor were vastly superior. But by that time the Meteor would have evolved even more, and there were also other, more modern jet fighters coming along by the late 1940 and early '50s. Sorry about the confusion...
MowgliX 8 months ago
@acfinney1 I was wrong about the name of the plane - see my earlier comment. The British and Americans, and let's not forget the other allies, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis etc, had chromium and other metals that made all the difference when it came to jet engines. Oh yes, and Galland was a really decent fellow, apparently. He became friends with a bunch of his former enemies after the war, and spoke English quite well. War is always hell, let's hope our generation never have to experience that!
MowgliX 8 months ago
@MowgliX I knew what you meant. I was curious about the fate of the 262. I collect old Popular Science books from the forties and fifties, and quite a few British jet fighters as well as bombers grace the pages. My favorite edition shows the famous Comet airliner in it's infancy. B.O.A.C. was the first jet airliner I believe. I always loved that plane. A DH something?? Anyway, I need to look through some of those magazines again.
acfinney1 8 months ago
@acfinney1 de Havilland DH 106 Comet? It was beautiful, but suffered a number of crashes and was beaten by the Boeing 707 as the first successful jet airliner. I haven't flown either of them, but I have flown the three-engine Sud Aviation Caravelle and Douglas DC-8 from the same era. The DC-9 (MD-80) came a little later of course.
MowgliX 8 months ago
@MowgliX Wow! Caravelle and DC-8? That was back when you could actually identify planes in the sky. Now, they all look alike to me. I love those old DC-8s. I've only seen a three engine Caravelle in a magazine. I toured Elvis's private four engine Caravelle. My brother flew a 727 before they switched him to an L1011, then an Airbus something or other. He loved the old 727. The Airbus basically pilots itself. You were an airline pilot?
acfinney1 8 months ago
@MowgliX Talking about the Comet reminds me of the movie No Highway in the Sky. You should watch that movie if you can fine it.
acfinney1 8 months ago
@acfinney1 Oh really? I will look for it, at least read about it! It's on IMDb. Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Dietrich were in it. Story by the British-Australian author Nevil Shute, who famously wrote On the Beach!
MowgliX 8 months ago
@MowgliX On the Beach is one of my favorite "doom" movies, followed by Failsafe. They are both chilling movies. Kids today have no idea what it feels like to grow up in fear of the "BOMB" The only problem with On the Beach was Anthony Perkin's fake Aussie accent. They couldn't have found a real Aussie?
acfinney1 8 months ago
@acfinney1 I haven't seen On the Beach, but I loved Fail-safe and Dr. Strangelove of course. And let's not forget The Bedford Incident! I remember the cold war. It was still very much going on when I was a kid and a teenager. And I remember when the western allies deployed Pershing II missiles in Western Germany and the United States (and maybe in Britain) in response to the Soviet Union's SS-20 missiles in East Germany and Czechoslovakia. That was a very scary time!
MowgliX 8 months ago
@acfinney1 The Me 262 Schwalbe was phased out after the war, except that the Czech Air Force (the country was called Czechoslovakia at the time) used them, and derivatives, for a number of years. The Argentinians chose the British Gloster Meteor, also a competent jet fighter. Others of the same generation were the Bell P-59 Airacomet and Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star.
MowgliX 8 months ago
My Fave WWII Warbird!
Samjapa 9 months ago
I had a dream about this plane, and all i remembered was the dual wing connected together on the back, and finnally i found it! i still have no idea why it was in my dream tho...
DrumminZach15 9 months ago
atleast it's not quite as a prius, if they make a prius plane that will hopefuly shoot it down
rallycar747 10 months ago
The P-38 is the coolest prop air craft ever made. Might not be the best, but it's damn cool.
JayHawker751 10 months ago
Performance Plus! but what an ugly girl
ClintL63 10 months ago
Great video :) The P-38 is one of the quietist american fighters there is who it quite unusual :)
2002And 10 months ago
Great video and great aircraft! The steed of Richard Bong and Robin Olds, plus the last thing Admiral Yamamoto saw in this world. Kelly Johnson and the Skunk Works boys could always be counted on to innovate in order to get the performance numbers they wanted.
usafvet100 10 months ago
I need to ask my grandpa, which was better in a ground attack role, the P-38 Lightning or P-47 Thunderbolt, as he flew both. P-47 has the reputation as ground attack plane. P-47 had all that armor protecting pilot and could take a lot of punishment, but the P-38 had two engines to get you home and faster climb rate. I myself would side with the P-38, because its guns and cannon fired straight out and you could buzzsaw slice up targets 5x as far out, so you wouldn't have to get as close.
cobrachoppergirl 11 months ago
A ww2 ace shot down 7 stukas on one mission!
916fanatic1 11 months ago
Little known fact - Ben Hogan, the famous golfer could barrel roll a P-38 Lighting.
(Source: Kris Tschetter, in her book, "Mr. Hogan, the Man I Knew."
fayette202 11 months ago
Fork-tail devil drivers are good guys.
mindeloman 11 months ago
top scoring aces in pacific flew p-38's
offthehook80 11 months ago
Hi there! Do you know where is the only european one based? Is it duxford UK by eny chance? Thanks.
panrierrr 1 year ago
@panrierrr: The European P-38 is owned by Red Bull, the maker of the energy drink. It is based in Salzburg, Austria and makes several appearances in Europe during the airshow season. See their website. This aircraft was formerly flown by then-owner Lefty Gardner for 40 years at airshows in the USA as "White Lightnin'." An in-flight fire in 2001 resulted in a crash landing. It was restored by Nelson Ezell in Texas after Red Bull bought the aircraft. The aircraft arrived in Austria in 2009.
octane130 1 year ago
@octane130 how come they didnt make alot of these in ww2 were they 2 expensive to build?
MrBobsrevenge 10 months ago
Excellent and what a sharp looking airplane!!
JackFlemingFan 1 year ago
Skill in landing is true. I was able to attend the first flight of Glacier Girl in 2002. When Steve landed her, all three of the gear touched down at the same time!! It was so soft ans smooth. What a pilot, and what a plane!! If you love the plane, why not let others know how much by joining the P-38 National Association!!
mrb17f1 1 year ago
7 dislikes= Lockheed test pilots XD
94jamey 1 year ago
What a magnificent and superb aircraft! Great to know there is one airworthy. Does someone know if there are more in flying status? Thanks for posting.
billace90 1 year ago
@billace90: Yes, as of Jan. 2011 there are 7 airworthy examples of the P-38 in the world, 6 in the US and 1 in Europe. All of them are very actively flown too. Several more are being restored right now to flying status. Thanks!
octane130 1 year ago
@octane130 I wanto build one from plans all the way down to nut and bolt ecxept engines which Ill get, I dont want a replica that just looks like one
neverboardproduction 2 months ago
I always wished I could ahve bought and flown one of these. Best plane ever
dominickdunsel 1 year ago
corsair is a good plane but these should have been dominate warbirds
purplerocks1 1 year ago
god bless kelly johnson !
megunded 1 year ago
@megunded But Kelly Johnson is God. Same Person. No human could have designed the P-38, the F-80, the F-104, the U-2 and the SR-71.
soaringvulture 1 year ago
p38 is my favorite ww2 airplane
rdeb1210 1 year ago
Would this plane be hard to land with the front and back wheels being so close together?
trevorpom 1 year ago
@trevorpom Tail heavy on the ground.
DOWNwithDICTATORS2 1 year ago
@trevorpom But, a farther forward CG with full load of munitions.
DOWNwithDICTATORS2 1 year ago
@DOWNwithDICTATORS2 What I mean to say is, with a such short wheelbase wouldn't it be more likely to spin with the slightest amount of over control, especially landing on a wet airstrip? Or do the flight surfaces negate this by wanting to keep the aircraft straight?
trevorpom 1 year ago
@trevorpom I'm guessing that the relatively wide track of the main gear adds some stability when touching down. I know a P-47 pilot. He told me that in general warbirds were skitish and glitchy. Not designed for easy, comfortable flying. WWII was very serious business, as I'm sure you know.
DOWNwithDICTATORS2 1 year ago
@DOWNwithDICTATORS2 I don't think it could have been any more serious, for all involved. I love this plane, I have built two (a keen modeller for many years) and they look good from any angle. The skill that the pilots have in just taking off and landing alone is truly amazing let alone flying them in combat. My hat is off to the gentlemen who flew and fought in these aircraft.
trevorpom 1 year ago
@trevorpom I feel I owe just about everything to those who fought and defeated the Japanese, Nazis, and Italian facists. They came to gether to do a very great thing!
DOWNwithDICTATORS2 1 year ago
b-24 liberator is great bomber
dwayneroby1 1 year ago
Was the P-38 the plane used to shoot down Isoroku Yamamoto?
creativehandsnc 1 year ago
@creativehandsnc Yes.
trevorpom 1 year ago
1:47 sounds awesome
matts57 1 year ago
I love hearing a P51 in stereo!!!!
doowaditti 1 year ago
One of the P38s was built just 1 mile from my house it took over 10 years. They sold it and flew it out about 2 years ago. Hated to see that thing leave it was amazing i live in direct route of the air port so my last glimpse of the p38 glacier girl was 50 feet over head.
southern8127 1 year ago
p-38=best airplane in the world thumbs up if u agree
classtonowhere 1 year ago
can some1 tell me why i dont like the p38, i dunno why i even like russian uggly planes but not the p38 , strange but true.
nolifemerc 1 year ago
@nolifemerc You are a Commie-Lib....and or brainwashed.
doowaditti 1 year ago
@doowaditti nopei dont refer to politics i just dont like twin tailed planes,inlude this 1.
nolifemerc 1 year ago
jets are cool but there is something that is just so sexy bout a old ww2 war bird
gtofan2005 1 year ago 2
@gtofan2005 - Couldn't agree more.
kwakman99 1 year ago
Without a doubt one of the most beautiful planes ever built!
JMBSM61 1 year ago
oh jeez--the sound of muffled 1710s--not quite merlins but wow-just wow
megajameskelly 1 year ago
My grandpa's wingman's P-38 is still sitting on the ground in the woods in New Guinea right where he left it. Google "Injury Slight". The plane I want to get tho is a Sopwith Camel just rotting out in the weather in front of a outback museum in Ausutralia. That is a criminal, a 100 year old WW1 plane just rotting in the weather. I don't have any money though, only enhusiasm.
cobrachoppergirl 1 year ago
FORK TAILED DEVIL FTW!!!
PitbuyllGamingHounds 1 year ago
Nice video!I was at Chino 3 weeks ago and saw the P-38's there.Specialy "glacier girl"'s storry is great.Thanks for posting,this video.
buellsteven 1 year ago
look at the top american aces in ww2.......bong and mcguire.......what's in common.....p-38
offthehook80 1 year ago
What is the speed of this plane?
gaditanocity 1 year ago
@gaditanocity They did around 420 mph
trupr 1 year ago
Just seen 3 or 4 of these at the Sacramento, Capital Air Show. I did see these last year, but only a few minutes, as of today, I really liked these planes, very nice design
forevrbumpn 1 year ago
I have been a WW II fighter buff since I was a little kid. Tons of books on all the various fighters Walter J. Boyne being one of the best authors. Your videos brought back a flood of memories. I recall my uncles and fathers remarks on their encounters in WW II. Dads USMC experiences in Okinawa and the F4u Corsairs, and my uncles experiences with the P40 Tomahawk and the P38 Lightnings while he was in the Philippines and Australia. Thank you for the great posts!
queballed 1 year ago
one of my favorites warbird ever... thanks for the vid mate!
klipku123 1 year ago
The most beautiful machine built by man. Thanks for the vid.
Peace.
Geekman333 1 year ago
With contra-rotating propellers on the twin Allison engines.
Colonialpara 1 year ago
The F-35 lightning II of today is a Jet-powered P-38 on mega steroids!
MasonZstudios 1 year ago
My uncle flew one of these in world war two in the pacific.
IcedSpartan 1 year ago
best plane ever
smellytoilet1996 1 year ago
This aircraft was way ahead of it's time
oldtilter 1 year ago
Sounds like this aircraft has had the big turbochargers disconnected/removed.
lwilde 1 year ago
where was this one found? it,s not Glacier Girl is it?
lightningman01 1 year ago
GREAT VIDEO ! The fork tailed devil.how long has this one been in flying condition ? and i lived so close to it and never knew it was there .
lightningman01 1 year ago
I never realized that the props were counter rotating...
tampatek 1 year ago
did anyone hear bout the guy that found 3 p38 lightnings frozen in the ground
MrJp990 1 year ago
@MrJp990 where was that? I only knew about the one that was found in Iceland i think
JetFreaky 1 year ago
@JetFreaky i pretty sure it was in the arctic circle idk when i saw them warbirds on tv i was like OMG THOSE R KOOL
MrJp990 1 year ago
That is one beautiful aircraft! Probably could still hold its own against most of the chicom and PDRK junk of today!
totse1234 1 year ago
Doesn't the sound of that P-38 doing a fly-by sound SWEET!!
kriegmeister3000 1 year ago
aahhh!
verdemanthe1 1 year ago
I saw a P-38 flying with one of the new F-22s at an airshow last summer. It was amazing. Propellers can't compare to jet engines when it comes to power and speed, of course, but at modest speeds, the P-38 was doing tricks, sharp turns and loops right along with the F-22, and showed it was just as nimble as any modern fighter jet. A really impressive plane.
Chingachgook12 1 year ago
this is my favorite twin engine fighter, ingenious.
angryace13 1 year ago
This thing sounds like a John Deere tractor....
Radials for ever !
canals22 1 year ago
"The 5,000th Lightning built, a P-38J-20-LO, 44-23296, was painted bright vermilion red, and had the name YIPPEE" Wikipedia. The plane had a number of problems, including the "freezing" of the controls in a high speed dive that killed a number of pilots. Lockheed went to great lengths to solve this problem, and they eventually claimed to have solved it.
clintonearlwalker 1 year ago
Best WWII Fighter :)
CloneShift 1 year ago
Great video. What a beauty - long may they keep her flying.
mig25pd 1 year ago
One of my favorites, very unique profile, and some serious armamenets in the nose.
siral000 1 year ago
The P-38 was WAAYYY underated in the war. It is a GREAT fighter, and, even though it's so big, later models could turn VERY sharp.
Tabby266 1 year ago 13
@Tabby266 They should have replaced the Allisons with Rolls Royce Merlins.
warhawk40 11 months ago
@warhawk40 They were building so many aircraft in the war effort that they needed many different engines of different types.Allison engines were a good choice because all the merlin engines were being used in other airplanes.Each lancaster bomber required 4 merlins,the mosquito 2 the spitfires 1 and the mustang 1.Some of the merlins were shipped to england because they could not produce enough merlins for their own aircraft.Packard had to change the original design for mass production.
916fanatic1 11 months ago
@916fanatic1 If the P-38 was given Merlins that had two stage two speed superchargers this would have been able to match the P-51 in speed and been able to escort the B-17s and B-24s over Europe. I read that they had many problems with the superchargers on the Allisons freezing up at high altitudes over Europe which is why they used the P-38 more in the Pacific theater where it was warmer.
warhawk40 11 months ago
@warhawk40 No. The P-38 did a decent job of trying to match the P-51. And the turbocharged Allisons isn't to blame for what lacked. They performed very well, in terms of providing excellent power at all altitudes. Regardless of pilot workload. The P-51 is simply in an entirely different league when it comes to aerodynamics.
But the ultimate reason P-38 was retracted from Europe was it's diving characteristics and low crit. mach no. making it unsuitable for combat against german fighters.
Vermiliontea 11 months ago
@916fanatic1 oddly the grand daddy Vee Twelve is the Curtis D-12....Napier Lion 3 banks of 4 cyclinders couldn't streamline as nicely and when they were hired away to work for Rolls Royce they were tasked immediately redesign and make a Cast block Vee Twelve like the Curtiss......The Kestrel was the result...
WWI the Cylinders were the bottle neck for aircraft production then but the cast block by Curtiss innovated the whole industry..... Curtiss is now RR of America...
crpdst2003 10 months ago
The P-38 is a beautiful aircraft.. :)
Tuberglue 1 year ago
As I recall, there were less than 50 of these planes ever built.They could never get the engines to work right and the entire program had to be scrapped.
sallymaggiespotty 1 year ago
@sallymaggiespotty sorry to say but NO the only ones with probblems were the ones sold to England they sent them with out the turbo charger which is probably the most important item for the engines. I was in the Air Force for 9 years 6 of those were at Holloman AFB N.M. . 8TFS/AMU which during WWII that unit flew P-38's out of Austraila in I believe it was 42-43 before moving on to new bases as the Allies island jumped towards Japan. So there were deffenatly more then 50 made.
JetMechF15A 1 year ago
@sallymaggiespotty sorry forgot to add if only 50 made how did at least 2 units I know of in the pacific fly them and not sure how many in the ETO plus others in pacific.
JetMechF15A 1 year ago
@sallymaggiespotty You're completely wrong. Nearly 10,000 P-38s were produced, almost 3,000 of those were J models.
ecliptik 1 year ago
Anyone notice there are two different 39s in this video? The one on taxi is not the one flying.
TamiyaExperienced 1 year ago
@TamiyaExperienced : The entire video is of the same aircraft, the Planes of Fame Museum's P-38L. Portions of the aircraft were repainted during the time span that the video clips were taken, explaining the difference that you noticed :). Thanks for watching my video.!
octane130 1 year ago
@TamiyaExperienced Yep you're right ! If is the same aircraft they changed the paintjob...
canals22 1 year ago
@TamiyaExperienced they stopped the show re marked & badged it for just us
silverbird58 1 year ago
@TamiyaExperienced
Same plane. Its now known as 23-SkaDoo (With the 162 on the starboard side)
You might even of seen this plane when it was mostly mental with Yellow spinners and marked as Joltin' Josie
Zippercdrr 1 year ago
Only 5 planes are still existing. 2 are set in germany. I gonna see one next week.
bl00dbon3 1 year ago
@bl00dbon3 : Things have been moving very quickly lately with the numbers of flyable P-38s. As of June 2010, SIX are flyable in the USA, with one in Europe (the Red Bull P-38). Some very exciting news is that all six of the USA P-38 owners have indicated that they will bring their P-38s to the California Capital Airshow on September 11 & 12, 2010. What a sight that will be!! They will also move on to the Reno Air Races the next weekend (not to race, of course, but to show). Good times!
octane130 1 year ago 4
@octane130 I was at the CCA and of the 6 supposed to be there, one didn't make it (Tangerine) and another cracked a head en route. 4 made it and flew and were amazing to see and hear. Glacier Girl, Thoughts of Midnite, Ruff Stuff and Honey Bunny.
trupr 1 year ago
@octane130 Only four made it to CCA. But they sure were sweet!
trupr 1 year ago
@octane130 there is one in the twin ports. Duluth/Superior.
USSWISCONSIN64 1 year ago
@bl00dbon3 like undamage ww2 ones cause i know many ppl will have a priate company build them a custom one
dewartt69 1 year ago
@bl00dbon3 According the the "List of surviving Lockheed P-38 Lightnings" Wiki page, there are 9 flyable, 10 on display, 7 being restored, 6 stored and 4 wrecked.
Zippercdrr 1 year ago
hotrod.
dorisdrew 1 year ago
The majority of Pilots who flew both the P-51 and P-38 in combat preferred the P-38 as a fighter.
For those of you who like stats, the rest of the story. Only 6000 P-38 fighters were deployed throughout the world. In the ETO by 1945 there were 4,500 P-51s deployed, 2,500 were combat losses and roughly 2000 in operation compared to the 950 peak P-38 deployment. P-38 kills world wide were a minimum of 3,800, many records were lost in 42 and 43 and were not counted. Considering mission mix
wmaxt 1 year ago 3
p-38 is awsome ,but i cant beat p-51 mustang .
cuzzythewolf2 1 year ago
the design was insparational, the ME110 was about the same size and horse power but could not come close to the performance of the 38
redbaroniii 1 year ago
The engines sounds good i like it.
WhoFragtSich 1 year ago
i've got a picture of the p-38 No.162 and in the cockpit is a guy with a camcorder
can't seem to find the footage of the inside
shmeddy01 1 year ago
I remember seeing one of these over here in England and the noise from the engines and props was like pure cream, best noise I've ever heard from a plane
lexichronicle2 1 year ago
In the MTO, the P-12th and 15th air force's mission was high altitude deep penetration bomber escort. These two air forces using P-38s flew as far or farther than any ETO unit did. P-38s in the MTO shot down more enemy aircraft than did P-51s and P-47s combined. Most of the stories printed about P-38s being sub par seem to originate from the 8th air force. This leads me to believe that it's either misinformation or that the P-38 was simply a scapegoat for some unit's troubles.
anynameplease 1 year ago
@anynameplease Yes,it was ONLY in the the AF groups that there was any dissent about the performance/fighting qualities of the aircraft @ any altitude. In that theatre there was also much trouble with the Allison engines, turbo chargers and intercoolers that caused an unacceptably high mission abort rate & sudden loss of loss of power at critical moments. Low oil temperature, causing lubrication failure was a serious problem there, not often seen in other areas, especially in pre-J models...
TopLayerEscort 1 year ago
@TopLayerEscort Typo:left out _8th_, before "AF groups".
It should also be pointed out that the 8th AF never fully committed to the P-38 as say, the 5th had & there was a culture of negativity that existed there toward it or any twin-engined fighter design. Nearly all of the 8th's P-38 pilots received their advanced training in the Lightning at a base where the head instructor confessed to being "a P-40 man" & who held a negative bias toward the Lightning...
TopLayerEscort 1 year ago
..resulting in a situation where all personnel were demoralized & poorly informed about the capabilities of the aircraft and a deployment where far too few P-38s were availiable for the job. A visit & flight demonstration by the Lockheed test pilot Tony Levier changed the situation & after the defensive tactical restrictions were removed the combat results improved dramatically. Through it all, P-38s still held a solid advantage in victories vs losses from all sources, even with the 8th AF.
TopLayerEscort 1 year ago
@atapeatape: Yes hun, but only in your mind.
frankwollin 1 year ago
My late uncle flew one of these- I still have his flight jacket.
richintalent 1 year ago
In his memoirs Adolf Galland wrote that early P-38s were easy pickins for a Me-109 or Fw-190 but once the P-38s recieve hydraulic assisted Ailerons and thier roll rates increased the P-38 became a fantastic fighter. Galland himself said he had plenty of respect for them
MadMilitiaMen 1 year ago
@MadMilitiaMen They were never "easy pickens" below about 25,000 ft. They were always faster & could outclimb & turn more tightly than their ETO opponents. The achillies heel was the high alt. "split-ess" & the compressibility effect. P-38s did very well in N. Africa & the MTO, where most combat was at lower & med. altitudes.
TopLayerEscort 1 year ago
@TopLayerEscort i only stated what Adolf Galland said. Take into consideration that he was a renowned pilot and that your only a dude behind a computer, i think ill take his word over yours. Cheers
MadMilitiaMen 1 year ago
@MadMilitiaMen And you're only a dude quoting from a tome by a pilot, who'd only faced P-38s under some of the most unfavorable conditions imaginable for that aircraft & the men who flew it. I was sumarizing accounts by many pilots who flew P-38s & knew it's unique capabilities; like Jack Ilfrey, Tommy McGuire & Col Oliver Taylor (15th AF), who stated that though it took nearly twice as long to become truly proficient in it, a skilled pilot could become virtually "invincible" in the P-38.
TopLayerEscort 1 year ago