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Description
| Manufacturer: | Lockheed |
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| Base model: | P-38 | ||
| Designation: | P-38 | ||
| Version: | L | ||
| Nickname: | Lightning | ||
| Designation System: | U.S. Air Force | ||
| Designation Period: | 1925-1947 | ||
| Basic role: | Pursuit | ||
| Crew: | Pilot |
Specifications
| Length: | 37' 10" | 11.5 m | |
| Height: | 9' 10" | 3.0 m | |
| Wingspan: | 52' 0" | 15.8 m | |
| Wingarea: | 327.5 sq ft | 30.4 sq m | |
| Empty Weight: | 12,800 lb | 5,804 kg | |
| Gross Weight: | 20,700 lb | 9,387 kg | |
| Max Weight: | 21,600 lb | 9,795 kg | |
Propulsion
| No. of Engines: | 2 | ||
| Powerplant: | Allison V-1710-111/113 | ||
| Horsepower (each): | 1475 | ||
Performance
| Range: | 450 miles | 724 km | |
| Cruise Speed: | 290 mph | 466 km/h | 251 kt |
| Max Speed: | 414 mph | 666 km/h | 360 kt |
| Climb: | 2,857 ft/min | 870 m/min | |
| Ceiling: | 44,000 ft | 13,411 m | |
Known serial numbers
Examples of this type may be found at
| Museum | City | State |
| Champlin Fighter Museum | Mesa | Arizona |
| Lone Star Flight Museum | Galveston | Texas |
| March Field Air Museum | Riverside | California |
| McGuire AFB | McGuire AFB | New Jersey |
| United States Air Force Museum | Wright-Patterson | Ohio |
P-38L on display
Champlin Fighter Museum | Lone Star Flight Museum | March Field Museum |
Recent comments by our visitors
| David Miller , FL | The P-38 was the greatest fighter of WW2. If it loss and engine it could go on, try that with a P-51,P-47. Look up the life of Richard Ira Bong the top scoring ace of all time. Hed flew only the P-38. He shot down Forty, that right 4o Japs. The runner-up Thomas McGuire shot down 38, which makes him second american ace of al time. Try to match that record NAVY, you can't. There is a museum in Poplar, Wisconsin, in honor of Richard Ira Bong, his hometown. If you're ever there stop in. Its a tribute to the greatest american fighter pilot of all time, enough said, Thank you. 04/16/2008 @ 04:29 [ref: 20564] |
| Glenn Carrollton, TX | Who in the hell did they sell it to?!! They shouldn't have sold it!! A piece of history like that belongs in a museum!! 03/07/2008 @ 16:37 [ref: 19933] |
| Rod Krentel Mobile, AL | Just visited the Lone Star Flight museum in Galveston and unfortunately the P38 was sold to a private individual in Florida and is no longer on display. They have a great museum, but if you are a P38 enthusiast you'll have to look elsewhere. 06/04/2007 @ 15:46 [ref: 16731] |
| Don Reichle Cottonwood, AZ | I thoroughly enjoyed watching Glacier Girl fly with a P-51 "escort" at the Palm Springs, CA airport in late 2004.
My father-in-law, was undoubtedly even more grateful every time he saw one. He flew B-17s during WW2, and always brought his plane back to base after a mission. Though he's told me that it might have been on it's "last legs" on touchdown. Anyway Glacier Girl's story of re-birth from entombment on Greenland has amazed me. I thoroughly enjoyed the "up-close and personal" tour inside the hangar where she was displayed. The tour guide was unable to answer my query concerning the differing lengths of her guns, at the nose of the aircraft. But when I asked again of the plane's owner Roy Shoffner during the pre-flight meeting in the hangar where he took questions, I was supplied the answer. This was due to the armament "feeds" needing to be able to transfer the "empties" and "fulls", so as to not hamper the action during an attack. And then to watch her "do her thing" in the aerial display, brought a few tears to my eyes. I'm glad I was able to keep my balance, as I twisted through 360 degrees rotation to follow her around the flight path. ;-) It's a memory I will cherish until death. Don Reichle 02/11/2007 @ 06:19 [ref: 15479] |
| Max , AK | I thought that the p-38 lightning was a awsome plane i rely liked its design> 09/08/2006 @ 22:44 [ref: 14117] |
| steve dailey , MO | My dad was in the Navy during WW2 (served on Wichita and Cleveland) in a group dubbed the "Ghost Patrol" They had never attacked or been attacked and left survivors. They were attacked one day and were outnumbered; they knew it was over. A flight of P-38s came out of nowhere and saved their lives. The fleet commander was going to send up help, but was told, "We shoot down anything without two tails". Obviously, dad loves the P-38 and if you know anyone who would have been there that day, he would love to hear from you. 07/10/2006 @ 08:59 [ref: 13698] |
| Bill Trueba Boise, ID | The heat issue was corrected by the late J model.
The cost of the P-38 in 43 was $105,657 and the O-47 was $104,259 in 44 those costs were $97,147 and $85,578 and maintenance costs were in about the same proportions. In my opinion the P-38L was the best fighter we had in WWII though the F4U-4 was very close. http://www.spitfireperformance.com has some actual AAF performance tests of many fighters including the P-38. Bill Trueba 06/18/2006 @ 09:38 [ref: 13542] |
| Bill Trueba Boise, ID | The heat issue was corrected by the late J model.
The cost of the P-38 in 43 was $105,657 and the O-47 was $104,259 in 44 those costs were $97,147 and $85,578 ans maintenance costs were in about the same proportions. In my opinion the P-38L was the best fighter we had in WWII though the F4U-4 was very close. http://www.spitfireperformance.com has some actual AAF performance tests of many fighters including the P-38. Bill Trueba 06/18/2006 @ 09:36 [ref: 13541] |
| a.j. , MD | Ah yes the P-38... I once thought the P-51 was superior but after a good talking-to, people have convinced me of the P-38's (or at least the J/L variants) complete superiority. Apparently, the flaps, when deployed at 8 degrees, would make the P-38 one of the tightest turning planes in WWII.
But I'm still wondering whether the P-38 was given a cockpit heater and defroster later on in its life... like around the time the P-38L rolled around. If anyone knows the answer please noify me! Thanks! 06/12/2006 @ 11:39 [ref: 13507] |
| Joe Larkin Genco Trading, NJ | the transition from P-38s to P-47s in the Pacific was at least in part economics. P-38L cost the gov't about $100,000 each, almost twice the cost of the Thunderbolt. Maintenance likewise twice the cost and man-hours as a single engine fighter. P-47s were much more forgiving aircraft than the P-38s so, better suited to newer pilots with fewer hours, but I have never heard of an experienced P-38 pilot willingly giving her up. In the right hands, P-38 could manuver like an ice skater, and at any altitude from 20 feet to 40,000.
In the ETO An F-5 photo recon P-38 variant(unarmed) being hotly pursued by a Focke-Wulf Fw190(I think) used a series of sharp turns and high speed dive to try to shake his pursuer. The 190 stayed with him unitl they were manuvering at tree top level at speeds of 350-400 mph, when the German slamed into the ground. Thus, the F-5 Pilot became the first and only unarmed P-38 to claim a "kill". 05/19/2006 @ 11:39 [ref: 13325] |
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