Not so long ago we had an article about this aircraft, written by a battleship expert. Yes, of course, as an opinion, it has the right to life, although, of course, there were comparisons in it … Well, okay, this is the lyrics, let's talk about the plane, which we will consider full-face and in profile, and not through the chimney of the ship.
Lightning. A very peculiar plane, which itself went down in history, and its designer Clarence Johnson received a lot of recognition.
In general, everything that Johnson designed was not entirely familiar in terms of form and content. Johnson put his mind and hands on many of Lockheed's products, but along with the P-38, the F-104 Starfighter and the SR-71 Black Bird reconnaissance can also be included in the original.
Who would call them bad cars?
But it all started with the R-38.
Whoever says anything about the Lightning, I will immediately voice that I think this aircraft is outstanding and simply excellent. For its time. And all that some said about the weaknesses, the chassis there was not very good and the review … About the review I would send to talk with those who flew on the Hurricanes, Me-109s and Yaks with gargrots.
Pilots talk about airplanes best of all. Real, and not enough "experience" in any "wartanders". And the American pilots called "Lightning" a "ticket to a round-the-world trip", meaning by no means some negative qualities. But first things first.
In the beginning, a small digression on a topic that I have already voiced somehow. The answer to the question "How to properly assess the aircraft." Exactly so that it was an accurate and fair assessment, and not the Opinion of His Highness, who played computer games.
The controversy has not subsided for 70 years. Ratings, comparisons, assessments - it's all there. Everyone loves to talk about this topic, both experts and not so much.
But let's answer one question: what universal parameter can be used to conclude how much better that fighter is, and vice versa? One is handsome in the vertical, the other is fast, the third has breathtaking weapons, and so on.
The list of parameters can be continued indefinitely, but each of these characteristics to some extent contradicts the others.
From here comes such a thing as the Art of the Constructor. With big letters just out of respect for work. And this art consists in creating an airplane, in which ALL the necessary characteristics will be, though averaged, but present in the required volume.
In general, each of the countries participating in the Second World War, and I have also spoken about this more than once, had their own criteria for the construction of aircraft. Its own schools of designers.
And therefore, as here one "expert" compared the Me-262 with piston aircraft of the same time … The problems of the amateurish approach, alas, are a tribute to the present.
Personally, I liked the system of evaluating the price and effectiveness of the application, that is, how many of my downed planes had victories over the enemy. Here, of course, not everything is smooth either, since for the same Germans, it is one thing to shoot down planes on the Eastern Front, and quite another - "flying fortresses" over Germany.
But there is something like that in this system, so let's look at Lightning precisely through the prism of its success and value.
So, American pilots on American planes. And there were enough planes claiming the title of the best, the same "Mustangs" and "Thunderbolts", which have already become regulars in the ratings.
However, what plane did America's most productive pilot fly?
Meet Major Richard Ira Bong. 40 wins. He flew the P-38. And who is the second? Major Thomas McGuire. 38 wins. On the P-38 … And then no less tough guys, Colonel Charles McDonald, Major Gerald Thompson, Captain Thomas Lynch …
But even the first two pilots are enough for a serious claim for victory. However, the Lightning was not the most popular aircraft in the US Air Force, so I agree with that. On the P-38, 27 groups fought, on the P-47 (for comparison) - 58.
And in terms of the number of vehicles produced, the R-38 is not the best. Only 10 thousand cars. And in terms of combat performance in Europe and Africa, "Lightning" was average, data for Europe - 2,500 destroyed enemy aircraft with their own losses of 1,750 aircraft. So so, huh?
But excuse me, "Lightning" for a very long time was generally the only aircraft capable of covering American and British bombers. The rest, all so fast, maneuverable, steep, did not fit this role in terms of range. It was only when airfields appeared on the continent that Thunderbolts and Mustangs spread their wings. And before that - I'm sorry …
How equal was the battle between the Bf-109 and the FW-190 against the P-38? Yes, not how much. These were very unequal battles, whatever one may say. And there was no way out. Either the bombers go to hell unaccompanied at all, or we have what we have. Then, when the P-47s appeared, it became a little easier, but until that moment the American pilots fought in a frankly disadvantageous position.
But they fought.
And in the Pacific, the situation was not the best either. The less maneuverable and high-speed P-38 did not seem to look against the same A6Ms, but … Again, only the Lightning, due to the twin-engine scheme, had both range, flight safety, and weapons.
Perhaps it is appropriate now to recall that the hero of Pearl Harbor, Isoroku Yamamoto, was driven into the ground by the Lightning.
There were quite a few novelties in the design of the P-38, but here, yes, Lockheed did his best. Whatever the "experts" say about the allegedly extremely unsuccessful chassis, the planes flew with them, and the scheme was slowly adopted by everyone around.
In general, the scheme was very progressive and unconventional. Very good flight qualities were combined with good armament, which, according to the plan, was to consist of a 23-mm Madsen cannon with 50 rounds of ammunition and four Browning M2 machine guns of 12.7 mm caliber with 200 rounds of ammunition per barrel.
Four fuel tanks with a total capacity of 1136 liters were located in the center section - two in front and two behind the spar. The increase in the flight range of the P-38 was easily solved by the use of suspended tanks.
The fighter did not immediately receive its name. At first, the P-38 was called "Atlanta", but the name did not catch on. "Lightning" - that's how the British christened it. The choice was generally not very large. Liberator, Leeds, Liverpool, Lexington, Lincoln and Libre. "Lightning" liked the head of "Lockheed" Robert Gross, and the issue was resolved.
The first combat model received the P-38D index, although there were no production variants A, B and C. It was just that the Americans had such a tradition to start with the letter D.
Compared to prototypes, the armor protection of the P-38D was improved by increasing the thickness of the armor plates and changing the layout of their placement. The frontal armored glass was also reinforced.
On this modification, they began to install protected gas tanks with a total capacity of 1287 liters. We gave up oxygen cylinders and replaced them with Dewar vessels with liquid oxygen. A strange decision, but very logical. A high pressure tank is not the most pleasant thing on an airplane.
The P-38D aircraft were produced in series from July to October 1941.
In the European theater of war, the first victory in the air on the P-38D was won on August 14, 1942 by Second Lieutenant E. Shahan of the 27th Fighter Squadron. He finished off the German four-engine reconnaissance aircraft FW-200 "Condor" damaged by another plane.
There were also export models at the beginning of the war. This aircraft was called the R-322 and was created for the UK and France on the basis of British requirements. True, France never received its planes, since it ended. But these planes were gladly accepted by Britain.
The British and French saw the R-322 as a fighter-bomber rather than a high-altitude interceptor, so the aircraft had a number of differences from the P-38D.
For example, it was equipped with less powerful Allison C series engines without turbochargers. Both motors had the same, clockwise, direction of rotation of the propellers and power of 1090 hp.
The use of these engines was dictated by the desire to simplify as much as possible the supply of spare parts for engines of various aircraft. Such engines have already fought in the Royal Air Force on Curtiss Tomahawk aircraft.
I also had to give up turbochargers. But this is not the fault of the British to simplify matters, but the inability of General Electric to provide compressors to everyone. Plus, it was necessary to train technical personnel to work with turbochargers, and this, in a war, the British could not afford.
Therefore, the RAF gave preference to immediate deliveries of machines without turbochargers, even if this was reflected to some extent on the combat qualities of the aircraft.
The central gondola was almost identical to the gondola on the P-38, but the armament was revised. It included only four machine guns, and of British production: two 12.7 mm and two 7.69 mm. The cockpit was also fitted with standard English instrumentation and radio equipment, as well as steering wheels.
In general, the P-322 was weaker than the P-38, but in 1940 there was no time for fat, so the British took everything they were given under Lend-Lease.
Fighting on the P-322 was, of course, more difficult than on the P-38, which was faster, climbed higher, flew farther, and was even more armed.
It was, of course, difficult to fight. The twin-engine aircraft was quite capable of turning the head of all German bombers and half of the fighters. But with the new models of Messerschmitt it was difficult. And when the Focke-Wulf appeared on the Western Front, everything became quite sad. But there was no choice, because the P-38s continued to fly to escort bombers, because everyone understood: such cover is better than no cover.
Some of the aircraft were converted into a two-seater version. The second cabin was placed behind the first, which affected the aerodynamic purity of the nacelle. Among the pilots, this design has received a derisive nickname "pig ass". The two-seater P-38s were used as trainers and passengers.
On one of the aircraft of modification F, rocket armament was tested - launchers for 114-mm missiles. Two three-tube packages were hung along the sides of the central gondola and two more - under the consoles. The tests were successful, but only the fuselage arrangement was introduced into mass production.
In 1941, Lightning fighters received only two fighter groups - 1st and 14th. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, they were deployed to the West Coast of the United States in anticipation of an enemy landing. Next on the P-38 was the 54th squadron 55 FG, based in Alaska. It was the pilots of this squadron who won the first victory on the Lightning in the Pacific theater of operations, destroying the Japanese N6K4 flying boat over Dutch Harbor on 4 August.
In November 1942, three groups of P-38s were transferred to the Mediterranean theater of operations to participate in Operation Torch, the landing of Anglo-American troops in Algeria and Tunisia.
Bad luck. The Americans, who had just entered the war, ran into well-trained German pilots who made chops out of these three groups. The losses were great.
Nevertheless, the P-38, as an interceptor for German transport aircraft and an escort fighter, carried out the entire campaign in the Mediterranean.
From the middle of the summer of 1943, Lightning air groups were increasingly involved in bombing assault strikes against targets deep in enemy territory. There were plenty of reasons for this.
The maximum speed of the Lightning fighters of the L modification was determined to be 670 km / h at an altitude of 8100 m when the engines were running on afterburner. Without forcing the engines, the speed of 620-630 km / h was also more than sufficient. The aircraft climbed to an altitude of 5000 m in 5.4 minutes, and the maximum flight range with outboard tanks and a 20-minute reserve of time for air combat reached 3370 km.
The later versions of the Lightning were practically on par with medium bombers in terms of maximum bomb load. After dropping bombs, the P-38J could fend for itself in aerial combat and did not need fighter cover. In addition, the Lightning's crew consisted of only one pilot, while 5-7 people flew and risked their lives in a medium bomber. Finally, the P-38, even with external bombs, was a relatively high-speed aircraft, which is much more difficult to intercept than slower bombers.
In general, an almost perfect fighter-bomber has indeed appeared.
We can talk about the nuances for a long time. Whether the Lightning was good or bad: the plane went through the ENTIRE World War II, fighting in ALL theaters of war. Not all aircraft of the participating countries could boast of such an effective service life.
Even when the more modern P-47 and P-51 seemed to have replaced, the P-38 was still relevant. Mainly due to its range and payload, but it was useful nonetheless.
Combat use showed that the plane was good. In all respects.
LTH R-38D
Wingspan, m: 15, 85
Length, m: 11, 53
Height, m: 3, 91
Wing area, m2: 30, 47
Weight, kg
- empty aircraft: 5 342
- normal takeoff: 6 556
- maximum takeoff: 7 031
Engine: 2 x Allison V-1710-27 / 29 x 1150 hp
Maximum speed, km / h: 628
Cruising speed, km / h: 483
Practical range, km: 1282
Rate of climb, m / min: 762
Practical ceiling, m: 11 885
Crew, people: 1
Armament: one 20-mm cannon and four 12, 7-mm machine guns.
