One misconception. The Lightning wasn’t really intended to be a dog fighter. In fact it was designed from the ground up to be an anti-dog fighter. It was designed to come in incredibly fast and kill on a pass or closing encounter. And to not get into a twisting turning fight. Strike, gain distance, climb come around and strike again. Don’t play the Messerschmidt or Zero’s tight turning game. It didn’t need to. It had superior speed, climb rate, weapons range and weapon power. It infuriated the Japanese and German pilots because it didn’t play their game. And they really had no good defense against it.

@tariqsyed445

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed !

@contraposto2861

2 жыл бұрын

It sure was a good and very neat looking fighter bomber - but in die ETO the P38 definitely hat its problems, notably as an escort fighter: “It was useless. We told Doolittle that all it was good for was photoreconnaissance and had to be withdrawn from escort duties” RAF-legend Eric “Winkle” Brown reported to U.S. Eighth Air Force-Commander Doolittle about the P38 after testflying the type. And in terms of the Germans having „no good defense against it“ - well, sometimes die Lightning had no good defense against them: 23 Luftwaffe-pilots shot down 5 or more P38s. Its suitability for the vast dimensions of the pacific was not the only reason why the Lightning was used primarily there. In Europe it was - despite its undoubted qualities and great looks - of limited use.

@andrewtaylor940

2 жыл бұрын

@@contraposto2861 That was more due to the early stupidity of the Bomber Mafia insisting that the escort fighters fly with the bomber formations, rather than either clearing the skies ahead or shadowing from above. Tying the fighters to the bombers that way made them easy pickings for alerted Luftwaffe pilots who had plenty of time to gain an altitude advantage and could drop on the formations at their leisure. Once Bomber Command allowed the fighters to do their job properly they became much more effective and a much harder kill. Doolittle almost certainly dismissed Brown’s complaints out of hand. The Lightning was Doolittle’s favorite plane to fly. He knew it’s capabilities better than most. It’s what he personally flew on D-Day. Most Lightnings lost were lost in the earlier campaigns over North Africa and the Mediterranean. They were used heavily as low level ground attack and anti shipping roles there. And yes they were vulnerable if another fighter caught them at low level. It was another example of using an extremely capable plane in its less than ideal role. Doing low level attack when you don’t have air superiority and the enemy is still operating freely in the air is one of the most punishing mission profiles in Military aviation to this day. Just ask the Russian Air Force.

@contraposto2861

2 жыл бұрын

@@andrewtaylor940 Yes, Doolittele called the P38 "the sweetest-flying plane in the sky" and according to ace Robin Olds all novice pilots were eager to fly the Lighting since it looked so sharp. But he also stated: "We were defeating ourselves with this airplane". The Lightnings Allison engines were notoriously unreliable (this is not even mentioned in Darks Skies video), according to many testimonies the P38 was too complicated to handle for most pilots when confronted with Me109s and Fw190s. So i'm under the impression that the P38 was not just hampered by some tactical misconception. It was not good enough for the ETO - except as a fighter bomber after other types had secured air superiority. US units in europe knew why they wanted to get rid of their Lightnings and see them replaced with P47s and P51s asap. In the Pacific the P38 fared better since the opposition was technically inferior. Nevertheless - if i was an pilot and had the privilege to fly one US WWII airframe, i guess i would opt for die P38 , cause it looks so sharp . In this regard i'm just like those novices in WWII.

@andrewtaylor940

2 жыл бұрын

@@contraposto2861 The P-38 was not a great plane for novice pilots. While it was quite agile, it could have some strange characteristics and was not the most forgiving ride out there. The early Allison Engines were crap. But they mostly had them well sorted by ‘43. Similarly most of the quirky handling characteristics were largely ironed out in the more refined later models. The planes that hit North Africa were largely the pre-war production models. The ones later in Europe proper and most of the Pacific were largely the more refined 1942 and beyond variants. It was one of the few planes that was produced and flew for the entire length of the war, and kept it’s position near the top of the heap without being outclassed or obsoleted. The only other planes that can really be said of are the Spitfire and the PBY Catalina.

My father flew P-38L's out of Sicily escorting B24's on the Polesti Oil Field raids. He was shot down on his first mission by flac and escaped back to allied lines subsequently flying over 30 combat missions before returning to the US as a fighter instructor. He loved the airplane. One of his favorite assignments was chasing german trains into tunnels in Italy then skip bombing into the tunnel. His accuracy was apparently legendary. He retired in 1964 as a full colonel commanding a F100 fighter bomber squadron.

@RivetGardener

Жыл бұрын

Your dad is a hero of heroes!

@localcrew

Жыл бұрын

That’s outstanding.

@herodlowery9923

Жыл бұрын

What a great man your dad is! Fantastic story.

@theshoeman7044

Жыл бұрын

Hi Kent. My Dad flew the P-38 out of England on Photo Reconnaissance (F-4 and F-5 models). Flew alone. Tree-top level. No guns: just cameras. Climb to altitude. Takes pictures. Run like crazy back to England. Shot down at least once (maybe twice). I was told the French helped him escape to fly another day. I have seen and heard one in low level flight once. Two growling Allisons. Beautiful aircraft.

@kentswan3230

Жыл бұрын

@@theshoeman7044 Concur opinion on P38. I can appreciate what your Dad did. This was a tough, dangerous, and essential assignment. From your description of your Dad's experiences, I just recalled one of the details Pop told us about his shootdown. Apparently, they too were on a low-level penetration run when he caught flac that took out enough that it was time to walk. He said he rolled the P38 inverted, released the canopy, and dropped out, pulling the rip cord immediately. He said that after the chute opened, he swung left then right and hit the ground on the back side of a hill. His airplane went over the hilltop and ended up crashing into a farmer's barn. Until the day he left us he apparently still had a bit of shrapnel in him from that event. While this could have been an embellished war story, I would tend to believe it happened just that way. Partisans helped him escape back to Allied lines. Pop's hand-eye coordination, better than 20-20 vision, and 3-dimensional awareness were almost preternatural. When he was flying the F100, he showed us his bombing range score sheets where he typically would place an over-the-shoulder thrown dummy nuclear weapon onto a target. Those score sheets showed that he would normally be within the innermost target ring most of the time. During air-to-air gunnery practice, they would make him go last when making a gun pass at the towed dart targets. This was because, after his run, the remains of darts would be pretty much not there. I do miss him even though he's been gone for many many years now.

My mother was a machinist at Lockheed during the war making parts for the P38. Bless her soul.

@peterharrison5833

10 ай бұрын

Bless your mom and thank her for her service. My mom (still alive today) was a parts inspector for Pratt and Whitney in in Hartford. There were a lot of folks who made sure that the aircraft could fly.

@peterharrison5833

10 ай бұрын

Bless your mom and thank her for her service. My mom (still alive today) was a parts inspector for Pratt and Whitney in in Hartford. There were a lot of folks who made sure that the aircraft could fly.

@playlist55

10 ай бұрын

I was blessed to know a couple "Rosie the Riveters". Very independent women both of them. Loved them to death. I don't know how we could have won the War without them. Bless all their souls.

@peterharrison5833

10 ай бұрын

@@playlist55 Agreed.

@davidgrant7018

10 ай бұрын

​@@peterharrison5833i8 I 88 ii I kiu7i88

The P-38 was also pretty durable. In one book I used to have on the P-38, it had an account of these two P-38s in North Africa that were strafing a truck convoy when one of the pilots inadvertently flew into the ground. His wingman circled overhead to see if by some chance the pilot had survived. To his surprise, as the dust cleared, the airplane appeared airborne again, with tail booms askew and one engine out. He was able to fly to 8,000 feet to clear some mountains, and made a wheels-up landing at base. The pilot walked away without a scratch.

@jacktattis

Жыл бұрын

I doubt that Source please

@ponyboy481

Жыл бұрын

@@jacktattis he said was in a book he read maybe you should look it up

@brianwilcox3478

10 ай бұрын

@@jacktattis I read that too. I still have that book. If I can just find it 😕 only 1 propeller hit the ground. the other was fine. p-38s often flew home with one "Fan"

@jacktattis

10 ай бұрын

@@ponyboy481 No I asked him for the Source

@3wbdriver

10 ай бұрын

@@jacktattis Fork Tailed Devil, The story of the P-38 Lightning, by Martin Caiden. I remember reading the book in the 1970's before keyboard warriors poo-pooed people from the safety of their basements.

My neighbor worked on building the P-38 in California during WW2. He is 97 and not in good health right now. Prayers for this man, that was part of the "Greatest Generation" and a good man, would be appreciated.

@TheGoddamnBacon

10 ай бұрын

Prayers.

@playlist55

10 ай бұрын

Definitely the greatest generation. Men and Women knew how to work and were not afraid to do it. SMH when thinking about the last couple Generations... Blessed to have had guidance from some of them.

@sonofizzy

10 ай бұрын

I hope that he is still with us and doing well. My Dad was a WWII Veteran and would have been over 100 if he were alive today. He died almost exactly 23 years ago, but I still miss him. Here's to you, Dad!

@oifiismith

10 ай бұрын

@@sonofizzy Mahalo, Sadly he died on May 22, 2022. He was a great man and will be missed. Sorry to hear about your father. May they all be up there sharing stories and a few drinks.🤙

@sonofizzy

10 ай бұрын

@@oifiismith I join in your wish, and offer my sincere condolences for your loss. Thank you for your kind words regarding my Dad. Stop by anytime!.

I think it's interesting that probably the two most flexible, adaptable, fastest and brilliant aircraft of WWII were both twin engined aircraft, ironically initially designed for differing roles, but both capable of the same roles. The other aircraft being, of course, the DH Mosquito, designed initially as a bomber but became an excellent intercepter, and both aircraft ended up excelling at a multitude of roles. Probably the first two, true, multi-role aircraft ever built.

@yourgrandmasalzheimerpills1143

2 жыл бұрын

I always thought the mosquito was just so good but then I learned about it’s bigger brother the De Hornet. Incredible aircraft that and the p-38k.

@b.chuchlucious5471

2 жыл бұрын

The Mosquito was awesome, another great contribution from our English cousins.

@iamsick5204

Жыл бұрын

Also dual fuselage mustang

@katierscott8771

Жыл бұрын

@@iamsick5204 an interesting aircraft but not multi-role, it was always an intercepter of some sort.

@iamsick5204

Жыл бұрын

@@katierscott8771 it had many roles but wasn't in WWII. I just wonder what would have happened if the idea caught on sooner. Imagine dual fuselage biplanes.

An interesting story is that in 1944 during WW2 Charles Lindbergh taught the P-38 pilots how to greatly increase their range by learning how to use the best fuel leaning, manifold pressure, and RPM. Lindbergh flew the P-38 in combat and is credited with one kill in that type. He flew other combat missions with Marine pilots also helping them with techniques to improve takeoff performance of the Corsair so that they could carry more ordinance.

@fldon2306

Жыл бұрын

Deja vu… my apologies for repeating your comment!

@ryanupchurch9683

Жыл бұрын

But do you know why he figured out those a/f settings? He ran out of fuel on the runway and was embarrassed by it because he blocked the runway from the rest of the flight to land. He overheard someone asking who was the “ sumnbitch “ that blocked the runway

@franktreppiedi2208

Жыл бұрын

Too bad Lindbergh was a N@zi sympathizer. He definitely helped defeat the Japanese.

@twill9278

10 ай бұрын

Lindberg was able to coax ungodly air time out of that plane,which made it possible to shoot Yamamoto out on the sky

@shenmisheshou7002

10 ай бұрын

@@twill9278 It is not a well know history story, but yes, it is I think an important one. People know about the Atlantic crossing, but that was something he did for himself. The aid to the P-38 pilots was something he did for his country.

It was the plane that the highest scoring US aces flew. Richard Bong had 40 victories and Thomas McGuire had 38 victories.

@johnhadley7715

2 ай бұрын

Aaaannnd the very same bird that “got” Yamamoto….

As a kid in the 50's there were a few reconnaissance versionP38s parked at the then Lockheed Air Terminal (now Burbank). I always thought they were cool - still do! My dad squeezed in behind Tony Levier for a test ride while they were in production. Great story!

@gregwilson825

2 жыл бұрын

Amazing! In the same era but in Minot ND my dad drove us to the airbase to see one. It was something that changed my little mind imagining what else an airplane could look like.

@kdrapertrucker

2 жыл бұрын

That would be the original F-5. Pre 1947 the F prefix was for photo recon aircraft, while fighters known then as Pursuits were given the P prefix. When the air Force was made it's own service pursuits were redesignated "Fighters" while recon sir craft were given the R prefix combined with the prefix of whichever type the air frame was originally designed as. Such as RP-80, RB-47, etc.

@andrewrehnert4997

Жыл бұрын

@@kdrapertrucker that’s the word that I was looking for “pursuit”, I had forgotten what the “P” stood for…..thank you 👍🏻

@georgesheffield1580

Жыл бұрын

The USAF also operated a few out of Panama and ce tral and South a.erica in a join mapping exercise of the OAS .

The P-38 was told to be a terrifying aircraft to bail out from. The concept they taught in training was to crawl out of the cockpit, climb out onto the wing to clear the vertical stabilizers, and bail. In practice I've read pilots preferred to get the thing upside down and simply "fall" out of the cockpit.

@D-B-Cooper

2 жыл бұрын

My father in law was a p38 pilot and was shot down in Germany. He always said rolled it over to bail out. He started at 18 and went through all the jets until the 60s. Died a couple years ago at 94.

@rfcdgaf

Жыл бұрын

Both methods were taught to the pilots lol watch the other p38 documentaries

@stevekaczynski3793

10 ай бұрын

Turning upside down and dropping out was the preferred method with single-engine fighters, although it depended on still having some control of the plane. Hans-Joachim Marseille was killed attempting this - he struck the tailplane after rolling his plane on its back.

@charlesdudek7713

10 ай бұрын

Bailing out right side up would be a bit scary. The idea of getting sliced in half by the horizontal stabilizer would not be a happy thought.

@janetchennault4385

10 ай бұрын

My father said that the P-38 bail instructions gave him a good reason to stay with the plane and land it. He flew it in the Aleutians, where twin engines came in real handy.

My grandfather worked for the Skunk works his whole life and help build the engines for the SR-71. I miss him. The scramjet was a game changer.

The P-38 is definitely in my top 5 favorite WWII planes. It looks amazing, and is extremely deadly to those who oppose it.

@haidozo4732

10 ай бұрын

When I was a kid, and model building was my passion, The Lightning was my undisputed favorite, I built a flying model that was of the "built-up", rubber band-powered type (framework of sticks and pieces of balsa wood covered with water-shrunk tissue, or silkspan if you could afford it). It had a 38" wingspan and I painted it in a classic WWII camo scheme. I was so proud of that thing that I kept it for years and never flew it for fear of wrecking it. After I got out of the USAF, my folks asked me to "do something with it" because it was just taking up space at their house. So, because I had long passed my model building stage and I didn't have any room for it, I decided to give it a "Viking Funeral". I took it to the top of a hill, overlooking a creek, sprayed it with a little lighter fluid, set it aflame and launched it. It glided gracefully down toward the creek until enough of the paper covering had burned off and it lost sufficient lift and stability. It spiraled down, trailing flames, into the creek. Such was the end of my P-38; but, I'll never forget it, and the Lightning still rules as my favorite aircraft. Oh, the pilot survived...

@davepaisley7675

8 ай бұрын

This! And the Mosquito!

@jacktattis

2 ай бұрын

Not really in the ETO it was an easy target for the Germans and had the worst Tactical Mach of the 3 US fighters

My maternal grand parents both worked at Lockheed specifically on the P-38 throughout the war, always a source of pride!

As a GenXer growing up, you remember WW2 weapons simply by their image. And this is one of the most iconic. :)

In the early 80s my bosses friend was a former p30 flight commander . One story that brought him to tears was flying bomber escorts to the Romanian oil fields. He told of 21 p38s with belly tanks . As soon as they saw the enemy fighters the command to drop tanks was given.. they were beyond the fuel tank range and they all knew it. Only 7 out of 21 made it back..he was as proud as hell of his pilots but mad as hell at kelly for pilots bailing out were killed by the rear wing. I never got the chance to ask him why they did not pump fuel from the belly tanks to keep their main tanks full. Maybe they did. My boss was a PB5 flight engineer. My other life time friend was a B29 pilot. It would take me an hour to type out his stories from flight training to toggling a bomb and dropping it in the imperial palace in Tokyo. Ended up flying B29 photo ships including one that took pictures after the first bomb. I saw his photo collection from the personal cameras carried on that mission. .

@nathanfisher1387

10 ай бұрын

When operating reserve tanks, fuel is ALWAYS taken from the reserve tank first. Only when it's critically low do they switch the source to the internal tanks and drop the belly tank. His problem there was likely that they were simply too far away to get home on just full internal tanks. (minus what they'd lost during any dogfighting after dropping)

My father, a minister, had a gentleman in his church that was one of the test pilots involved with the P-38. I loved the P-38 as a young man, still do. I think it is one of, if not the most, beautiful aircraft ever built. He loved telling me about this plane, saying, "Nothing in the sky could touch it. It was nothing less than the great white shark of the sky."

When I was a young lad I got into building scale models. This aircraft was the first one I built, so it holds a special place in my heart.

@trollwholivesu7258

2 жыл бұрын

Just got into scale modeling this year, and it’s been fun! No p38s yet though

@tobiashaas1465

2 жыл бұрын

Me too! It was the first 1:72 scale model I build back in the middle-seventies with my now deceased father! And when I got back to modelling again 15 years ago I managed to achieve a Matchbox-kit as we had back then! It was like time traveling, and my father sat by my side! Awesome!

@scottmccloud9029

2 жыл бұрын

Same here.

@scottmccloud9029

2 жыл бұрын

@@trollwholivesu7258 Be sure to put weights in the nose. My first one sat on its tail. Lol.

@Joze1090

2 жыл бұрын

I just finished the Tamiya p38 1/48 scale. It was a dream to put together:)

In 1999 I was working at a Kinko's copy store and this short, older bald guy comes up to the counter and puts down a color photo of a P-38 in flight, saying "I want a business card with this as the background." Picking it up, I recognized the plane and said "A P-38. Wasn't it one of these that shot down Yamamoto's plane?" He looked at me, his eyes twinkled as he smiled, saying "Yep. I met that guy!" He proceeded to tell me about a fighter pilot's convention in San Diego where an old friend said "Hey Bill, c'mere, I want you to meet someone." And it was that guy. TWO degrees of separation and I would never have know if I didn't know enough history to ask him that question. Thanks Dark, for all the wonderful videos.

@beachbum433

2 ай бұрын

I'm an Aussie, born in January 1944. I could never work out why my parents had 10 seconds of passion in April 1943. They already had 3 kids & it was wartime & they're on struggle street. I worked out they were celebrating the downing of Yamamoto. They disliked the Japanese intensely, the whole time they were alive... My parents were both in Darwin, Australia, 19 February 1942, when it was attacked by aircraft from the same carriers that hit Pearl Harbor 2 months prior, masterminded by Yamamoto...Interesting story, Ken. Thanks!!!

From 1966 to 1968 worked with an ex-fighter pilot at Randolf airforce base. Once asked him what his favorite fighter was and why. He said the P-38 because it was very comforting to have two engines when flying long distances over water. His first confirmed kill is often shown. Because of the wet and humid conditions the cameras often failed to record usable footage. You needed camera footage or a visual conformation to get a credit. He said he was so frustrated for not getting credit for his kills that he followed the Zek to the deck and then flew through the water spray to finally got his first confirmed.

My Dad was the engine/propeller specialist for the 339th fighter squadron on Guadalcanal. He always loved the P-38... The Yamamoto Mission was made to look like a routine fighter sweep to keep the IJN from realizing that their JN25b communications code had been broken. (P.S. So glad that you correctly named Rex Barber as the pilot who actually shot down the plane carrying Adm. Yamamoto.) After the mission, EVERYONE in the 339th was ordered to KEEP QUIET about the details of the mission, and not a single person in the 339th spilled the beans...

I've always loved this aircraft for it's unique and elegant look.

I always wondered why it was that the P-38 Lightning didn't have the presence in numbers that the P-47 or the P-51 had, especially in the European theater. This video, with its details about its manufacture, neatly answered that question. Many thanks!

@smithy2389

2 жыл бұрын

Not quite true. It was also due to cost. You could get 3 P-51s for the one p-38. It was a bit sluggish in a manoeuvring dogfight compared to german single engine fighters.

@aquablue6301

2 жыл бұрын

@@smithy2389 Yes, the 38 was an expensive bird.

@BogeyTheBear

2 жыл бұрын

The P-38 was built in only one city, Burbank, while the P-51 was built in two (Inglewood and Dallas) while the P-47 had three manufacturing sites (Long Island, Evansville, and Buffalo). Every effort to develop the next generation version of the Lightning (the P-49 and P-58) were thwarted in part by the Army's refusal to let Lockheed sacrifice any floor space on the P-38 assembly line to make its successors-- there was simply no more room to increase their numbers per month.

@CBB-dg9jy

2 жыл бұрын

Two planes One pilot. War is a numbers game. That said they were worth the money but couldn't be the primary.

@daleslater6999

Жыл бұрын

Cost. It cost almost twice as much money as a single-engined fighter. The US government absolutely knew this and was hesitant to spend so much on a single fighter.

My Mom and my Aunt built the center wing section of this beautifully deadly aircraft

I love the P38 and think that It is the MOST UNDERRATED FIGHTER AND ATTACK AIRCRAFT OF WWII!!!

@narabdela

5 ай бұрын

Yet another KZread 'underrated' jockey. 🙄...and you really need to get that caps lock unstuck.

@ReDevil2_2A

5 ай бұрын

@@narabdela a "KZread underrated jockey...?" So lemme guess, your one of those people that knows it all and anyone that gives an opinion you have to make a comment.

This plane is my favorite of all the WWII warbirds! Such a sexy design and lethal platform.

The P-38 is an outstanding fighter bomber but only a mediocre can opener.

@aerialcat1

2 жыл бұрын

Mediocre yes, but beats the hell out of using your teeth.

@alanmydland5210

2 жыл бұрын

It could really open cans at a high rate

@Harley-D-Mcdonald

2 жыл бұрын

@@aerialcat1 they come in handy in a pinch I always try to keep a couple new ones in my bags. They're super cheap for a box of them.

@kkarllwt

2 жыл бұрын

The only can opener I have ever used . One on my key ring. ( makes a good screwdriver ) and one by my sink. Same one for 40 years. A perfect piece of engineering.

@richardcranium5839

2 жыл бұрын

it is a highly desirable pistol too

My parents met on a blind date at a USO show being held at Langford Lodge airfield outside Belfast, Northern Ireland, in early 1943. When I was old enough to start modeling, my dad brought home a Revell P-38 for me to build one day. That's when my mom told me about seeing the P-38s being towed up the Crumlin Rd where she lived on their way between the docks in Belfast Harbor and the USAAC air base at Langford Lodge, where my dad was stationed. They both shared that for shipping, the wings were removed outside the engine nacelles, turned on end and strapped to the inside of the tail booms for protection while on board the freighters. I'm sure it must have been an impressive sight, sadly they didn't think to take any photographs. . .

@johnhadley7715

Ай бұрын

I’m an old Merchie (US), Academy-trained 1969-73 - when they were still teaching yard-and-stay booms/ cargo handling. That shipping prep sounds awesome, but the length of those tail booms - ugh! Even worse on the lift, if there were flawed swivels on the rig and the plane began trying to swing in the wind…

Thanks for mentioning Major Bong. He crew up near my hometown of Superior, Wisconsin. We have museum dedicated to him with an air worthy P-38 on display.

Still one of my favorite aircraft of all time.

The old war birds are the most beautiful. The P-38 is my favorite.

The Erikson Aircraft Collection in Madras Oregon has a P38 that flies in the airshow each year. They also have a P40, P47, P51, and F4U in the collection in the same hangar as the P38, and it is striking how much larger the P38 is than these other pursuit aircraft from the same time.

@bo0tsy1

Жыл бұрын

Well, it was between fighter, and bomber, multirole

@quintessentialtravel1966

10 ай бұрын

I have been to the Erikson Aircraft Collection three times, over the years. The P38 is huge, but the P47 appears even more massive. Erikson used to have a Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa there, which is amazingly tiny. Until you see the planes in real life, sitting next to each other, you don't realize how different they are in size.

Loved the twin boon fighter planes and the P38 was my fav. The P61 Black Widow a close second

one of my fave designs

There is a flying P-38 here in Minnesota in a museum south of me at the Granite falls airport

My father, a WW2 and Korean War Vet, loved the P-38. I remember him telling me how awesome that plane was. He bought me a toy P-38, and I loved playing with it. Good memories.

My dad got hired at Lockeed in the late 30's. He was a riveter on the tail boom section. He told me that back then they needed to have another person "buck" the rivets from the inside of the boom which ment crawling inside the boom to get the job done. Since there wasn't a lot of room in the boom they had to use midgets. The midget (little person) would have a rope tied around one ankle so they could get pulled back out in case they got stuck (which happened).

Thanks for the video! One of the few twin engine fighter - bombers(among its many configurations) that was flown with a yoke as opposed to a stick...see also the Mossie...beautiful aircraft!

@wheeljork

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed. P-38 is my favorite aircraft in terms of looks. Skeeter (yeah I know, just poking a little) looked pretty sexy too.

Lockheed didn't buy Martin Aerospace until the early 1990's. Back when they designed and built the P-38 they were just Lockheed Aerospace.

I have granduncle who flew a P-38 in the pacific. He, along with his four brothers, all returned home from the war.

Loved this aircraft since I was a kid and seeing them in comic book stories - such a distinctive appearance, matched by its incredible performance, it can take its place with pride alongside the likes of the Mosquito for its engineering innovation, style, performance and service record.

Awesome! One of my favorite planes; happy you guys finally did a video about it! I am surprised you didn't go into the nose armament in more detail, as it was a very dark inclusion for the enemy on the receiving end. With 4 machine guns and a cannon (the caliber and setups were changed throughout the years), the 38 devastated enemy forces. Also, Charles Lindbergh, who was overseas helping pilots get more out of the 38, went out on a mission and was credited with a kill. He was soon sent back home, lol!

@crankychris2

2 жыл бұрын

The 'Lightning' could also accelerate to transonic speeds in a dive [550 mph] the first production aircraft With all that firepower, the Nazi's feared it.

@twentypdrparrott694

2 жыл бұрын

Lindberg got 2 Zeros His wingman were Thomas McQuire and Col. Charles MacDonald. My father fed him his meals while he was staying with the 475th FG.

@twentypdrparrott694

2 жыл бұрын

Lindberg taught the 475th how to get the P-38 into overdrive. This increased their mission flights by 4 hours. Mission times increased from 8 hours to 12 hours. Missions from New Guinea to Vietnam were made. It was a group secret for a long time.

@twentypdrparrott694

2 жыл бұрын

None of the intact P-38's survived the war. They were either scrapped and buried at Clarke Field or Kimpo Field. 2 have been salvaged from the jungles of New Guinea Scarlet Scourge undergoing restoration to flying status in England and White 44 restored to flight status at Colorado Springs. Both aircraft flew with the 475thFG.

@jacktattis

Жыл бұрын

@@twentypdrparrott694 Mossie PR34 3500miles

Always loved the P38. Built lots of model kits of it as a kid. Still have a couple in my stash! Great videos as always! God bless you and yours and thanks again for all you do! 👍😊🇺🇸

@joelmerrill

2 жыл бұрын

I'm still a model builder. I have 70 of them hanging over my head as I write. I've built two 1/48 scale P-38s. I still have one.

@joelmerrill

2 жыл бұрын

@Shawn 🏴‍☠️ Stafford I don't remember which version my first one was. I built it 50 years ago. The last on I built was that Marge version and I used the Marge decals. It's getting hard to get models now and they are too expensive.

@jacobsteele7138

2 жыл бұрын

Bet the bitches are always trying to get ahold of your P-38 stash.

When I was a little kid, I walked through the store and often looked at model planes and such, but always bought a battle ship to build. That is until I saw the p-38 Lightning. To this day, this plane has fascinated me, and drove my curiousity into other WW2 planes, and in general. Documentaries, movies, and other shows always focus on the mustang or the flying fortress (bad ass in its own right), but very little for my p-38L. Whenever I played a WW2 flight simulator all i cared about, did it have a p-38. Thank you for this doc.

The P-38 is one of my most favorite aircraft of all time. Such a beautiful plane!

The P38 was always one of my airplane models growing even after I went to the aircraft museum in Germany back in the 80s

“The pilot pushed the fighter into 420 mph.” Nice

@rmcdudmk212

2 жыл бұрын

The general said don't spare the horses and smoke that bad boy 🤣

One of the most iconic planes of all time and you did it justice. Well done

P-38, a lesson in multi-mission serendipity during the Army Airforce's exercise of the art of air warfare.

Thank you, Dark Skies! My favorite aircraft of all time. Beautiful, graceful and so deadly!

YES!!! Finally!!!! Thank you!!! My favorite plane of all time!

@jacktattis

Жыл бұрын

Gee low standards have we?

@projectinlinesix

Жыл бұрын

@@jacktattis Writes the troll in response to someone's comment from 9 months ago lol

@jacktattis

Жыл бұрын

@@projectinlinesix Well you answered These old vids come up and I go and see what I missed I even go back 9 years to see what was posted then I have corrected Wilbur Finnigan numerous times

What a marvelous airframe and weapons platform the P-38 was. She was stunning not only in appearance but her performance as well. The German pilot described her rather well. Thank you for another great video.

When a mere boy, I saw an old wooden model of the P38 and thought it was the coolest and most interesting airplane that I had ever seen, from that day forward it has always been my favorite WWII plane.

One of the most iconic looking WW2 fighters ever. Certainly grabbed my attention as a kid!

Just something about WW2 aircraft. Such great elegant designs!

I've seen the P-38 in person - the 23 Skidoo. For having 2 engines that plane is surprisingly quiet. It is truly a remarkable and beautiful plane.

@Zuloff

10 ай бұрын

The exhaust is ducted back to the turbos on top of the booms above the wing. The exhausts are not short open stacks like on most other WWII aircraft. Not that the long ducting is intended to be a muffler but it takes the sharp snarl out of the exhaust note.

It was the F15E of its day. It could intercept, it could dogfight, it could precision strike. God what an aircraft.

@jacktattis

Жыл бұрын

p38 CLIMB RATE 2960ft/min just a little better than the Hurricane1 but they did improve never in the same field as the Spitfire

@RealNotallGaming

9 ай бұрын

Cant dogfight 😂 Is a cow Bf and zero would eat It Just max speed plane

@thedungeondelver

9 ай бұрын

Do you know what the loss rate of the BF109 and Zero was during WW2@@RealNotallGaming ? 100% The Allies won. The P38 shot down Japan's most important Admiral. The day the Japanese surrendered, P38s were still flying. No Zeros were. The day the Germans surrendered, P38s were still flying. No BF109s were.

@RealNotallGaming

9 ай бұрын

@@thedungeondelver 1) loss rate is counted on LOST planes not grounded planes because the war finished 2) p38 killed admiral in a bomber ... 3) p38 cant have more losses respect axis LoL BF109 = 34000 built P38 = 10000 built so even if all planes was lost p38 couldnt be called worse :))) simple trick, build less so future fanboys can brag about less losses .... stupid 4) interceptor will have always advantage respect escort\fighter planes because more speed and more weapons + good positioning before attack war is not a game, just the fact you can fly freely and change position before charge against enemy , meanwhile escort need to stay in formation and low speed ... is almost free kill ... 5) if you want to see 1vs1 in arena match Bf is basically auto winner in every game ... because better plane IRL the roles are different so basically those 2 planes are not comparable + 2 facts (p38 had max speed problems in dive so alt advantage is useless against Bf, Bf had always fuel capacity problems so P38 can win just forcing Bf to stay in combat zone and finish his fuel LoL) war is chess and plane superiority is relative, is the pilot that count

@apersondoingthings5689

9 ай бұрын

@@RealNotallGamingactually it can dogfight. One of the measures 109 pilots made were to flick roll because they could simply not out turn a P38. They had to use diving and rolling in order to get away. If caught in a traditional turn fight a 109 or Fw 190 simply gets beat up by a P38. Zeros in dogfights were mincemeat to really and mid war US fighter. The zeros simply lost every advantage they had after F4Us, F6Fs, and P38s arrived. All they had left was super slow turn rate and that’s it. It lost its high speed turn rate and medium speed turn rate advantages in a instant. The zero by 1943 was quite dog crap and obsolete

My great uncle flew the lightning out of North Africa , commanding the 37th fighter squadron, 14th fighter group. Was leading his squadron to provide fighter cover for a Royal Navy operation off the Dodecanese Islands in the Mediterranean and is credited for downing seven Stuka dive bombers during that mission (Oct 1943). The final tally for squadron that day was 16 Stukas and 1 JU-88. “Aces Against Germany” by Eric Hammel

@joegatt2306

10 ай бұрын

According to available Luftwaffe records, however, no more than seven Ju-87D fell to fighter attack that day. Another Ju-87D of 6/StG.3 made an emergency landing at Rhodes. In addition, a Ju-87D fell to AA fire and a Ju-88A-4 was lost much further away to the south of Kos, due to engine trouble. At about the same time that the 37th attacked the dive bombers, three RAF Bristol Beaufighters of No. 252 Squadron also reached the convoy, only to be attacked from above by three P-38s. One Beaufighter was hit in both engines and crash-landed on returning to Cyprus. This must have been the 'Ju-88' claimed by the 37th.

@jacktattis

8 ай бұрын

@@joegatt2306 The USAAF was infamous for that It was one of the reasons that the RAF/Friends stayed clear of the USAAF area of operations

Please do not forget Charles Lindberg (Spirit of St Louis fame). He Flew the P-38 in the Pacific, and revised flight procedures to increase the P-38 cruising range by 20%. He also flew many missions and is credited with enemy kills.

@mattperson7293

2 жыл бұрын

Let's also not forget that Lindberg didn't want the US to enter the war, didn't want the US to even send aid to Britain and made anti-semetic remarks and was likely a fan of Adolf. He was also not the first person to cross the Atlantic in an airplane.

One of my favorite fighters from world war II. The lightning what a phenomenal fighting platform for our pilots.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

In Wyoming at the nursing home I worked at had a P38 pilot. His stories were awesome.

In 2010 I worked in a p38 lightning pilots House installing flooring he flew reconnaissance in the last year of the war over Germany he gave me a book he wrote and a diecast model of the p38 his name was Thomas Gordon the name of his book was 30 seconds over Berlin a very nice man

@e.a.corral4713

2 жыл бұрын

Have this. Got to look somewhere. My favorite plane.

My father worked for Lockheed producing the P-38. As shown in the video the airplanes were moved outside into two lines for final basic fitting and tweaking. My father was in charge of one of the lines. When an airplane was "finished" an Army Air Corp representative would sign off for the military and my father would sign off for Lockheed. My father said from there they were flown off to war. I recently found that they were most likely flown to Dallas to have additional equipment installed. I think the WWII aircraft were the most beautiful aircraft ever created. Call me biased but I tend to think the P-38 was the best but not by much.

@josepablolunasanchez1283

Жыл бұрын

Any design has advantages and disadvantages. Its large wing surface makes it very good to have lift at high altitude. It was not great for banking, so for turning battles it would be vulnerable. It was fast. So the best use was to fly high, descend, make a pass and go up again, very much like it happens with an F-4 Phantom.

I have always loved your videos, but this one takes the cake. It is even better than previous ones. The timing. The presentation. It is all extremely good!

Easily my favorite aircraft of WW2

Thanks for showing the P-38. My dad flew them in Italy and North Africa. Great to see what they were really like. :)

The P-38 was a super fighter...

@jacktattis

Жыл бұрын

No it was not it was beaten badly by the Germans

This is & will be my favorite fighter from WW2 period ! as a kid from the 50's I always marvel at these planes ! The majestic P-38 Lightning ! & my 2nd would be P-47 that stayed into service well into the Vietnam war .Thanks for the video.

The approach with landig lights till touch down is fantastic.

Beautiful plane.

Hey, thanks for the doc. P-38 is my favourite warbird! Keep them video's coming, much appreciated!

Love the voice, no nonsense dialogue, businesslike. Well done!

My great great grandmother built these! Love the P38

Rex Barber had to do the Yamamoto mission in a barrowed P-38 (Miss Virginia). His plane, Diablo, got three feet of left wing taken off when hitting the superstructure of a Japanese destroyer he was strafing accompanied by some Marine Corps Corsairs several weeks prior. I'm sure he was reprimanded for it, but, was still allowed to fly becuse he was one of the best pilots they had with actual combat experience.

My second favorite fighter of all time. It got Yamamoto!

Thank You!

Красивый самолёт.В далеком 1986 году купил и собрал модель,,Lightning,, В СССР времён ,,холодной войны,, большую часть западных самолётов представляли модели ,,Tempest,, и ,,Tunderbolt,, с декалями.На Р-38 такого не было,раскрашивал вручную.

Strange yet beautiful lines, my all time No.1. favorite aircraft!

Beautiful aircraft! I was always impressed that it had a yoke and not a stick! It had a control wheel like a transport or a light bomber!

I had a model of a P-38 when I was a kid. It was a simple plastic one with a mount that if you glued it right, it would look like it was banking. One of my faves.

I used to see these in the 1960s were still flying then . I remember that tail end going overhead .

Probably my favorite plane of all time

I flew with a guy in Aces High that went by Lightning and exclusively flew the P-38. His dad worked in the factory installing landing gear on the P-38 and met his mother there cause she worked on a component in the wings. He could make that graceful lady dance through the skies.

I remember years ago when at the Chino Arport in So Cal I stood looking up and under one of those things and thinking, this thing is huge!

Shortly before his death, I had the distinct honor of meeting Lt (ret.) Lawrence Graebner, a pilot who fought the Zeros during Operation Vengeance.

0:30 - 409 round per minute? The .50 caliber BMG fired at a rate of 850 rounds/minute. And the P-38 had FOUR of them, in addition to a 20mm cannon.

@MySmokingToaster

2 жыл бұрын

The true rate of fire is around 4000 rounds per minute, but of course not that much ammunition was available.

@Pacheenee7

2 жыл бұрын

.50 BMG is the round, not a gun.

@BogeyTheBear

2 жыл бұрын

14 bullets a second is the metric anyone really needs in this context.

The raid against Yamamoto is talked about in Pierre Clostermann's book "the Sky's Fires. The fuel tanks were built in two days by a shop over in the US, shipped over by air cargo as fast as possible and the mechanics spent a whole night getting them installed. They didnt have the time to partition the inside so the fuel rocked back and forth during the long flight, tiring pilots even more.

I love the P-38 Fantastic plane. Thanks for the video. I just learned a couple things I didn't know before.

Great video! We appreciate all your hard work! Thank you!

Wasn't until 1943, very early in 1943, that Charles Lindbergh actually was in the South Pacific and flew several missions with the P38 and had almost caused an accident when he ran out of fuel on the runway. Overnight he reconfigured the method by which they could make the plane, by trimming the fuel back during long hauls, go twice as far as it was going under military directive and instruction. He even flew the very first mission to prove it. They took the engines apart and found that there was virtually no damage to the engine which the mechanics claimed would certainly occur running it as lean as he claimed he was. That information was used in order to shoot down and kill Yamamoto. A close friend of mine's father was on that mission. And he didn't even find out about it until his father's funeral where the Air Force insisted on sending an honor guard to his funeral and held up the funeral for 2 hours after they found out about it that morning. Every pilot that was on that mission, 18 of them in total. Was honored in pretty much the same fashion. The details of that mission, although some reporters did find out about it was kept secret until well after the war. They did not want the Japanese to know that that plane was capable of round trip missions that exceeded their Zero by several hundred miles.

@ksman9087

8 ай бұрын

Wrong. Lindbergh did not get to the Pacific war until April of 1944. Yamamoto was shot down in April of 1943.

Of all American aircraft built in WW2, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning was far one of most appreciated by many aircraft lovers and pilots who flew it. And it's one of my favorites. Few things to add it into the video. The P-38's design were quite unique compared to other heavy fighters, despite the Focke-Wulf FW 189 and the Savoia-Marchetti SM.91 having the same building type (two long nacelles housing the engines connected into the pilot's cockpit). Still, one of the problems occurred to the P-38 was the high speed compressibility issue - a problem when the air mass accumulated in the aircraft's horizontal flight controls, becoming it inoperative - forcing the pilots to choose between bailing out or regaining the controls. Kelly Johnson solved this issue by installing dive flaps underneath the wings for the P-38J and L models. And, as a bomber escort plane and bomber, the P-38 proved to be troubling for the Americans, especially after the bombing raids over Germany, Italy and Romania. Still, it proved to be an incredible aircraft during the initial combats in WW2 (although the results varied for a series of factors like pilots and aircraft performance) and in the Pacific Theater. Also, Robin Olds was one of the few American aces in the European Theater to score downed BF 109s in his P-38 Lightning - the Scat III, and his plane almost crashed when he forgot to use the main fuel tanks after jettisoning his external fuel tanks; and Louis Edward Curdes (the US pilot who shot down an American plane) scored his first German down planes and an Italian Macchi C.202 in North Africa - also, flying a P-38 Lightning.

@ABQRT

11 ай бұрын

In my years of working in the medical field and WW2 Vets I'd mention the P-38 as my father-in-law was 9th USAAF, 474th FG, 428th FS, he was a specialist for the turbo superchargers and also would go forward with a the group to seek new forward bases to support Patton. Everyone of the combat Vets I spoke with either ETO or ATO stated they loved the sound of the P-38 and knowing it was coming to help them.

@jacktattis

8 ай бұрын

It was never solved because in Jun 44 at Wright field its ILDS was still only 420mph

I remember the thrill of seeing a p 38 in the sky near cwa where i grew up . One of Howards achievements.

Always loved this airplane. One of the best strike airplanes for it's time ever.

Many years ago I attended an air show put on by the Confederate Air Force in San Marcos Texas. I was always intrigued by the P38, but when it flew over then took off straight up, that blew me away. It's like it never stalled out. Damn, what a plane.

A plane that was ahead of its Time! Always my favorite ww2 fighter! It's a work of art! The nose guns always impressed me!

@harcovanhees394

Жыл бұрын

Check out the Fokker G1. It was ready in 1936

@derektaylor6389

3 ай бұрын

the mosquito could out fly out gun it and out manovour it

My favorite! Also RIP Robin Olds.

The P-38 Lightning is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever produced. Even today, when you see them fly in air shows, it's the most beautiful planes ever! It was so advanced for it's time, AXIS pilot's were stunned when they saw them in action in dog fights and straffing runs. Many pilot's loved the YOKE (steering wheel) design rather than the normal 'stick" configuration. The yoke made the plane very easy to fly, especially in dog fights when in the hands of a skilled pilot who used the plane to it's fullest potential. The P-38 was an absolutely devasating machine that could easily sheer a wing right off of a plane using it's cannon and 50 caliber machine guns. The pilot just had to literally point the aircraft at whatever he wanted to destroy and pull the trigger. The P-38 was one of the most accurate aircraft in straffing runs and while in dog fights. They were also used as dive bombers and night fighters to great effect. One version was used as a "tank buster" aircraft using the powerful 20mm center file cannon using incendiary rounds which sheered right through the tank armor light a hot knife going through butter. Many ground targets were destroyed by P-38's. They were used for straffing tanks, trucks, formations of enemy troops on the move, buildings, aircraft on the ground, airfields, and much more. Most pilot's who flew the P-38 said they had a special relationship with their plane. They were that good. Many say it is the best plane they ever flew.

Thank you for another excellent video on aviation history. Your content is impeccably researched, your production values are outstanding and the narrator ties things together smoothly to make this one of the best channels of history on KZread.

@Thomasnmi

2 жыл бұрын

I would say "impeccably researched".

One of the first planes to have engines that used "Twin charging" to boost performance.

Early problems the P-38s had in the E. T. O., is the oil in the Intercooler doors would congealed @ 25,000 ft & the pilot had to fight keeping the engines running which is huge when black crosses show up. The J & L models finally had it together. Fabulous plane.

The P-38 deserves a like... 3-6 part episode on here. Plenty of amazing history to cover