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Representing Lockheed's first fighteraircraft project, the twin-engine, twinboomLockheed P-38 Lightning wasdesigned to meet a 1937 requirementfor a high-altitude interceptor. Firstflown on 27 January 1939, the XP-38was followed by production P-38s withnose armament of one 37-mm and four12.7-mm (0.5-in) guns and powered byAllison V-1710-27/29 engines; their topspeed of 628 km/h (390 mph) was greaterthan any other twin-engine fighterin 1941. The first version to be consideredfully operational was the P-38D,however, and this was reachingsquadrons at the time of Pearl Harbor.The first of an order for 143 aircraft forthe RAF arrived in the UK in December1941, but after evaluation the Lightningwas rejected (on account of a banimposed on the export of turbochargers)and the contract cancelled. Inthe USAAF the P-38D was followed bythe P-38E, in which the 37-mm cannonwas replaced by a 20-mm weapon.The P-38F, with provision for up to a907-kg (2,000-lb) bombload under thewings, was followed by the P-38G withminor equipment changes; the P-38Hcould carry up to 1452 kg (3,200 lb) ofbombs. In the P-38J (of which 2,970were produced) the radiators were locatedin deep 'chin' fairings immediatelyaft of the propellers; withmaximum external fuel load this versionhad an endurance of about 12hours, and it was in this model of theP-38 that America's top scoring fighterpilot of the war, Major Richard I. Bong,gained the majority of his 40 victories.The P-38L was the most-built version (atotal of 3,923) and differed from theP-38J only in having -111/113 engines inplace of the -89/9 Is previously used.Photo-reconnaissance conversions,the F-4 and F-5, were also widely usedin Europe and the Far East. Productionof all Lightnings totalled 9,394.SpecificationLockheed P-38L LightningType: single-seat fighter/fighterbomberPowerplant: two 1100-kW(l,475-hp)Allison V-1710-111/113 V-12 pistonenginesPerformance: maximum speed666 km/h (414 mph) at 7620 m(25,000 ft); climb to 6095 m (20,000 ft) in7,0 minutes; service ceiling 13410 m(44,000 ft); range 724 km (450 miles)Weights: empty 5806 kg (12,800 lb);maximum take-off 9798 kg (21,600 lb)Dimensions: span 15.85 m (52 ft 0 in);length 11,52 m (37 ft 10 in); height2.99 m (9 ft 10 in); wing area 30.42m2(327.5 sq ft)Armament: one 20-mm and four 12.7-mm (0.5-in) guns in the nose, plus abombload of up to two 726-kg( 1,600-Ib) bombs under the wings
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