The p38 lightning is a world war ii fighter aircraft made by lockheed. In burbank, california, a lockheed design team led by. The first fully printable airplane with suitable files prepared for your 3dprinter. It must be a pursuit warbird capable of interception and attack at high altitude. The aircrafts target, was a german fockewulf fw200 condor patrol bomber. At the start of world war ii, the lockheed p38 lightning was the fastest american fighter aircraft available. This extensive how to manual shows you how to assemble, detail, paint, apply decals and weather this kit in the proper sequence. Lockheed p38l lightning plans free download aerofred. The lockheed p38 lightning is a twinengined singleseat fighter and fighter bomber aircraft produced by the usamerican manufacturer lockheed corporation. True to its name, the p38 was akin to a force of nature. This is an easy scratch build project, and a great flying model. Lockheed p38 lightning singleseat, twinengine heavy. Air force, the lead service for the aircraft, officially announced the name of the f35.
The p38f saw two significant changes made to the lightning. Get the latest updates on nasa missions, watch nasa tv live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind. First, it was given more powerful engines allison v171049 53s capable of providing 1,325 hp. In 1937, the us army air force expressed a need for a new highaltitude fighter design. I have made a small clip about the lockheed p38 lightning, a military aircraft which was used by the us airforce during the second world war. Lockheed p38 lightning simple english wikipedia, the. Combat flying in the p 38 lightning with the lone eagle charles lindbergh in the pacific. It is an unusual configuration, with the cockpit, weapons and nose landing gear in a central nacelle, and engines, turbochargers, cooling system and main landing gear in outer booms. Its crew had never encountered anything quite like. Weight was kept to a minimum and it was far more advanced and faster than its u. Several lockheed p38 lightning aircraft from world war 2 on runway. In addition to the u2, the a12, and the sr71, they included the p38 lightning, the constellation, the pv2 neptune, the f80 shooting star, the f94 starfire, the f104 starfighter, the b37 ventura, the c hercules, the c140 jetstar. Although its operational record was somewhat mixed, in general the p38 was a fast, powerful and capable aircraft that performed well in a wide range of roles.
By the spring of 1944 all of the problems had been solved and the p38 finally fulfilled its. Mcguire chose to name his aircraft after his wife, marilynn, whom he called pudgy. Lockheed p38m lightning last revised june, 1999 early in 1943, at least two unidentified p38fs were modified in the field by the fifth air force as singleseat night fighters by fitting an scr540 radar with yagi antennae on the nose on both sides of the central nacelle, and above and below the wings. Neither p38 pilots, mechanics, facilities or logistics were prepared to operate efficiently in one of the bitterest european winters on record 194344, he noted. Because of its firepower its speed and the reliability of its twin engines, this versatile advanced design proved one of americas most durable and valuable investments in 1933.
Hibbard and his then assistant, clarence kelly johnson, the twinboomed p 38 was the most innovative plane of its day, combining speed with unheardof advances. Bodie wrote that the lightning should have been converted from allison to merlin power, exactly as was done with the p51. Rectractable and steerable landing gear, flaps and much more. Lockheed p38 lightning 3view lockheed p 38 lightning. Developed for the united states army air corps, the p38 had distinctive twin booms and a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Of all the us fighters of world war two only one continued in production throughout the entire conflict. Lightning ii, in honor of lockheeds world war iiera twinpropeller lockheed p38 lightning for the united states army air forces and the cold warera jet, the english electric lightning for the royal air force.
This prototype 42558 combined a p38g10lo airframe with more powerful 1425 hp v17107577 v1710f15 engines, rated at over 1875 hp war emergency power. During its time, the lockheed p38 lightning was considered the most sophisticated aircraft lockheed had ever built. Lockheed martin f35 lightning ii development wikipedia. Flight characteristics are comparable or even better than classic build model airplanes. He quickly found himself flying a lockheed p 38 lightning against the japanese in the south pacific, scoring his first three victories in august, 1943. The lockheed p38 lightning is a world war iiera american pistonengined fighter aircraft. Upon its official introduction in 1940, the p 38 was capable of climbing to.
Did we get something wrong with these details about this plan especially the datafile. The lockheed company answered the call with their first military airplane, the xp. Army air corps released specification x608, a daunting requirement that called for speed, range, and climb capabilities impossible to achieve at that time with a singleengine aircraft. The pilot in a new american fighter, the p38 lightning, peeled down from the skies over iceland on august14, 1942. The lockheed p38 lightning was one of the most important american fighters of the second world war. In 1937 the army air corps aac put out the bid to the aircraft industry to submit their ideasdesigns for a new aircraft. To use this mod, you must have purchased the p51d 2 unzip the zip file and copy the p38d lightning folder inside the folder c.
It has been downloaded 761 times by fellow modelers from around the world. Developed to a united states army air corps requirement, the p 38 had distinctive twin booms and a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. The real story of lockheed s xp58 chain lightning july 1980. Lockheed p38 lightning and driveable by the cockpit p51d mod for dcs world 1 caution. These helped lockheed maintain the performance of the lightning despite a gradual increase in weight since the original aircraft. Lockheed p38 lightning 52 scale rc model airplane printed. In september 1945, the p38 f5g6lo with serial number 4453254 was dismissed from the air force and registered as civil aircraft n25y by the lilee products co. The lockheed p38 lightning was originally designed as a bomberinterceptor and was never intended to be a fighter. Model builders lockheed p38l lightning lockheed p38l lightning plan 6781 type model rc scale military.
List of surviving lockheed p38 lightnings wikipedia. Lockheed p38j lightning archives this day in aviation. It was the first fighter with sufficient range to make ferry flights across the atlantic. Lockheed p38 lightning, history the lockheed p38 lightning was a world war ii american pistonengined fighter aircraft. P38 lightning developmentthe p38 was originally conceived as an advanced, highperformance twinengine interceptor.
The engines were housed in nacelles similar to those of the p38j and driving broaderchord. Perhaps the best critique of the eto record of the p38 is that by former 20th fg capt. Ben kelsey set a coast to coast record of 7 hours, 48 minutes in the sleek prototype lightning, but crashed while. Developed to a united states army air corps requirement, the p38 had distinctive twin booms and a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament.
Allied propaganda claimed it had been nicknamed the forktailed devil german. The name lightning was believed bestowed on the aircraft by the british who, for a short time, considered the fighter for their own inventory. It was the only usaaf fighter to be in production prior to the start of the war and still in production on vjday, august 15, 1945. Mcguire joined the united states army air corps cadet program in july 1941. The specs called for a top speed of 360 with a climb rate of six minutes from ground to 20,000 ft. Monogram 14 scale p38 lockheed lightning plastic model kit 6848 new sealed. Lockheed p38 lightning specifications technical data.
Tame lightning, flying exhibitions in the p 38 lightning. Part ii of lockheed xp58 story, could it have been the best heavy fighter of wwii. About the lockheed p38 lightning plan this plan is 2. See more ideas about lockheed p 38 lightning, lightning and aircraft. Developed for the united states army air corps, the p 38 had distinctive twin booms and a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. The p38 was a complex aircraft and there were serious problems that prevented it from being the effective high altitude long range fighter that the usaaf needed to defeat the luftwaffe in the run up to dday. Of the 10,037 planes built, 26 survive today, 22 of which are located in the united states, and 10 of which are airworthy. Its drag was so low that the thicker lower air often not always, some pilots did survive compressibility dives in p38s did not have enough effect for the pilot to regain control in time. The way in which the p38 differed was in its extremely clean streamlined design.
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