20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Hard to believe, but it was 20 years ago that we began the P-38 Association, an organization dedicated to making sure that the memory of the WWII fighter, the P-38 Lockheed Lightning, was kept alive and thriving.

To celebrate, we've decided to hold a get together in Las Vegas this November, in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the USAF and the Nellis Air Show.  We're throwing the doors open to anyone who would like to attend.  You can read the complete details on our website at this page.
 

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE P-38

Exiting news.  John Stanaway, who has written so many tremendous books about the P-38, has agreed to come on board and write a monthly column for this newsletter. I have never known someone who knows as much about our favorite aircraft as John does about the 38.  He has also been the official Historian for the P-38 National Association for many years, and he's been very helpful in answering the many interesting questions we've received over the years about the Lightning.

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’38 HARDSTAND
by John Stanaway

Okay, now I have a forum to offer proof that the P-38 was the premier American fighter of World War II. Also, I can offer anecdotes and bits of information about our beloved Lockheed Lightning that could have some interest for those of us who are daffy about the “Fork-Tailed Devil.” Others may have their differing views about other fine fighter types, but this is our little dais.

Perhaps a good place to start is to answer the question of which sub-type was the best. I offer the proposition that the P-38J-25-Lo was the finest of the lot, and would have proven the preeminence of the P-38 had it been offered in larger numbers some months before it was sent to the 9th Air Force in Europe late in the summer of 1944. The J-25 was not only the fastest of all P-38s with a top speed around 420 mph (430 mph with war emergency water injection) but it was the first to incorporate power-assisted ailerons and compressibility thwarting dive brakes. I have heard of no tests comparing the J-25 with opposing captured German types, but Lockheed crowed in its press releases that the new brakes allowed the P-38 to out dive anything except the Me 163 rocket fighter. Our friend and 13th Air Force ace, George Chandler, claims that one key element of fighter combat was the rolling plane, and that the new power ailerons probably gave the P-38 a decided edge. Some comments on P-38 websites claim that the late model ailerons made the Lockheed the fastest rolling airplane of the war.

Even without the newer modifications the P-38 was the most demanded American fighter by commanders in the field as late as January 1944. Priority was afforded to the European and Mediterranean theaters to the detriment of the Aleutians, China-Burma-India and South Pacific areas, where the P-38 would enjoy its most pronounced ascendancy. One major European theater commander is quoted as saying that if the P-38 had been as successful in Northwestern Europe as it had been in other areas it would have been the hands down greatest American fighter of the war.

The J-25 was more than 740 pounds lighter than the L model, which was beefed up for ground attack duty. Also, the J-25 retained the P-38’s chief asset throughout its operational life, that is, its breathtaking climb, especially in the zoom, which astounded pursuing enemy pilots who tried to bounce a Lightning only to find it close behind in the pullout.

Pilots who flew the P-38 in combat are often indifferent to the notion that the J-25 was much superior to other models. But then, the 105 operational examples of the subtype were largely allocated to the tactical 9th Air Force which flew the altitude-rated J-25 mostly on ground attack missions!