P-38L Marge - WalkAround - NÄT-MAQUETTER

P-38L
Land	Usa
Typ	Stridsflygplan
Ämne	Album av 45 foton gå runt i en «P-38L»

Fotogalleri av en P-38L Marge, Lockheed P-38 Blixt var ett amerikanskt stridsflygplan från andra världskriget byggt av Lockheed.

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P-38L Lightning Walk Around
Fotograf	Michael Benolkin
Lokalisering	Unknow
Bilder	29

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The Ace of Aces and His Lightning

Den P-38L Blixt was the ultimate production version of Kelly Johnson’s twin-engine masterpiece. While the P-38 fought on all fronts, it became a legend in the Pacific. “Marge” was the most famous P-38 of them all—the personal aircraft of Major Richard I. Bong, the United States’ all-time leading ace with 40 confirmed victories. Named after his girlfriend (and future wife), Marge was a P-38L-5-LO that showcased the Lightning’s terrifying speed and concentrated nose-mounted firepower that decimated Japanese aircraft from the Philippines to Papua New Guinea.

Attribute	Technical Specification (P-38L)
Roll	Heavy Fighter / Long-Range Interceptor
besättning	1 (Pilot)
Engines	2 × Allison V-1710-111/113 liquid-cooled V12s (1,475 hp each)
Maximum Speed	666 km/h (414 mph) at 25,000 ft
Climb Rate	14.1 m/s (2,780 ft/min)
Main Armament	1 × 20 mm Hispano M2 cannon & 4 × .50 cal Browning M2 MGs
Secondary Load	Up to 1,450 kg (3,200 lbs) of bombs or 10 × 5-inch rockets
Combat Range	2,100 km (1,300 miles) with drop tanks

Design Engineering: The Twin-Boom Advantage

Concentrated Nose Fire: Unlike most fighters where guns are in the wings (requiring “convergence”), the P-38’s guns were all in the nose. This meant no convergence was necessary; if a pilot could see the enemy in the sights, they could hit them at any range from 50 yards to 500 yards.
Counter-Rotating Props: To eliminate the “torque” that pulls single-engine planes to one side during takeoff, the P-38’s propellers rotated in opposite directions. This made the Lightning an exceptionally stable gun platform.
The P-38L “L” Factor: The L-model introduced power-boosted ailerons and dive flaps. Earlier P-38s suffered from “compressibility” in high-speed dives, where the controls would lock up. The dive flaps on the “L” allowed pilots to pull out of high-speed dives safely.
Turbo-Superchargers: Mounted on the top of the booms, these allowed the P-38 to maintain incredible power at high altitudes, far above the effective ceiling of many Japanese interceptors.

Operational History: Lightning Strikes Twice

Operation Vengeance: The P-38’s long range made it the only fighter capable of the mission to intercept Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s transport in 1943, flying a 1,000-mile round trip over the Pacific.
Richard Bong’s Score: Major Bong achieved all 40 of his kills in the P-38. He preferred “Marge” for its updated hydraulic boosters and the extra power of the 1,600 hp (war emergency) Allison engines.
The “Fork-Tailed Devil”: This was the nickname given to the P-38 by German Luftwaffe pilots (der Gabelschwanz-Teufel) because of its unique shape and the fact that its liquid-cooled engines were relatively quiet compared to radial-engine fighters like the P-47.
A Master of All Trades: The P-38 was so versatile it was used as a bomber (the “Droopsnoot”), a photo-reconnaissance plane (the F-5), and even a night fighter with a radar pod.