Flightdeck Friday: P-38 Lightning Edition (Part I)
OK, so it’s back onto the (Air)bus with the rest of the sardines and head back to Occupied Territory after a week of TDY near the Rockies’ Front Range.
Presently researching a (near) future post that includes the events surrounding an engagement between 22 P-38J’s of the 474th Fighter Group temporarily based at St Marceau, France and more than 80 German fighters near Beauvais, France on 25 Aug 1944. Would appreciate any leads someone may have out there on this particular engagement. In the meantime, a couple of items to whet your appetite:
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…oh yes, for the observer corps out there – what’s wrong with the second video?
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Counter rotatin’ noise makers- 38 no gottem.
Or rather, paddles went t’other way round… 🙁
CW:
The RAF Lightnings (Model 322) were the only version not counter-rotating (both engines were right-hand), and the P-38K was a trial bird (two actually) that fitted the paddle-blade prop from the P-47 to improve its climb capabilities.
ALCON:
Long time reader Rich R. provided the discontinuity offline — can’t have a 1944 variant/D-Day invasion striped P-38 knocking about the European skies in 1944…
– SJS
SJS: D-Day 06 Jun 44. Combat: 25 Aug 44. Can’t have invasion striped aircraft then? According to Wiki, J, K, L models were in theater; K was introduced a year prior to the month (1943)…. But what does an old Boat Guy know? 😯
{Edit: fat fingered the “kilo”; disregard; out}
{Edit: fat fingered the “kilo”; disregard; second repeater to read “Juliet”; out}
CW
Yep — you are right, my bust.
Part 1 video I caught on another site left me thinking it was 1943 vice 44. Guess my next stop is Beltone…. 😳
ob. the “K”:
There were two P-38Ks developed in 1942–1943, one official and one an internal Lockheed experiment. . . .However, the War Production Board refused to authorize P-38K production due to the two- to three-week interruption in production necessary to implement cowling modifications for the revised spinners and higher thrust line.[44] Some doubted Allison’s ability to deliver the F15 engine in quantity.[45] As promising as it had looked, the P-38K project came to a halt.(Lightning Reference
– SJS
I can assist you with any questions you may have on the 25 Aug 44 dogfight involving 23 (not 22) P-38s of the 474th FG. I have researched this particular fight in great detail since my father was one of the 11 P-38s shot down on that mission (he was taken POW) and I am also the historian for the 474th FG Association. There were approximately 75 German fighters involved (Bf109G-14s and Fw-190A-8s). To date, I have identified about half of the German pilots in that fight and even correspond with one of the Fw-190 pilots still living today. Let me know what you are looking for. Cheers, Gary Koch
Gary:
Thanks and am definitely interested. Passed you a note offline.
w/r, SJS