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WORLD WAR TWO P-38 LIGHTNING

Ar
In the Pacific, during early operational
evaluation of the P-38, some examples
were converted into crude night-fighters
to contend with high-flying Mitsubishi G4M
Betty bombers. The Lightning would ride the
wing of a radar-equipped Douglas P-70 (a
modified A-20 Havoc light bomber) until a
Betty was located
46 FLYPAST August 2016

Corps
Cadillac of the

Lockheeds P-38 was adapted as a two-seat night-fighter for the


Pacific theatre. Warren E Thompson describes its evolution

larence Kelly Johnson and


Hall Livingstone Hibbard
designed an exceptionally
versatile aircraft when they
formulated the Lockheed P-38
Lightning. Two versions were fitted
with a glazed nose and equipped
with a Norden bombsight or
H2X radar: the P-38J Pathfinder
and P-38L Droop Snoot, both
of which served in the European
theatre.
In the Pacific, during early
operational evaluation of the P-38,
some examples were converted into
crude night-fighters to contend with
high-flying Mitsubishi G4M Betty
bombers. The Lightning would ride
the wing of a radar-equipped Douglas
P-70 (a modified A-20 Havoc light

bomber) until a Betty was located.


If the enemy was beyond the service
ceiling of the P-70, the P-38 would
climb to engage. Other P-38s worked
with searchlights under the wing; but
both of these tactics were short-lived.
A dedicated night-fighter was
urgently needed and in 1943 three
manufacturers started to develop
what they hoped would be a solution:
Northrop with the P-61 Black
Widow, Grumman the F7F-3N
Tigercat and Lockheed the P-38M
Night Lightning. North American
also began work on the P-82 Twin
Mustang but this did not reach its
goal until the early days of the Korean
War. It was the P-61 that showed
the most promise and it entered full
production.

Cramped two-seater

LEFT

The P-38M was kept in the


running and in March 1945 the
first Night Lightnings started to be
modified at the Lockheed facility
in Dallas, Texas. In order to install
an SCR-540 radar, two of the 0.50
calibre machine guns were deleted.
Early testing proved that such a
configuration was ineffective. It was
too much for the pilot to handle night-fighting was a two-man job.
This led to Lockheed turning
P-38L 44-25237 into a two-seater
with a radar operator (R/O) under
a bulged canopy in a raised section
positioned directly behind the pilot.
This was a cramped office and
the crewman had to be short and
slender.

Close-up of the radar


mounted under the
nose of a P-38M.
LOCKHEED

BELOW LEFT

Freshly painted P-38Ms


on the flight line of
the Hammer Field,
California. GARRY PAPE

August 2016 FLYPAST 47

WORLD WAR TWO P-38 LIGHTNING


RIGHT

A P-38M in flight showing


the cramped R/Os
cockpit, under-wing radar
aerials and nose-mounted
radar pod. LOCKHEED
BOTTOM

A three-ship formation
out of Hammer Field,
California, in September
1945. GENE HEIDER

The radar operator had to sit all hunched over his scope without room to
stretch out or move around. It was nothing like the spacious radar compartment
in a Black Widow

48 FLYPAST August 2016

Col Victor M Mahr was


commander of the high-scoring 6th
Night Fighter Squadron (NFS) in
the Pacific. This unit was the first
to receive P-61As, on March 1,
1944. Mahr was deeply involved in
the evolution of the P-38M Night
Lightning. He recalled: We used
a number of different types of 38s
to start with. The original models
had a makeshift seat for the R/O. If
I recall, it wasnt even a seat, he just
sat on a portion of the wing and his
feet hung over the main spar.
The M-model was a P-38L that
was modified with a double-bubble
[twin canopy] on it, and of course,
manoeuvre flaps which we used on

many occasions. When asked how


I would I rank the Ms combat
potential with that of the P-61, the
Black Widow had four 20mm cannon
and the M had only 0.50 calibre
guns and one cannon, but the Night
Lightning carried a wide variety of
armament, rockets, bombs etc.
Also, the M had a performance
much better than the P-61 as far as
climbing, top speed, and we used
our P-38s at times, in Fresno, to
chase Japanese balloons that they
had sent over as our radar would
vector us into it. The P-38 could
out-climb the P-61 and get up to
the kind of altitudes that the Betty
flew in

Lt David Hopwood, one of the


top-timers in the night-fighter
business recalled some of the details
in the cockpit area: We didnt have
much room in the aircraft, front
or back. The pilot had a full seat
about as wide as a normal chair.
Everything, such as the instrument
panel throttles and rudder pedals
were up close. The canopy came
right up over your head without
much clearance.
However, compared to the R/O,
we had much more elbow room.
The R/O had to sit all hunched over
his scope without room to stretch
out or move around. It was nothing
like the spacious radar compartment
in a Black Widow. It took a real
dedicated individual to stick it out
on the longer practice missions we
flew not long after the war ended.
In real bad weather these guys took
a beating. I remember that most of
them complained about the excessive
G-forces and all that horsing around
we did. I didnt blame them in the
least; in combat we would have flown
lengthy missions.

TOP LEFT

Lt David Hopwood
was one of the first
airmen to fly the Night
Lightning from Atsugi,
Japan. P-61s in the
background. DAVID
HOPWOOD

ABOVE LEFT

The rear cockpit of a


P-38M was no place for
claustrophobia! A 418th
NFS R/O at Atsugi, 1945.
DAVID HOPWOOD

ABOVE

Lt David Hopwood
(right) and Lt John
Brewer in front of
Brewers Shady Lady.
DAVID HOPWOOD

LEFT

A Hammer Field-based
P-38M training a crew
preparing to deploy to
the Pacific. LOCKHEED

Occupying force

Training crews for P-38Ms started


in earnest in early 1945 with six
pilots and a like number of R/
Os, most of which had combat
experience on the P-61. This group
was gathered at Hammer Field near
Fresno, California, and in the first
instance they trained on specially
adapted two-seat piggy-back
P-38Js. Referred to as TP-38s
August 2016 FLYPAST 49

WORLD WAR TWO P-38 LIGHTNING

The performance and pleasure of flying


the P-38M was much greater than the P-61.
It was a little tougher on the R/O, but the
Lightning was probably the Cadillac of the
Air Corps in those days

ABOVE

The R/Os station in a


P-38M with the shrouded
radar screen to the left.
GARRY PAPE

they had been modified to carry US


Navy APS-4 radar in a pod under
the starboard wing. There was only
a makeshift seat for the R/O. Five
P-38Ms assigned to the programme
finally arrived in early July 1945.
The intention was that Hammer
Field would train as an elite group
on the Night Lightning. These
personnel would go overseas and

lead others into combat. Besides


flying practice intercepts, crews were
sometime scrambled or diverted
from other missions to chase
Japanese bomb-carrying balloons.
The R/Os became proficient in
guiding their pilots; a favourite
occupation being to get in the
landing pattern of nearby Merced
Field and follow training aircraft
right down to final approach.
Training completed, the first group
of eight crews was sent to Salinas,
California, destined for the Pacific
area, but while waiting to ship out
the war ended. Despite this, four

crews (eight men) proceeded to


the Pacific, ending up at Clark Air
Base in the Philippines in October
1945. Four P-38Ms were shipped
on January 7, 1946 and practice
missions started before they were
ferried to Atsugi, Japan, to serve
as part of the force of occupation
within 418th NFS.
Hopwood summed up the P-38M:
The performance and pleasure of
flying the P-38M was much greater
than the P-61. It was a little tougher
on the R/O, but the Lightning was
probably the Cadillac of the Air
Corps in those days.
BELOW

One of the first black-painted P-38Ms. Pictured at


Lockheeds Dallas plant, this one is named Night
Lightning. LOCKHEED

50 FLYPAST August 2016

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