XP-38A prototype aircraft in flight, 1940-1942

Caption     XP-38A prototype aircraft in flight, 1940-1942 ww2dbase
Photographer    Unknown
Source    ww2dbaseUnited States Air Force
More on...   
P-38 Lightning   Main article  Photos  
Added By C. Peter Chen
Licensing  Public Domain. According to the United States copyright law (United States Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105), in part, "[c]opyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government".

Please contact us regarding any inaccuracies with the above information. Thank you.




Did you enjoy this photograph or find this photograph helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Share this photograph with your friends:

 Facebook
 Reddit
 Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds


Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Commenter identity confirmed Bill says:
17 Aug 2010 11:31:25 AM

The Lockheed P-38 made its first flight in
September, 1940. When the design for the
P-38 was put down on paper in 1936, with speeds toward 400mph, the Boeing P26 was
the USAAC's first-line fighter.

The "peashooter" as it was nicknamed was an radial engine, open cockpit, wire braced monoplane with fixed landing gear, with a
maximum speed of 234mph, and armed with two
.30 caliber machine guns.
2. Commenter identity confirmed Bill says:
20 Apr 2011 10:26:12 AM

The P-38 would have its weapons centrally
mounted in the nose w/4x50cal.machine guns w/500rpg and 1x20mmcannon w/150rounds.
As a fighter-bomber the P-38 could also carry
up to two tons of bombs.
3. Commenter identity confirmed Bill says:
21 Apr 2011 06:22:30 PM

One Hundred and Fifty, or Sixty Rounds, that is the question? Some sources say the
20mm cannon drum magazine held 150rounds, other sources say the drum magazine held 60rounds.
The bendix Mk II, 20mm cannon used by the US Navy looked like the same type of drum magazine used on the P-38, just wanted to clear this up.



























































4. Commenter identity confirmed Bill says:
22 Apr 2011 12:43:49 PM

MORE SHOP TALK:

XP-38 mockup mounted 2x50cal. machine guns
w/200rpg and 2x30cal. machine guns w/500rpg
plus 1x23mm cannon w/15rounds.
Experiments with a 1x37mm cannon w/15 rounds was tested, but never put into production aircraft.
In March 1941 the P-38 Lightning was set at
4x50.cal machine guns w/500rpg and 1x20mm
cannon w/150rounds.

Photographs of the P-38 Glacier Girl show a
60 round drum magazine this would give about
six or seven seconds firing time for the
20mm cannon.
The 60 round drum magazine was used briefly before the 150 round magazine and feed system was installed. I would think the 60
round drum magazine on the P-38 was very limited in firing time, it probably wasn't used long operationally.

Did You Know...

In 1934 the US Government's sale of the
Fifty Caliber Browning M-2 Machine gun to
Japan, the Japanese scaled up this design to
20mm model HO5.
Six years later, the US bought the rights to
manufacture the Hispano-Suzia 20mm cannon.
5. Commenter identity confirmed Bill says:
22 Apr 2011 05:36:48 PM

PICKUP THAT BRASS!

Where did all that brass go? when the pilot
fired his guns, the empty shells (brass to
any GI) were expended with links from four chutes in the P-38s nose.
The 20mm cannon shells were bigger, and if ejected would be to close to the propellers
and could cause damage to the fuselage or engines, they were emptyed into a brass catcher and later removed by the ground crew
6. Commenter identity confirmed Bill says:
22 Apr 2011 07:36:44 PM

BEFORE L.A. BECAME A GREAT BIG FREEWAY:

Photograph taken over 1940s Los Angeles,Ca.
before it became a great big freeway.
During World War II Los Angeles would become
a "Boom Town" the area grew faster then any other city in the United States.
GI's who were stationed or processed through on their way to oversea duty, would return settled down and built post-war civilian lives.
People who traveled to California to work would do the same after WWII, Cities like
Costa Mesa, Irvine didn't exist before the war and San Bernardino was in the "Sticks"
thats in the country.
I remember riding my bike down a wide dirt road, in each direction that was being built and would later become a section of the Santa Monica Freeway.
Between July 1941 to August 1945 Lockheed
built 19,000 aircraft, and by 1945 about
23 P-38s left the assembly lines every day
thats about one every hour!

All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Email
 Your email will not be published
Comment Type
Your Comments
 

Notes:

1. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB.

2. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ.

Search WW2DB
Famous WW2 Quote
"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue."

Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, 16 Mar 1945


Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!