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Hello P-38 Fans:
If you're new to the "P-38 Lightning
Newsletter"...welcome. For the rest of us who are eager to get reading,
press on.
Blue skies,
Kelly
If you're not receiving a copy of this in your email box, you can begin by signing up here.
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IN THIS EDITION
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A New, Airworthy P-38?
Pacific Flyer editor, Wayman Dunlap, sent us this interesting article about a
P-38 enthusiast who is attempting to build a flyable P-38 from scratch.
You can read about it
here.
High Altitude Heroics
If you guys like a good war story, here's
a recently printed excerpt from the book "The Last Great Ace" about P-38 Ace
Thomas McGuire.
Talk about your quick thinking. Better have a look quick because the
excerpt is from an online newspaper and they tend to "move on" to the next story
fairly quickly.
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New Photos
We received a new, fun photo for the "You
Might Just Love the P-38" section of the website from Aileen Lim, whose
father was Chief, 4th Photo Tech Unit.
Have a look here. (It's near the
bottom of the page.)
 Absolutely
beautiful shot of the P-38. There was no photo credit, but you can view the
larger photo
here.
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The Rearview Mirror
Check out the
archives if you've missed past topics.
Watch those Runaway Props!
On normal take-offs we use no flaps but
we do use, always, maximum allowable manifold pressure. To do this, brakes are
held with the balls of the feet, rather than with the toes, and both throttles
are advanced to get the boost up. This precaution at the head of the
runway is important, for it gets those turbos tuning for take-off power and also
allows the prop to reach the governing limit of 3,000 RPM at the start of the
run. Thus we know if the propellers are going to "run wild" while
there is still time to stop
With the maximum manifold pressure and
without flaps the P-38 takes off at
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TO
ENLARGE
between 90 to 110 MPH. Due to the
tricycle gear the ship has no tendency to fly itself, so at 70 MPH we ease the
stick back and at 90-110 MPH pull back to break ground. The gear is upped
immediately and the ship is committed to flight, by which time we will be well
above the single engine flying speed of 120. Normal take-offs are made without
flaps in order to reach this single-engine operation quickly.
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Gulp!
 Are any of you
P-38 fans out there interested in RC (radio controlled) models? Well,
this one
built from a kit has a 100" wingspan and apparently just sold for $4,300.
Air Show Season Already?
OK, it's not really an
air show. The
Heritage Conference allows
civilian and Air Combat Command demonstration pilots to train together for the
upcoming spring and summer air show season. This one will
have a P-38 in attendance, and will be going from March 4-9 at Davis-Monthan
Air Force Base in Arizona. Unfortunately,
because it's not an air show, the base will not be open to the general public,
but anyone who has authorized access to the base is welcome to visit a viewing
area set up at Base Operations. (And I guess nothing prevents you from legally
parking within eyeshot of the Base for some civilian access.)
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Good Info Sources
This
blog has some good basic
info on the P-38 and a couple of nice photos.
This site also has some good basic info on our favorite plane, along with
some good links.
Warbird Digest has a good and lengthy article this month on "Ruff Stuff," the recently
renovated P-38 owned by Ron Fagen
Lost Another One of the Good Guys
Sadly, we lost another one of our P-38
Association members this past month, and since we found
a nice write up
about him online, I thought I'd share it with the group if you'd like to read
about Tom Yarwood.
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A Little Conversation
We received an email from Bill Trueba,
one of our readers, about a website called "Planes and Pilots of WWII" which
he indicates has been endorsed by the AAF Historical Research Division at
Maxwell AFB.
There are quite a few articles about the P-38 (pros and cons in the opinion of
the writers), but one article in particular about the P-38K I felt was worthy of
passing on to our Historian, John Stanaway, for comment or verification. This is what he had to say:
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"This is news to me. I had always thought
that the P-38K was a one off experiment to give the P-38 a pressurized cockpit.
I think the real irony is that the P-38J-25 was never used in high-altitude
combat when it was the best performing Allison powered P-38. Since you sent the
inquiry I have tried to find whatever I could in my sources with little success;
there is only a note or two in passing. Perhaps it would be worth investigation."
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Why We're Here
This is a
short excerpt from an article I recently
read somewhere in an online newspaper. It paints such a beautiful picture
of the younger generation's interest in classic aircraft that I wanted to share
it. It's also a nice lead-in to why we will be launching a "Junior
Membership" program soon in the P-38 Association. I'll keep you posted as
details develop. |
See the Movie - Meet the
P-38 Pilot!
Residents near the town
of Holy Cross Village, South Bend Indiana will have a chance in March to
watch a film and meet the P-38 pilot whose story it tells.
If you live in the area,
you should take advantage of this rare opportunity. It'll be happening at 2pm on
March 7.
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Website Focus
Visit us on the web. Here's a sample of one of our current website sections:
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Over the years there have been an amazing number of songs and poems written
about the P-38. This page of our website will let you know about the ones
we've heard of. If you've heard of others, definitely
let us know! RETURN TO TOP |
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Briefing Room Follow-up
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NOTE: A couple of people have sent us emails via
our "Briefing Room" form that
require a personal response, but they did not leave their email address or
contact info. (If you sent a question about Dick Murphey, you're one of
the people we couldn't reach.) Feel free to contact us
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P-38 Hardstand
By John Stanaway
[EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a continuation of John's series
on Photo Recon Squadrons, which he began in the
November newsletter.]
The final installment of the four
reconnaissance squadrons selected to survey the scope of P-38/F-4 and F-5
activity in every major theater is perhaps the most typical and important of
all. When the 3rd Reconnaissance Group was activated in June 1942 it was
destined to become the eyes of the first Allied offensive thrust against the
European Axis in the Mediterranean, and eventually saw service in every major
campaign until the surrender of German forces in Italy.
One of the squadrons that served throughout the 3rd Reconnaissance Group’s
operational life in the Mediterranean was the 12th Photographic Reconnaissance
Squadron. The 12th started life in May 1942 with the 2nd Photo Group in Colorado
Springs, Colorado, and later (June ’42) joined the 3rd in time to prepare for
deployment to Casablanca during Operation Torch in November.
In addition to P-38s, F-4s and F-5s the 12th also used Spitfire Reconnaissance
in 1942-43 and A-20 (F-3) and B-25 (F-7) during 1944 – 45. After the North
African campaign was completed the 12th was based on Sicily, Sardinia and Malta
until it was permanently based in Italy after December 1943. Strategic and
tactical mission were mounted to assist planning of ground operations as well as
direct aid to such campaigns as Anzio and Monte Cassino.
The 12th participated in the Dragoon landings on Southern French beaches in
August 1944 when the entire 3rd Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation
for its sterling work on August 28. Operations continued up the Italian
peninsula until the squadron was stationed at Pomigliano, Italy through
September 1045.
Combat operations continued until May 3, 1945. The squadron was inactivated on
September 12, 1945 with its components returning home after yeoman service
throughout the Mediterranean campaign.
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Bill Behrns
P-38 pilot with the 459th "Twin Dragon" Sq.
in Burma.
Mark Maughmer
Mark's uncle was Royal Frey, a P-38 pilot
with the 20th FG in England (8th AF).
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JOIN
TODAY |
These prices are good from now until the
March newsletter is emailed.
Small scale "HOTWINGS" Model
$5
(Regularly $6)
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