P-38 in the Pacific
The P-38 Lightning represented a brilliant design which endured for the duration of World War II, operating in every major theatre, and countless battles, both major and minor (Stanaway, 1997). In this paper, I will outline the capabilities and design of this machine, as well as its impact on various theatres of World War II, including homeland defensive operation, the European Theatre, and the Pacific Theatre.
The genesis of the P-38 occurred in 1935, with a design requirement for a pursuit aircraft set forth by Lt. Benjamin Kelsey and Lt. Gordon Seville. These two futurist officers realized that the current restrictions for the design of pursuit aircraft would be laughably inadequate to meet the demands of shooting down …show more content…
These islands, which extend in an arc from Alaska to eastern Russia, represented a minor, but critical campaign. During World War II, small parts of these islands were invaded and occupied by Japanese forces, hoping to divert American forces from the Midway Atoll. The P-38s stationed there, although limited in number, proved their worth by flying extremely long range patrols across the island chain. On 9 August 1942, a P-38 patrol of the 343rd Fighter Group happened upon a pair of Japanese flying boats, and destroyed them with no damage in return. This marked the first kills of the P-38 in any …show more content…
These patrols demonstrated the ability of the Lightning to conduct long range patrols over water, so setting the stage for later uses. For now, however, there was a growing need for bomber escorts in the North African campaign. Unfortunately, the P-38s stationed there operated under a pair of severe disadvantages. First and most prominently, there was a shortage of P-38s all around (Cate, 1950). This reduced the size of friendly formations, leading to great mismatches when the Germans sortied against them. Secondly, the American pilots had just entered the war, and so were inexperienced, while the Germans were highly trained and highly experienced. The P-38s of this campaign suffered their most lopsided kill ratio of the war, with one air battle claiming 13 Lightning’s, with no enemy destroyed. The fighting in the North African theatre lasted until the second quarter of 1943. By this time Tunisia was being cut off from supplies from Sicily and beyond. The P-38 acquitted itself well in this role, downing over 100 transport aircraft carrying needed supplies to the beleaguered Germans (Richards, 2007). In May 1943 the last German hold outs had surrendered, and so the North African campaign ended. The P-38s which had been thrown through the wringer now moved on to engage the “soft underbelly” of the Axis Powers,
The P-38 Lightning represented a brilliant design which endured for the duration of World War II, operating in every major theatre, and countless battles, both major and minor (Stanaway, 1997). In this paper, I will outline the capabilities and design of this machine, as well as its impact on various theatres of World War II, including homeland defensive operation, the European Theatre, and the Pacific Theatre.
The genesis of the P-38 occurred in 1935, with a design requirement for a pursuit aircraft set forth by Lt. Benjamin Kelsey and Lt. Gordon Seville. These two futurist officers realized that the current restrictions for the design of pursuit aircraft would be laughably inadequate to meet the demands of shooting down …show more content…
These islands, which extend in an arc from Alaska to eastern Russia, represented a minor, but critical campaign. During World War II, small parts of these islands were invaded and occupied by Japanese forces, hoping to divert American forces from the Midway Atoll. The P-38s stationed there, although limited in number, proved their worth by flying extremely long range patrols across the island chain. On 9 August 1942, a P-38 patrol of the 343rd Fighter Group happened upon a pair of Japanese flying boats, and destroyed them with no damage in return. This marked the first kills of the P-38 in any …show more content…
These patrols demonstrated the ability of the Lightning to conduct long range patrols over water, so setting the stage for later uses. For now, however, there was a growing need for bomber escorts in the North African campaign. Unfortunately, the P-38s stationed there operated under a pair of severe disadvantages. First and most prominently, there was a shortage of P-38s all around (Cate, 1950). This reduced the size of friendly formations, leading to great mismatches when the Germans sortied against them. Secondly, the American pilots had just entered the war, and so were inexperienced, while the Germans were highly trained and highly experienced. The P-38s of this campaign suffered their most lopsided kill ratio of the war, with one air battle claiming 13 Lightning’s, with no enemy destroyed. The fighting in the North African theatre lasted until the second quarter of 1943. By this time Tunisia was being cut off from supplies from Sicily and beyond. The P-38 acquitted itself well in this role, downing over 100 transport aircraft carrying needed supplies to the beleaguered Germans (Richards, 2007). In May 1943 the last German hold outs had surrendered, and so the North African campaign ended. The P-38s which had been thrown through the wringer now moved on to engage the “soft underbelly” of the Axis Powers,