Royal Australin Air Force RAAF A-55 LOCKHEED P-38 LIGHTNING The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was one of Americas outstanding fighters of World War II. It was slower and less manoeuvrable than the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and the North American P-51 Mustang, but its offensive reputation was second to none: so much so that the Luftwaffe referred to the Lightning as der gabel-schwanz tenfel or, the forked-tailed devil. Design work on the Lightning began in 1937 and the prototype XP-38 first flew on 27 Jan 39. Improved versions followed and by Aug 45, a total of 9,923 Lightnings had been built. Throughout the war years, the Lightning served in many areas in a wide variety of roles, but it was particularly successful in the Pacific theatre where its long-range and twin-engined capabilities proved to be most effective. In order to meet an urgent RAAF requirement for photographic reconnaissance, three P-38Es were transferred from the USAAC for service with No 1 PRU. The first Lightning, A55-1, was received on August 31 1942, and operated successfully until it was written-off in a landing accident on August 2 1944 at Coomallie Strip. The second aircraft, A55-2 had a less spectacular career and operated only between 4 Sep 42 and 18 Dec 42, and was phased out of service on the latter date. The third Lightning, A55-3 was received from the USAF at Eagle Farm on February 27 1943 and operated throughout the year until it was written-off in a wheels-up landing on December 10 1943. Actually, the P-38E was not designed as a PR aircraft, but circumstances caused it to be used in this role by the RAAF. TECHNICAL DATA: (Lockheed P-38E Lightning) DESCRIPTION: Twin-engined, high-altitude, long-range, single seat fighter. Modified by the RAAF for PR missions. POWER PLANT: Two, 1,150 hp Allison V-1710-27/29. DIMENSIONS: Span, 52 ft; length, 37 ft 10 ins; height, 9ft 10 ins. WEIGHTS: Empty, 11,880 lb; loaded, 15,482 lb. PERFORMANCE: Max speed, 395 mph. Climb, 3,000 ft/min. Service ceiling, 39,000 ft. Range 500 miles. ARMAMENT: PR cameras substituted for one 20 mm cannon and four 0.50 in guns.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 13:32:13 +0000
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