Can anyone verify this ? I have heard that the pilots of a number of US fighter squadrons were so unhappy with their P-38 Lightnings, that it was necessary for a Lockheed test pilot to come to England and demonstrate the features of the plane. It seems that whislt these pilots were standing on the flight line with the test pilot, a Bomber Command Mosquito flew low over the field and then immediatley came back with one engine feathered and did a full barrel roll at about 500 feet. It seems that the American pilots then said that they wanted an aircraft that could that, whereupon the test pilot got into the Lightning, took off, feathered an engine and started a barrel roll, only to have the -38 fly straight into the ground.
I have not heard that story however the early P-38's were not good aircraft to fight in. Later models were better for high atitude and the tactic that worked would be to dive and attack and then zoom back up to high atitude. Also some P-38 models had props the turned in opposite directions and others that turned in the same direction. I think the term is handed props. The opposite turning props were easier to handle. I think early P-38's were offered to the RAF but they turned them down due to poor performance.
You are right , my friend, the -38's offered to the RAF were turned down due to their poor performance.............and do you know why ? The US Government was so concerned as to their latest turbo/supercharger technology possibly falling into German hands, that they removed this essential bit of kit from these aircraft. Since, without them the -38 had insufficient power to pull the skin off a rice-pudding, the RAF quite sensibly said no !
Saying the P-38 was not a good aircraft to fight in is a bit of an exageration. As far as haveing left and right handed props. I believe all the US ones except for experimental models did. The ones sent to the RAF to test out didn't.
The Lockheed test pilot who was sent over because of combat pilots' concerns was Tony LeVier: P-38 Lightning Online: Tony LeView There's no evidence for this story. It may have occurred but not with a Lockheed test pilot. The main concerns that the combat pilots had waswith the P-38's dive characteristics. The site is well worth a read for the faults and strengths of the P-38.: P-38 Lightning Online 4.0
The -38 had, like most aircraft, it's strengths and weaknesses, but it is well known that most US pilots preferred either -51's or even -47's. Furthermore, I have heard that one Luftwaffe -190 pilot was credited in bringing down five -38's in just a few minutes. Also, of course, at a time when it wanted to get modern fighters onto it's establishment, the RAF did reject the -38 in favour of accepting Allison engined -51's, which has just got to be a sign of how the RAF viewed Lightnings. Mind you, the twin did come into it's own in the Pacific, where it's range and the reliability of having two engines was more important.
It also predated both the P-47 and P-51. The lack of cabin heat alone would have been enough to create a preference differential especially for high altitude missions.
The only P-38s without counter rotating props were a batch ordered for the British who wanted commonality with the Curtis Tomahawks. Both the British and French ordered the P-38s, but when France fell, they diverted to Britain. However, when the Brits found out that due to export restrictions, the P-38s did not have the turbo-superchargers and could only obtain a top speed of 300 mph. They cancelled the rest of the order and it was taken over by the AAC for trainers. I think they did not have the turbo-superchargers, but did get made with counter-rotating engines. The Lightning had a few problems in the beginning that were sorted out during the war, but most were due to the uniqueness of the design. During takeoff, if an engine failed, the pilot had to reduce power in the remaining engine or the torque would be too much. This is contrary to most twin engine doctrine which calls for full throttle in this situation. After backing down the good engine, the pilot would feather the dead engine and gradually increase power. The problem of being too cold in early models was solved in later models. The problem there was with the distance from the engines. There was also a problem of too much solar heat gain due to the fact that opening any vents would cause buffetting. The plane was an excellent fighter, but each plane has to make its virtues outweigh its limitations. A lot of the problems were due to the fact that no other plane had gotten so close to the compression barrier until later in the war. I had a friend that flew them in the fifties and said they were awesome even then. He did say that they had a problem with minor oil leaks.
