Lockheed P-38 Lightning

what is it?

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twin boom design with a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Along with its use as a general fighter, the P-38 was used in various aerial warfare roles, including as a fighter-bomber, a night fighter, and a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks. The P-38 was also used as a bomber-pathfinder, guiding streams of medium and heavy bombers, or even other P-38s equipped with bombs, to their targets.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · mid wing · retractable tricycle gear · 15.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 666 km/htop speed
• size 9,798 kgmax take-off weight
• built 10,037made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 87 years ago, in 1939.
• 🏎️Top speed is 5.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 15.9 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.5× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1939-01-27

introduced

1943

retired

1949

status

retired

number built

10,037

role

twin-boom aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Lockheed Corporation

engines

2× Allison V-1710 (-111 left hand rotation and -113 right hand rotation)

crew

1

length

11.5 m

wingspan

15.9 m

height

3.9 m

max take-off weight

9,798 kg

top speed

666 km/h

cruise speed

442 km/h

range

—

ceiling

13,411 m

wings

mid wing

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.