Book Review of
Pacific Profiles Vol. Nine
Allied Fighters P-38 Series
South & Southwest Pacific 1942-1944
Author: Michael John Claringbould
Avonmore Books
ISBN: 978-0-645-24697-1
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $42.95
ISBN: 978-0-645-24697-1
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $42.95
HISTORY:
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-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 combat roles, including as a highly effective 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.
Used in the aerial reconnaissance role, the P-38 accounted for 90 percent of the aerial film captured over Europe. Although it was not designated a heavy fighter or a bomber destroyer by the USAAC, the P-38 filled those roles and more; unlike heavier German Zerstörer designs crewed by two or three airmen, the P-38 with its lone pilot was nimble enough to compete with single-engine fighters.
The P-38 was used most successfully in the Pacific Theater of Operations and the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations as the aircraft of America's top aces, Richard Bong (40 victories), Thomas McGuire (38 victories), and Charles H. MacDonald (27 victories). In the South West Pacific theater, the P-38 was the primary long-range fighter of United States Army Air Forces until the introduction of large numbers of P-51D Mustangs toward the end of the war
Unusual for an early-war fighter design, both engines were supplemented by turbo-super-chargers, making it one of the earliest Allied fighters capable of performing well at high altitudes. The turbo-super-chargers also muffled the exhaust, making the P-38's operation relatively quiet.
The Lightning was extremely forgiving in-flight and could be mishandled in many ways, but the rate of roll in early versions was low relative to other contemporary fighters; this was addressed in later variants with the introduction of hydraulically boosted ailerons.
The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft in large-scale production throughout American involvement in the war, from the Attack on Pearl Harbor to Victory over Japan Day.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Specifications (P-38L)
Crew: 1
Length: 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m)
Wingspan: 52 ft 0 in (15.85 m)
Height: 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
Wing area: 327.5 sq ft (30.43 m2)
Aspect ratio: 8.26[165]
Airfoil: root: NACA 23016; tip: NACA 4412[166]
Empty weight: 12,800 lb (5,806 kg) [165]
Gross weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg) [165]
Max takeoff weight: 21,600 lb (9,798 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Allison V-1710 (-111 left hand rotation and -113 right hand rotation) V-12 liquid-cooled turbo-supercharged piston engine, 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) each WEP at 60 inHg (2.032 bar) and 3,000 rpm
Propellers: 3-bladed Curtiss electric constant-speed propellers (LH and RH rotation)
Maximum speed: 414 mph (666 km/h, 360 kn) on Military Power: 1,425 hp (1,063 kW) at 54 inHg (1.829 bar), 3,000 rpm and 25,000 ft (7,620 m)[167]
Cruise speed: 275 mph (443 km/h, 239 kn)
Stall speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)
Combat range: 1,300 mi (2,100 km, 1,100 nmi)
Ferry range: 3,300 mi (5,300 km, 2,900 nmi)
Service ceiling: 44,000 ft (13,000 m)
Rate of climb: 4,750 ft/min (24.1 m/s)
Lift-to-drag: 13.5
Wing loading: 53.4 lb/sq ft (261 kg/m2) [165]
Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.26 kW/kg)
Drag area: 8.78 sq ft (0.82 m2)[165]
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0268[165]
Armament:
Guns:1× Hispano M2(C) 20 mm cannon with 150 rounds, 4× M2 Browning machine gun 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns with 500 rpg.
Rockets: 4× M10 three-tube 4.5 in (112 mm) M8 rocket launchers; or bombs:
Inner hardpoints:2× 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs or drop tanks; or 2× 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs or drop tanks, plus either, 4× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs or, 4× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs; or 6× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs; or 6× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs
Outer hard-points: 10× 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity Aircraft Rockets); or 2× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs; or 2× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs
THE BOOK:
Avonmore Books is located in Australia.
This book is of soft-cover in 124 pages in 6 ¾” x 9 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows color illustrations of 5 side profiles of P-38’s. All of them are repeated again in the book.
The top one is overall dark-grey, over a light-grey undercarriage. It has a white number 09 on its rudder and under the cockpit on its sides, a white nose tip and a red propeller tip.
The 2nd one down is jet-black. The only markings are if the U.S. star with bars on the fuselage sides. It carries a drop tank.
The 3rd one down is overall bare metal. It says TEXAS on the side of the engine nacelle in black, has 229 stenciled in black on the side of its nose, black anti-glare panel in front of the wind-shield, star with bars on fuselage sides and black 323122 on the rudder.
The 4th one down is olive-drab over a light-grey undercarriage. It has a white 82 on the side of its nose, followed by a color illustration of Bugs Bunny holding a shotgun and the star with bars on fuselage sides.
The 5th (and last one down) is also olive-drab over a light-grey undercarriage. It has a white 20 on the sides of the nose, a shark’s mouth on the side of the engine necelles, a blue propeller hub, white star with bars on fuselage sides and a blue and white checkerboard pattern covering the rudders.
The book contains 13 color photos, including one of the book’s author in a jeep.
There are 65 black and white wartime photos included.
There are 240 color profiles in the book, counting the cover.
Two maps in color, 22 color illustrations of unit badges.
The book begins with color illustrations of 2 P-38 noses. One with yellow 1047 on an olive-drab nose and one with black-stenciled 4295 over 859 on the nose of a bare metal P-38.
Below them there are color illustrations of 3 rudders.
The 1st one is olive-drab with a yellow 32390 on it.
The 2nd one is stenciled black 426656 over 645 on a bare metal rudder.
The 34rd on is yellow 402 over black 423 on a bare metal rudder.
At the bottom there is a rectangular brown plate with ground-mechanic instructions in black on it.
The book has chapters about 20 units included.
There are 104 color nose art profiles, 3 rudder profiles and 96 full-length side profiles in the book.
This is one neat book of P-38 markings. It will be of great interest to modelers planning on doing a model of the aircraft and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishing for this review copy. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Avonmore Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-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 combat roles, including as a highly effective 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.
Used in the aerial reconnaissance role, the P-38 accounted for 90 percent of the aerial film captured over Europe. Although it was not designated a heavy fighter or a bomber destroyer by the USAAC, the P-38 filled those roles and more; unlike heavier German Zerstörer designs crewed by two or three airmen, the P-38 with its lone pilot was nimble enough to compete with single-engine fighters.
The P-38 was used most successfully in the Pacific Theater of Operations and the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations as the aircraft of America's top aces, Richard Bong (40 victories), Thomas McGuire (38 victories), and Charles H. MacDonald (27 victories). In the South West Pacific theater, the P-38 was the primary long-range fighter of United States Army Air Forces until the introduction of large numbers of P-51D Mustangs toward the end of the war
Unusual for an early-war fighter design, both engines were supplemented by turbo-super-chargers, making it one of the earliest Allied fighters capable of performing well at high altitudes. The turbo-super-chargers also muffled the exhaust, making the P-38's operation relatively quiet.
The Lightning was extremely forgiving in-flight and could be mishandled in many ways, but the rate of roll in early versions was low relative to other contemporary fighters; this was addressed in later variants with the introduction of hydraulically boosted ailerons.
The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft in large-scale production throughout American involvement in the war, from the Attack on Pearl Harbor to Victory over Japan Day.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Specifications (P-38L)
Crew: 1
Length: 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m)
Wingspan: 52 ft 0 in (15.85 m)
Height: 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
Wing area: 327.5 sq ft (30.43 m2)
Aspect ratio: 8.26[165]
Airfoil: root: NACA 23016; tip: NACA 4412[166]
Empty weight: 12,800 lb (5,806 kg) [165]
Gross weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg) [165]
Max takeoff weight: 21,600 lb (9,798 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Allison V-1710 (-111 left hand rotation and -113 right hand rotation) V-12 liquid-cooled turbo-supercharged piston engine, 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) each WEP at 60 inHg (2.032 bar) and 3,000 rpm
Propellers: 3-bladed Curtiss electric constant-speed propellers (LH and RH rotation)
Maximum speed: 414 mph (666 km/h, 360 kn) on Military Power: 1,425 hp (1,063 kW) at 54 inHg (1.829 bar), 3,000 rpm and 25,000 ft (7,620 m)[167]
Cruise speed: 275 mph (443 km/h, 239 kn)
Stall speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)
Combat range: 1,300 mi (2,100 km, 1,100 nmi)
Ferry range: 3,300 mi (5,300 km, 2,900 nmi)
Service ceiling: 44,000 ft (13,000 m)
Rate of climb: 4,750 ft/min (24.1 m/s)
Lift-to-drag: 13.5
Wing loading: 53.4 lb/sq ft (261 kg/m2) [165]
Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.26 kW/kg)
Drag area: 8.78 sq ft (0.82 m2)[165]
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0268[165]
Armament:
Guns:1× Hispano M2(C) 20 mm cannon with 150 rounds, 4× M2 Browning machine gun 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns with 500 rpg.
Rockets: 4× M10 three-tube 4.5 in (112 mm) M8 rocket launchers; or bombs:
Inner hardpoints:2× 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs or drop tanks; or 2× 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs or drop tanks, plus either, 4× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs or, 4× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs; or 6× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs; or 6× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs
Outer hard-points: 10× 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity Aircraft Rockets); or 2× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs; or 2× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs
THE BOOK:
Avonmore Books is located in Australia.
This book is of soft-cover in 124 pages in 6 ¾” x 9 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows color illustrations of 5 side profiles of P-38’s. All of them are repeated again in the book.
The top one is overall dark-grey, over a light-grey undercarriage. It has a white number 09 on its rudder and under the cockpit on its sides, a white nose tip and a red propeller tip.
The 2nd one down is jet-black. The only markings are if the U.S. star with bars on the fuselage sides. It carries a drop tank.
The 3rd one down is overall bare metal. It says TEXAS on the side of the engine nacelle in black, has 229 stenciled in black on the side of its nose, black anti-glare panel in front of the wind-shield, star with bars on fuselage sides and black 323122 on the rudder.
The 4th one down is olive-drab over a light-grey undercarriage. It has a white 82 on the side of its nose, followed by a color illustration of Bugs Bunny holding a shotgun and the star with bars on fuselage sides.
The 5th (and last one down) is also olive-drab over a light-grey undercarriage. It has a white 20 on the sides of the nose, a shark’s mouth on the side of the engine necelles, a blue propeller hub, white star with bars on fuselage sides and a blue and white checkerboard pattern covering the rudders.
The book contains 13 color photos, including one of the book’s author in a jeep.
There are 65 black and white wartime photos included.
There are 240 color profiles in the book, counting the cover.
Two maps in color, 22 color illustrations of unit badges.
The book begins with color illustrations of 2 P-38 noses. One with yellow 1047 on an olive-drab nose and one with black-stenciled 4295 over 859 on the nose of a bare metal P-38.
Below them there are color illustrations of 3 rudders.
The 1st one is olive-drab with a yellow 32390 on it.
The 2nd one is stenciled black 426656 over 645 on a bare metal rudder.
The 34rd on is yellow 402 over black 423 on a bare metal rudder.
At the bottom there is a rectangular brown plate with ground-mechanic instructions in black on it.
The book has chapters about 20 units included.
There are 104 color nose art profiles, 3 rudder profiles and 96 full-length side profiles in the book.
This is one neat book of P-38 markings. It will be of great interest to modelers planning on doing a model of the aircraft and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishing for this review copy. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Avonmore Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly Recommended.