What was the top speed of a P-38?
What was the top speed of a P-38?
713 km/h
Lockheed P-38 Lightning/Top speed
Is the P-38 hard to fly?
The P-38 could indeed fly fast—maxing at 395 miles-per-hour—and far (at slower speeds), up to 1,100 miles. However, the fighter’s unconventional configuration had its downsides, notably an infamous tendency for the controls to lock up in steep, high-speed dives, with often fatal results.
Did the P-38 break the sound barrier?
In 1947, no airplane had ever gone faster than the speed of sound. The Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket (shown here at Edwards Air Force Base circa May 1949) pushed past Mach 2 on November 20, 1953, beating an advanced X-1 to the record. (US Navy via National Air and Space Museum.
What was the fastest ww2 plane?
Messerschmitt Me 262
With a top speed of 540 mph, Germany’s Messerschmitt Me 262 was by far the fastest fighter of World War II. It was powered by jet engines, a new technology that was not always reliable.
What did the Japanese call the P-38 Lightning?
the fork-tailed devil
They once called the plane the fork-tailed devil, while the Japanese dubbed them, two planes, one pilot.
Why did the P-38 fail in Europe?
The P-38 performed usefully but suffered from a number of problems. Its Allison engines consistently threw rods, swallowed valves and fouled plugs, while their intercoolers often ruptured under sustained high boost and turbocharger regulators froze, sometimes causing catastrophic failures.
What does the P in P-38 stand for?
A master sergeant serving in the 30th Signal Construction Battalion in North Africa, Bandola began his acquaintance with the P-38 in 1943. “The P-38 was our means for eating 90 percent of the time, but the next thing I knew we were using it for cleaning boots, fingernails, screwdrivers, you name it.
Has a propeller plane broke the sound barrier?
Propeller planes can probably not break the sound barrier since the propeller, for the airplane to go faster than the speed of sound, must go even faster. This will inevitably cause shock waves powerful enough to even break the propeller.
What engine was in the P 51 Mustang?
Packard V-1650 Merlin
North American P-51 Mustang/Engine types
The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the two-speed, two-stage-supercharged Merlin 66, and was armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns.
What kind of aircraft was the Lockheed P-38 Lightning?
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is a World War II-era American piston-engined fighter aircraft. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament.
What are the control forces on a P-38J?
Control forces are moderate and controls are responsive to a high degree at all normal speeds. However, at extremely high speeds beyond the P-38’s dive speed limits, the airplane tends to become rapidly nose heavy and elevator effectiveness decreases, making it difficult to pull out.
What was the drag coefficient of the P-38 Lightning?
The XP-38 did not live long enough to find its way into the full-scale Langley wind tunnel, but some performance data survived and it indicates a basic, zero-lift drag coefficient of just over .020, which would be good for even a single engine airplane. The mass produced, combat-ready models would generate more drag.
How long did the Lockheed YP-38 take to crash?
Despite the crash, the Army felt the aircraft showed promise and Lockheed received a contract for thirteen YP-38s along with the usual list of improvements. The XP-38 crashed after only 16 days with an airtime of 11 hours and 50 minutes.