P-38 Lightning Mach Limits and Other Issues

I dedicate this comment to The Algorithm. May He promote Greg's channel. 🙏

"Greetings, this is Greg" - most authoritative introduction on the internet

The biggest advantage of the P-38 to pilots in the Pacific theater: two engines. Must have been very much appreciated when flying long missions over vast areas of water and jungle.

The P-38 Lightning is by far, my favorite war-plane of all time. Even with all its flaws, and the price. I think this is a beautiful piece of workmanship. Thank you for posting this video series. I have greatly enjoyed it.

What did the P 38 do? It was a major part of the cactus air force (Guadalcanal). Kept Morroco out of the war as well as Spain. St. Valentine's Day Massacre and other interceptions of Luftwaffe Transports (North Africa 42-43). Cleared the Mediterranean out of Bf 109 G's and Fw 190's (helped along with the P 40's) Shot down Yamamoto. Provided adequate bomber bomber escort in 43-44. And was the mount of Richard Bong Americas highest scoring Ace. The Plane Served Very Well.

Keep on doing something different, Greg. The wealth of knowledge you share is unsurpassed.

I was carried by a P-38 from Saipan to Tinian in 1945. The plane was so fast we flew into yesterday.

DON'T change your format. It's unique and one of the best channels for in-depth content!

I'm not surprised that the P-38 was so widely in demand until late-war fighters became available in sufficient numbers; it had the range, speed, firepower, climb/dive rate, and maneuverability to fly missions WAY farther than any other fighter in the war and still perform them with great success. They made a whole slew of missions even possible in the first place. And in the theaters where operational range was such a decisive factor for whether or not entire strategies could be employed (Pacific and European especially), that's priceless.

Doolittle said "It is the sweetest plane he ever flew". On June 6th 1944 he was flying one over Normandy. No other testimony is needed.

Greg’s straightforward presentation cannot hide his passion for these planes and the technology they embody. Plus, his keen historical sense puts it all into perspective and makes these videos without equal. Thanks.

Your channel is the only one out of least a thousand that I subscribe to that I really look forward to new videos! You do such a great job describing these aircraft and make it very interesting and informative!! Thank you Greg!!!

I feel that the reasons the P38 suffered so badly from compressibility go beyond simply Lockheed encountering it first and not having the knowledge on how to solve it - rather the P38's own layout unfortunately exacerbated the compressibility issue. The transonic area rule tells us that a smooth variation in cross sectional area from nose to tail gives us the lowest transonic drag by minimising shockwave formation. While no WW2 plane was particularly stellar in adhering to area rule, which had not been discovered at the time, the P38 diverges from it extremely badly due to that very long straight wing as well as all the engines and associated bulges occupying roughly the same cross sectional plane. This would result in a really large shockwave blanketing the entire wing at a far lower Mach number than conventional layouts, and is something that couldn't really be solved without knowing about area rule.

Re: the end of your video. I'm here exactly because your videos Are longer and more in-depth. I've already read the Wikipedia and I'm always hungry for more information. You deliver. As an aside, wwiiaircraftperformance has a really interesting article on the 38, especially regarding the carb air temp issues. It seems that Lockheed may have been excessively conservative in their 50°C rating, and that there may have been significant headroom for further manifold pressure (at low alts) and carb temp, even on the old intercoolers.

The appreciation goes both ways. Thank You for the fascinating history and context of the engineering involved with these incredible air*craft

whoooo, this day went from boring to amazing. love your content Mr. Greg

One fact that the P-38 has that it was still competitive in 44/45 against newer planes. For design that was very cutting edge in the 30's that is a testament to Lockheed's design team. They created a great design for the 30's that could be updated so it staid competitive at the end of WWII.

You’re welcome Greg, it’s a privilege to be a part of the 80k.

If you love war birds, Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles channel is just the best content you can find on YouTube. Thank you Greg.

According to Martin Caidin in Fork Tailed Devil, the major problem in the wing mounted intercoolers was any backfiring could warp the leading edge of the wing. So the J model scrapped that and extra fuel tanks were fitted into that space.