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List of surviving Lockheed P-38 Lightnings

October 18, 2023

Main article: Lockheed P-38 Lightning

The Lockheed P-38 Lighting is an American two-engine fighter used by the United States Army Air Forces and other Allied air forces during World War II. Of the 10,037 planes built, 26 survive today, 22 of which are located in the United States, and 10 of which are airworthy.

P-38L 44-53232 at the United States Air Force Museum

Background Edit

In late 1945 when the last P-38 came off the production line, 9,923 aircraft had been delivered to the USAAF. The P-38 was quickly declared obsolete in 1946 and the last USAF flight was in 1948.

This was an extremely complicated aircraft to maintain. The P-38 Lightning has been consistently on the civil registry since 1946 since the first aircraft were released from the military. It does remain a demanding aircraft with numerous crash incidents; several of the surviving planes have been rebuilt many times.

A considerable number of late model Lightnings which had been converted by Lockheed to Photo Reconnaissance (F-5) models found a niche with photo mapping companies and until the middle 1960s these aircraft earned their keep through photo mapping assignments around the globe. Additionally, the latest military use of the P-38 was with several South American air forces, the largest of these being Fuerza Aérea Hondureña which operated the Lockheed Lightning until the early 1960s. There were also a small number of P-38s that were purchased after the war for civilian air racing. It is from these sources that until the early 1980s all the remaining stocks of the P-38 Lightning could be drawn from.

One historic note was that in 1948, representatives of the then-new country of South Korea attempted to purchase the brand new P-38L Lightnings stored in the Philippines (approximately 100 aircraft). Instead, the USAF persuaded them to accept AT-6s modified to ground attack role as well as worn out P-51D Mustangs; the brand new P-38s were destroyed.

As with all remaining warbirds, collectors began scouring the world for forgotten aircraft. From the jungle of New Guinea, the wildness of Alaska and under the ice of Greenland are but some of the places previously-unrestorable wrecked airframes are being recovered and being restored for both static display and airworthy exhibition.

Individual histories Edit

 
P-38 Glacier Girl
  • Glacier Girl (41-7630), this P-38F-1 flown by 1st Lt. Harry L. Smith, Jr., 94th Fighter Squadron, was one of six P-38 fighters of the 1st Fighter Group escorting two B-17 bombers on a ferry flight to the United Kingdom as part of Operation Bolero on 15 July 1942. While en route over Greenland, bad weather caused the eight aircraft to turn back, the entire flight attempting to land together before they ran out of fuel. Although one P-38 overturned, the flight successfully belly-landed. The crews were rescued within a few days, but the airplanes were abandoned and, over the years, covered by ice. A few attempts to salvage the airplanes were made but were unsuccessful. In 1981 Pat Epps of Epps Aviation in Atlanta Ga and Richard Taylor an Atlanta Architect bought the salvage rights from Roy Degan who had gotten them from the Danish Government to search for the planes. They formed the Greenland Expedition Society. Don Brooks, a south Georgia businessman, joined the team in 1986 and bought a DC3 to help with the recovery. Joined to this were the efforts of many adventurers, aviation enthusiasts, and investors. It took seven trips and almost two million dollars to recover the plane. In 1992, 50 years after the planes landed, a P-38 recovery mission was undertaken. Using photos taken by the original crews while they were awaiting rescue as well as modern seismographic equipment, the salvage workers located the buried squadron and selected the least damaged of the planes. They reached it by boring a hole using hot water through the layer of ice 268 feet thick. Roy Shoffner, a businessman from Middlesboro, Kentucky was the major investor of the 1992 expedition. He also gets credit for 100% of the restoration of Glacier Girl. The airplane was transported to Middlesboro, where a ten-year restoration began using many parts from late model aircraft. Nicknamed Glacier Girl, the restored P-38F Lightning made its first post-restoration flight on 26 October 2002.[1]
  • Maid of Harlech (41-7677) P-38F-1LO ex-49th Squadron, 14th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, in the summer of 2007 this aircraft was discovered on a beach in Wales, having been buried in the sand for 65 years. A wingtip had come off the aircraft during its belly landing, but the pilot—Second Lt. Robert F. 'Fred' Elliot—escaped unhurt. Elliot was on a gunnery practice mission when a fuel supply error forced him to make an emergency landing. American airmen salvaged the nose guns but were unable to fly the fighter off the beach, abandoning it in place where it became covered by naturally shifting sand. Elliot was shot down less than three months later while flying combat missions over Tunisia. His body and aircraft were never found.[2]

Survivors Edit

Australia Edit

Under restoration
P-38F
P-38G
P-38

Austria Edit

Airworthy
P-38L
  • 44-53254 – The Flying Bulls in Salzburg. Formerly called "White Lightnin'" and owned until 2008 by Marvin L. "Lefty" Gardner. Gardner, along with Lloyd Noland, cofounded what is now the Commemorative Air Force. Registered to Aircraft Guaranty Title Corp. Trustee in Onalaska, Texas.[8][9]

Serbia Edit

Under restoration
P-38L

United Kingdom Edit

Under restoration
P-38H
  • 42-66841 – Sold and transported to the United Kingdom during late 2014 where it will reportedly be restored to airworthy condition. Possibly painted with the nose art "Scarlet Scourge".[11]

United States Edit

Airworthy
P-38F
P-38J
P-38L
On display
P-38G
P-38J
P-38L
 
P-38L at Wright-Patterson National Museum of the USAF
Under restoration or in storage
P-38H
P-38J
P-38L

See also Edit

References Edit

Notes Edit

  1. ^ Glacier Girl. Access date: 21 January 2007.
  2. ^ 41-7677 Welsh Lightning
  3. ^ "P-38F Dottie from Brooklyn" Warbird Digest Retrieved: 09 February 2021.
  4. ^ "P-38G Dumbo History" Pacific Wrecks Retrieved: 09 February 2021
  5. ^ "Australian P-38 Restorations" Warbird Digest Retrieved: 09 February 2021.
  6. ^ "P-38G Dumbo - Pima" Pima Air & Space Museum Retrieved: 09 February 2021
  7. ^ "Aussie P-38" Warbird Digest Retrieved: 09 February 2021.
  8. ^ "P-38L Lightning/44-53254" The Flying Bulls Retrieved: 10 May 2011.
  9. ^ "FAA Registry: N25Y" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  10. ^ "P-38L Lightning/44-25786." Museum of Aviation Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  11. ^ "Pacific Wrecks - P-38H-5-LO Lightning Serial Number 42-66841 Tail Number 153" Pacific Wrecks Retrieved: 14 February 2020.
  12. ^ "P-38F Lightning/41-7630" Lewis Air Legends Retrieved: 16 March 2020.
  13. ^ "FAA Registry: N17630" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  14. ^ "P-38F Lightning/42-12652" Lockheed P-38 Lightning Retrieved: 14 July 2021.
  15. ^ "P-38F Lightning/42-12652" White 33 First Flight Retrieved 18 October 2016
  16. ^ "FAA Registry: N12652" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  17. ^ "P-38J Lightning/44-23314" Planes of Fame Retrieved: 16 March 2020.
  18. ^ "FAA Registry: N138AM" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  19. ^ "P-38L Lightning/44-26981" Allied Fighters Retrieved: 16 March 2020.
  20. ^ "FAA Registry: N7723C" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  21. ^ "P-38L Lightning/44-27053" War Eagles Air Museum Retrieved: 16 March 2020.
  22. ^ "FAA Registry: N577JB" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  23. ^ "P-38L Lightning/44-27083" Erickson Aircraft Collection Retrieved: 31 July 2014.
  24. ^ "FAA Registry: N2114L" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  25. ^ "P-38 Lightning/44-27183" Yanks Air Museum Retrieved: 3 May 2017.
  26. ^ "FAA Registry: N718" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  27. ^ "P-38L Lightning/44-27231" Fagen Fighters WWII Museum Retrieved: 3 May 2017.
  28. ^ "FAA Registry: N79123" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  29. ^ "FAA Registry: N38TF" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  30. ^ "P-38L Lightning/44-53186" Collings Foundation Retrieved: 1 September 2016.
  31. ^ "FAA Registry: N505MH" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  32. ^ [1] American Heritage Museum Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  33. ^ "Warbird Directory: Lockheed Page 2" Retrieved: 23 September 2022
  34. ^ "P-38J Lightning/42-67638" Hill Aerospace Museum Retrieved: 16 March 2020.
  35. ^ "P-38J Lightning/42-67762" National Air and Space Museum Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  36. ^ "Warbird Directory: Lockheed Page 11" Retrieved: 23 September 2022
  37. ^ "P-38L Lightning/44-53087" EAA Airventure Museum Retrieved: 8 October 2012.
  38. ^ "P-38L Lightning/44-53097" Museum of Flight Retrieved: 8 October 2012.
  39. ^ "FAA Registry: N3JB" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  40. ^ "Lockheed P-38L Lightning" National Museum of the USAF Retrieved: 5 September 2015.
  41. ^ "P-38L Lightning/44-53236" Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  42. ^ "FAA Registry: N66534" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  43. ^ "P-38J Lightning/42-103988" Aircraft List Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  44. ^ "FAA Registry: N38LL" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
  45. ^ "FAA Registry: N2897S" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.

Bibliography Edit

  • United States Air Force Museum Guidebook. Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio: Air Force Museum Foundation, 1975.

External links Edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to P-38 Lightning.
  • FAA's P-38 registrations 2012-02-29 at the Wayback Machine
  • Warbird Registry
  • Pacific Wrecks website
  • – Aviation Enthusiast Corner

October 18, 2023
list, surviving, lockheed, lightnings, main, article, lockheed, lightning, lockheed, lighting, american, engine, fighter, used, united, states, army, forces, other, allied, forces, during, world, planes, built, survive, today, which, located, united, states, w. Main article Lockheed P 38 Lightning The Lockheed P 38 Lighting is an American two engine fighter used by the United States Army Air Forces and other Allied air forces during World War II Of the 10 037 planes built 26 survive today 22 of which are located in the United States and 10 of which are airworthy P 38L 44 53232 at the United States Air Force Museum Contents 1 Background 2 Individual histories 3 Survivors 3 1 Australia 3 2 Austria 3 3 Serbia 3 4 United Kingdom 3 5 United States 4 See also 5 References 5 1 Notes 5 2 Bibliography 6 External linksBackground EditIn late 1945 when the last P 38 came off the production line 9 923 aircraft had been delivered to the USAAF The P 38 was quickly declared obsolete in 1946 and the last USAF flight was in 1948 This was an extremely complicated aircraft to maintain The P 38 Lightning has been consistently on the civil registry since 1946 since the first aircraft were released from the military It does remain a demanding aircraft with numerous crash incidents several of the surviving planes have been rebuilt many times A considerable number of late model Lightnings which had been converted by Lockheed to Photo Reconnaissance F 5 models found a niche with photo mapping companies and until the middle 1960s these aircraft earned their keep through photo mapping assignments around the globe Additionally the latest military use of the P 38 was with several South American air forces the largest of these being Fuerza Aerea Hondurena which operated the Lockheed Lightning until the early 1960s There were also a small number of P 38s that were purchased after the war for civilian air racing It is from these sources that until the early 1980s all the remaining stocks of the P 38 Lightning could be drawn from One historic note was that in 1948 representatives of the then new country of South Korea attempted to purchase the brand new P 38L Lightnings stored in the Philippines approximately 100 aircraft Instead the USAF persuaded them to accept AT 6s modified to ground attack role as well as worn out P 51D Mustangs the brand new P 38s were destroyed As with all remaining warbirds collectors began scouring the world for forgotten aircraft From the jungle of New Guinea the wildness of Alaska and under the ice of Greenland are but some of the places previously unrestorable wrecked airframes are being recovered and being restored for both static display and airworthy exhibition Individual histories Edit nbsp P 38 Glacier GirlGlacier Girl 41 7630 this P 38F 1 flown by 1st Lt Harry L Smith Jr 94th Fighter Squadron was one of six P 38 fighters of the 1st Fighter Group escorting two B 17 bombers on a ferry flight to the United Kingdom as part of Operation Bolero on 15 July 1942 While en route over Greenland bad weather caused the eight aircraft to turn back the entire flight attempting to land together before they ran out of fuel Although one P 38 overturned the flight successfully belly landed The crews were rescued within a few days but the airplanes were abandoned and over the years covered by ice A few attempts to salvage the airplanes were made but were unsuccessful In 1981 Pat Epps of Epps Aviation in Atlanta Ga and Richard Taylor an Atlanta Architect bought the salvage rights from Roy Degan who had gotten them from the Danish Government to search for the planes They formed the Greenland Expedition Society Don Brooks a south Georgia businessman joined the team in 1986 and bought a DC3 to help with the recovery Joined to this were the efforts of many adventurers aviation enthusiasts and investors It took seven trips and almost two million dollars to recover the plane In 1992 50 years after the planes landed a P 38 recovery mission was undertaken Using photos taken by the original crews while they were awaiting rescue as well as modern seismographic equipment the salvage workers located the buried squadron and selected the least damaged of the planes They reached it by boring a hole using hot water through the layer of ice 268 feet thick Roy Shoffner a businessman from Middlesboro Kentucky was the major investor of the 1992 expedition He also gets credit for 100 of the restoration of Glacier Girl The airplane was transported to Middlesboro where a ten year restoration began using many parts from late model aircraft Nicknamed Glacier Girl the restored P 38F Lightning made its first post restoration flight on 26 October 2002 1 Maid of Harlech 41 7677 P 38F 1LO ex 49th Squadron 14th Fighter Group 8th Air Force in the summer of 2007 this aircraft was discovered on a beach in Wales having been buried in the sand for 65 years A wingtip had come off the aircraft during its belly landing but the pilot Second Lt Robert F Fred Elliot escaped unhurt Elliot was on a gunnery practice mission when a fuel supply error forced him to make an emergency landing American airmen salvaged the nose guns but were unable to fly the fighter off the beach abandoning it in place where it became covered by naturally shifting sand Elliot was shot down less than three months later while flying combat missions over Tunisia His body and aircraft were never found 2 Survivors EditAustralia Edit Under restorationP 38F42 12647 Dottie from Brooklyn Under restoration to display by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society for the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery in Port Moresby Papua New Guinea 3 P 38G42 12847 Dumbo Under restoration to display by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society for the Pima Air amp Space Museum in Tucson Arizona 4 5 6 P 38Unknown Under restoration to airworthiness by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society in Albion Park New South Wales 7 Austria Edit AirworthyP 38L44 53254 The Flying Bulls in Salzburg Formerly called White Lightnin and owned until 2008 by Marvin L Lefty Gardner Gardner along with Lloyd Noland cofounded what is now the Commemorative Air Force Registered to Aircraft Guaranty Title Corp Trustee in Onalaska Texas 8 9 Serbia Edit Under restorationP 38L44 25786 Museum of Aviation in Belgrade In storage awaiting restoration 10 United Kingdom Edit Under restorationP 38H42 66841 Sold and transported to the United Kingdom during late 2014 where it will reportedly be restored to airworthy condition Possibly painted with the nose art Scarlet Scourge 11 United States Edit AirworthyP 38F41 7630 Glacier Girl based at Lewis Air Legends in San Antonio Texas 12 13 42 12652 White 33 based at the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs Colorado 14 15 16 P 38J44 23314 23 Skidoo based at Planes of Fame in Chino California 17 18 P 38L44 26981 Honey Bunny based at Allied Fighters in Sun Valley Idaho 19 20 44 27053 Relampago based at War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa New Mexico 21 22 44 27083 Tangerine based at Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras Oregon 23 24 44 27183 23 Skidoo based at Yanks Air Museum in Chino California 25 26 44 27231 Scat III Formerly Ruff Stuff based at Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls Minnesota 27 28 44 53095 Thoughts of Midnite privately owned in Houston Texas 29 44 53186 Pudgy V based at Collings Foundation in Stow Massachusetts 30 31 32 On displayP 38G42 13400 unnamed Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson formerly Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage Alaska crash landed on Attu Island in 1945 recovered in 1999 33 P 38J42 67638 unnamed Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill AFB Utah 34 42 67762 unnamed Steven F Udvar Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly Virginia 35 P 38L nbsp P 38L at Wright Patterson National Museum of the USAF44 53015 Pudgy V McGuire AFB New Jersey 36 44 53087 Marge EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh Wisconsin 37 44 53097 Lizzie V Wyandotte Mich Museum of Flight in Seattle Washington 38 39 44 53232 unnamed National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton Ohio 40 44 53236 Marge Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior Wisconsin 41 Under restoration or in storageP 38H42 66534 to airworthiness by private owner in Wilmington Delaware 42 P 38J42 103988 Jandina III to airworthiness by WestPac Restorations for the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs Colorado 43 42 104088 in storage at the Flying Heritage Collection in Everett Washington 44 P 38L44 26761 in storage at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City Florida 45 See also EditList of Lockheed P 38 Lightning operators Lockheed XP 49 Lockheed XP 58 Chain Lightning Northrop P 61 Black WidowReferences EditNotes Edit Glacier Girl Access date 21 January 2007 41 7677 Welsh Lightning P 38F Dottie from Brooklyn Warbird Digest Retrieved 09 February 2021 P 38G Dumbo History Pacific Wrecks Retrieved 09 February 2021 Australian P 38 Restorations Warbird Digest Retrieved 09 February 2021 P 38G Dumbo Pima Pima Air amp Space Museum Retrieved 09 February 2021 Aussie P 38 Warbird Digest Retrieved 09 February 2021 P 38L Lightning 44 53254 The Flying Bulls Retrieved 10 May 2011 FAA Registry N25Y FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 P 38L Lightning 44 25786 Museum of Aviation Retrieved 10 July 2013 Pacific Wrecks P 38H 5 LO Lightning Serial Number 42 66841 Tail Number 153 Pacific Wrecks Retrieved 14 February 2020 P 38F Lightning 41 7630 Lewis Air Legends Retrieved 16 March 2020 FAA Registry N17630 FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 P 38F Lightning 42 12652 Lockheed P 38 Lightning Retrieved 14 July 2021 P 38F Lightning 42 12652 White 33 First Flight Retrieved 18 October 2016 FAA Registry N12652 FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 P 38J Lightning 44 23314 Planes of Fame Retrieved 16 March 2020 FAA Registry N138AM FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 P 38L Lightning 44 26981 Allied Fighters Retrieved 16 March 2020 FAA Registry N7723C FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 P 38L Lightning 44 27053 War Eagles Air Museum Retrieved 16 March 2020 FAA Registry N577JB FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 P 38L Lightning 44 27083 Erickson Aircraft Collection Retrieved 31 July 2014 FAA Registry N2114L FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 P 38 Lightning 44 27183 Yanks Air Museum Retrieved 3 May 2017 FAA Registry N718 FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 P 38L Lightning 44 27231 Fagen Fighters WWII Museum Retrieved 3 May 2017 FAA Registry N79123 FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 FAA Registry N38TF FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 P 38L Lightning 44 53186 Collings Foundation Retrieved 1 September 2016 FAA Registry N505MH FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 1 American Heritage Museum Retrieved 14 January 2022 Warbird Directory Lockheed Page 2 Retrieved 23 September 2022 P 38J Lightning 42 67638 Hill Aerospace Museum Retrieved 16 March 2020 P 38J Lightning 42 67762 National Air and Space Museum Retrieved 15 July 2021 Warbird Directory Lockheed Page 11 Retrieved 23 September 2022 P 38L Lightning 44 53087 EAA Airventure MuseumRetrieved 8 October 2012 P 38L Lightning 44 53097 Museum of Flight Retrieved 8 October 2012 FAA Registry N3JB FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 Lockheed P 38L Lightning National Museum of the USAF Retrieved 5 September 2015 P 38L Lightning 44 53236 Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center Retrieved 15 July 2021 FAA Registry N66534 FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 P 38J Lightning 42 103988 Aircraft List Retrieved 15 July 2021 FAA Registry N38LL FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 FAA Registry N2897S FAA gov Retrieved 15 July 2021 Bibliography Edit United States Air Force Museum Guidebook Wright Patterson AFB Ohio Air Force Museum Foundation 1975 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to P 38 Lightning FAA s P 38 registrations Archived 2012 02 29 at the Wayback Machine Warbird Registry Pacific Wrecks website Lockheed P 38 Lightning Aviation Enthusiast Corner Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of surviving Lockheed P 38 Lightnings amp oldid 1178958322, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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