Thread: The P-38's problems....

Originally Posted by ickysdad

The problem of fuel was discussed over on The Great Planes forum. A gentleman provided some documents pertaining to some fuel problems however was it ever discovered why so many P-38 engines failed in early '44? It was mostly the H models that gave problems right?

P-38 fuel - The Great Planes and warbirds Community

No. As we discussed it a while ago the problems continued with the P-38J model

As for the P-38J in the service of the 8th Air Force, there were still major problems with the aircraft to the end. The cockpit heating remained a problem and it wasn't until heated flying suits became available in small numbers in March 1944 that things improved on this issue, before then the only partial solution was to procure additional clothing, particularly RAF gloves and boots.
As for engine failures.
Repositioning the intercoolers on the J model led to too much cooling at high altitude and pre-detonation. Oil temperature also could not be kept high enough above 22,000ft and oil consumption rose at an alarming rate from 2 to 4 pints an hour at below 25,000 ft to 8 to 16 pints an hour at 25,000 to 30,000ft. Also oil throwing was so bad engine life was halved. Moreover with the sudden increases of power necessary in combat, engines seized or threw connecting rods.
Yet another problem was that common to all turbo-supercharged aircraft with hydraulic actuated regulators, low temperatures caused the oil to thicken, allowing the turbine to go out of control and fail.
Things got so bad that the two groups operating the P-38J in the 8th Air Force were forced in late February 1944 to make their penetration flights at not more than 22,000ft to avoid the extreme cold.

A number of fixes to these problems were attempted but none were wholly successful and the P-38J still had difficulty operating over 25,000ft.

source: The Mighty Eighth, War Manual, by Roger A. Freeman

Info on the P-38H from, 'The Mighty Eighth, War Manual, by Roger A. Freeman'.

High Altitude proved disappointing with persistent engine difficulties at between 25,000 and 30,000ft, mostly diagnosed as the old problem of turbo-supercharger inter-cooler inefficiency causing overheated air to be fed into the carburettors. Another deficiency , also afflicting previous models, was poor cockpit heating. warm air ducted from the engines into the cockpit was totally inadequate to meet the extreme sub-zero temperatures encountered over north west Europe in winter

It appears that in attempt to cure the problems with turbo-supercharger inter-cooler on the J model lead to a separate set of problems with the H

Well it's also being discussed over on this website. Shorthound has produced some interesting documents & info.

Beware False Aircraft Comparisons - The Great Planes and warbirds Community

Some later posts in the debate over on GreatPlanes...

Beware False Aircraft Comparisons - Page 21 - The Great Planes and warbirds Community

and it seems fuels had something to do with it. It also seems the problems happened when engines were at cruise settings.

The H model was only an intermin model that was never supposed to be produced. The USAAF had to accept it because the J egg assembly was not ready for production. The H had the J's engine but the intercoolers were in the leading edges of the outer wing panels which worked well in the 1000 hp range. As the hp climbed into the 1500 + range thes intercoolers were considered totally inadequate for full power. Power restrictions were put in which were ignored in the heat of combat causing many mechanical failures in that model. Later in the J model the oil coolers were moved into the scoop under the engine and the J's performance and reliability began to improve. The outer wing panels had a 55 gallon fuel cell installed improving the already good range of the Lightning.
One of the biggest problems Lockheed ran into was the refusal of the Gov't to authorize a second production source for the Lightning until Jan. 45 (Vega,Tennessee). had they done this there would have been less interference in solving problems as the production of new models could have switched factories as they were developed.
Compessability was also a huge problem as the Lightning had two different wings. The wing section bettween the engines were of the thick wing design to hold the largefuel tanks and support the gondola. This gave the plane a great climb rate. The outer wing sections were of the thin wing style for manuverability. Unfortunatly when diving these two different type of wings had a different high speed stall charcteristics and would lose lift at a lower speed. The "compessability flap was developed to disrupt the airflow. Two hundred sets of retrofit flaps were sent to the bottom of the ocean when a British fighter shot down the transport thinking it was a FW 200. As a result the Lightning didnt have this problem solved till well after D-day and the P-47 and P-51 were dominant in the AO

Originally Posted by redcoat

Info on the P-38H from, 'The Mighty Eighth, War Manual, by Roger A. Freeman'.


It appears that in attempt to cure the problems with turbo-supercharger inter-cooler on the J model lead to a separate set of problems with the H