[okie01]

I remember seeing an old P-38 Lightning take off one foggy morning in 1946 from the Ponca City (OK) Municipal Airport (don't ask me what it was doing there).

Just taxiing to the end of the runway, it looked dangerous. Like a slithering cobra.

Then, when those Rolls-Royces wound up, there was a throaty buzz all around -- you could feel it inside you -- and, even at six, you knew the thing was truly deadly.

I'd love to have one.

[Tallguy]

Then, when those Rolls-Royces wound up, there was a throaty buzz all around...

I think you mean twin supercharged Allison engines.

Powerplant: 2× Allison V-1710-111/113 liquid-cooled turbosupercharged V-12, 1,600 hp (1,194 kW) each

...and that was for the P-38L. The Allison V-12 was probably the most widely used fighter engine throughout the war -- at least in the US Army Air Forces.

[SkyPilot]

I remember seeing an old P-38 Lightning take off one foggy morning in 1946

Wow! God bless you sir. You must be one of our most senior members of Free Republic. Would love to talk to you sometime.

[wita]

Hmmmm? You and I seem to have a few glaring similarities vis-a-vis this thread. We possibly share a birth year, and freerepublic birth year, knowing where we were when six years of age, love of old airplanes, the Texas flag, the only difference is I knew why I was in Germany in 1946. Your airplane memory overshadows your reason for being at the Ponca City Airport, except for the fact you couldn’t drive, so I’m betting you were there with parents which mirrors my reason for being in Germany.

I too would love to have one, (Lightning) but who can afford the parts the fuel, the maintenance, the etc. Next best thing, a yearly trip to Oshkosh, WI. To see and drool over the few that remain, and know that somewhere somehow, there are people who not only want one, but can afford what comes with it. God bless them for keeping the memory alive.