Replies

The “piano wire fix” myth

The anecdote usually goes something like this:

A P-38 mechanic noticed slack in the controls, strung piano wire along the existing cables to stiffen them, and suddenly the aircraft became far more responsive.

That story’s never been verified by:

Official USAAF or Lockheed reports

Pilot memoirs like those by Richard Bong, Thomas McGuire, or Robin Olds

Any technical histories (like Warren Bodie’s “The Lockheed P-38 Lightning” or the AHT volumes)

It seems to be a case of hangar lore — a story that captures the spirit of WWII mechanics’ ingenuity but not an actual event tied to the Lightning.

Bottom line

✅ The P-38 had real control-feel issues (mostly aerodynamic).
❌ There’s no historical record of a “piano wire” fix for control slack.
💭 The story is best understood as a myth reflecting real mechanical creativity, not an authentic field modification.

—

✅ Things that do show up

There is a mention on a forum post of “Technical Sergeant James McKenna … watched … the P-38… the control cables had slack… he bent a six-inch piece of piano wire…” in New Guinea.
Free Republic

There are credible records of a “James J. MacKenna” on the Vietnam Veteran Memorial (though unrelated era & aircraft) which shows the name appears in military contexts, but unrelated to this World War II P-38 story.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund

❌ Key gaps / reasons for doubt

The forum post is not a primary historical source; it lacks documentation, unit records, or official engineering/maintenance reports.

I found no mention of “James McKenna” associated with P-38 units or maintenance sections in reliable WWII histories of the P-38 (for example in unit histories, technical bulletins or memoirs).

The story includes very specific claims (e.g., “a three-eighth inch delay”, “six-inch piece of piano wire”, “destroyed 3 Zeros in seven minutes”) which appear only in that forum post and not in vetted historical literature.

The timeline and attribution (Pacific theater, Dobodura airfield, Fifth Air Force) are plausible contextually for P-38 operations but there is no supporting record that ties a mechanic modification like this into the official record.

The broader claims (e.g., “improved kill ratios”, “Lockheed integrated it into the P-38J model”) also do not appear in engineering change logs or standard references on P-38 combat modifications.

🧮 Conclusion

While the story is intriguing and certainly captures the flavor of real field-mechanic improvisation during WWII, it remains unverified as historical fact. Specifically:

It’s possible that a mechanic somewhere in the Pacific theater improvised a cable-tension fix, but if so, it’s not documented in accessible historical records.

It’s very unlikely that the story as told (with all its details) reflects an accepted or widely recognised modification to the P-38’s control system.

Bah Humbug.