[Zman516]

Wow! Great P38 pics. thanks!

I heard the main problem with the p38’s in Europe was that at high altitude in the extreme cold the canopies would ice up and the pilot was essentially blind. Apparently the cockpit heater was either ineffective or non-existent.

[alfa6]

Not only was the heater a problem, but the engines of the P-38 had a very short life span in the ETO. I forget the exact amount but in the ball park of about a 1/3rd of the life that they should have had.

The P-38 that primarily saw use in the ETO were the F thru H models. These had a complicated radiator system that ran thru the wings as I recall. It wasn't until the advent of the J-25 block models of the -38 with a new radiator layout that the engine problems were solved in the ETO. By that time though all but one group had converted to either Mustangs or Thunderbolts. The Pictures posted earlier were of "L" model P-38s, IIRC

Here is a couple of early P-38s...

A pic of the P-38 Glacier Girl which is an "F" model Lightning

One other note the P-38 was the only American fighter to be in production from 1939 to 1945.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}