Editing Lockheed P-38 Lightning (section)

===P-38J, P-38L===
[[File:4 Lockheed P-38 Lightnings in formation.jpg|left|thumb|Four P-38Hs flying in formation]]

The '''P-38J''' was introduced in August 1943. The turbosupercharger [[intercooler]] system on previous variants had been housed in the leading edges of the wings and had proven vulnerable to combat damage and could burst if the wrong series of controls was mistakenly activated. In the P-38J series, the streamlined engine nacelles of previous Lightnings were changed to fit the intercooler radiator between the oil coolers, forming a "chin" that visually distinguished the J model from its predecessors. While the P-38J used the same V-1710-89/91 engines as the H model, the new core-type intercooler more efficiently lowered intake manifold temperatures and permitted a substantial increase in rated power. The leading edge of the outer wing was fitted with {{convert|55|gal|L|abbr=on}} fuel tanks, filling the space formerly occupied by intercooler tunnels, but these were omitted on early P-38J blocks due to limited availability.{{sfn|Bodie|2001|p=172}}

The final 210 J models, designated P-38J-25-LO, alleviated the compressibility problem through the addition of a set of electrically actuated dive recovery flaps just outboard of the engines on the bottom centerline of the wings. With these improvements, a USAAF pilot reported a dive speed of almost {{convert|600|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, although the indicated air speed was later corrected for compressibility error, and the actual dive speed was lower.<ref name="Baugher P-38J">Baugher, Joe. [http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/p38_13.html "Lockheed P-38J Lightning."] ''Joe Baugher's Encyclopedia of American Military Aircraft'', 5 June 1999. Retrieved: 29 January 2007.</ref> Lockheed manufactured over 200 retrofit modification kits to be installed on P-38J-10-LO and J-20-LO already in Europe, but the USAAF C-54 carrying them was shot down by an RAF pilot who mistook the Douglas transport for a German Focke-Wulf Condor.{{sfn|Bodie|2001|p=208}} Unfortunately, the loss of the kits came during Lockheed test pilot [[Tony LeVier]]'s four-month morale-boosting tour of P-38 bases. Flying a new Lightning named ''Snafuperman'', modified to full P-38J-25-LO specifications at Lockheed's modification center near Belfast, LeVier captured the pilots' full attention by routinely performing maneuvers during March 1944 that common 8th Air Force wisdom held to be suicidal. It proved too little, too late, because the decision had already been made to re-equip with Mustangs.{{sfn|Bodie|2001|p=210}}

The P-38J-25-LO production block also introduced hydraulically boosted ailerons, one of the first times such a system was fitted to a fighter. This significantly improved the Lightning's rate of roll and reduced control forces for the pilot. This production block and the following P-38L model are considered the definitive Lightnings, and Lockheed ramped up production, working with subcontractors across the country to produce hundreds of Lightnings each month.

The '''P-38L''' was the most numerous variant of the Lightning, with 3,923 built, 113 by [[Consolidated-Vultee]] in their [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] plant. It entered service with the USAAF in June 1944, in time to support the Allied invasion of France on [[D-Day]]. Lockheed production of the Lightning was distinguished by a suffix consisting of a production block number followed by "LO," for example "P-38L-1-LO", while Consolidated-Vultee production was distinguished by a block number followed by "VN," for example "P-38L-5-VN."

The P-38L was the first Lightning fitted with zero-length rocket launchers. Seven [[High Velocity Aircraft Rocket|high-velocity aircraft rocket]]s (HVARs) on pylons were placed beneath each wing, and later, five HVARs were on each wing on "Christmas tree" launch racks, which added {{convert|1365|lb|kg|abbr=on}} to the aircraft.{{sfn|Cross|1969|p={{page needed|date=April 2015}}}} The P-38L also had strengthened stores pylons to allow carriage of {{convert|2000|lb|kg|-2|abbr=on}} bombs or {{convert|300|gal|L|-2|abbr=on}} drop tanks.

[[File:F-5A Lightning.jpg|thumb|F-5A Lightning of the 7th Photo Group, 8th Air Force based at [[RAF Mount Farm|Mount Farm]]: The national insignia was bordered in red with overall finish in synthetic haze.]]

Lockheed modified 200 P-38J airframes in production to become unarmed '''F-5B''' photo-reconnaissance aircraft, while hundreds of other P-38Js and P-38Ls were modified at Lockheed's Dallas Modification Center to become '''F-5C'''s, '''F-5E'''s, '''F-5F'''s, or '''F-5G'''s. A few P-38Ls were field modified to become two-seat '''TP-38L''' familiarization trainers. During and after June 1948, the remaining J and L variants were designated ZF-38J and ZF-38L, with the "ZF" designator (meaning "obsolete fighter") replacing the "P for Pursuit" category.

Late-model Lightnings were delivered unpainted,  per USAAF policy established in 1944. At first, field units tried to paint them, since pilots worried about being too visible to the enemy, but the reduction in weight and drag turned out to be a minor advantage in combat.

The P-38L-5, the most common subvariant of the P-38L, had a modified cockpit heating system consisting of a plug-socket in the cockpit into which the pilot could plug his heat-suit wire for improved comfort. These Lightnings also received the uprated V-1710-112/113 (F30R/L) engines, and this dramatically lowered the number of engine-failure problems experienced at high altitude so commonly associated with European operations.