Editing Lockheed P-38 Lightning (section)

===XP-38 and YP-38 prototypes===
Lockheed won the competition on 23 June 1937 with its ''' Model 22''', and was contracted to build a prototype '''XP-38'''<ref name="O'Leary">O'Leary, Michael. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012182446/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3901/is_200504/ai_n13498425/pg_1 "Conquering the Sky!"] ''Air Classics'', April 2005. Retrieved: 26 January 2007.</ref> for US$163,000, though Lockheed's own costs on the prototype would add up to $761,000.{{sfn|Bodie|2001|p=32}} Construction began in July 1938 in an old bourbon distillery purchased by Lockheed to house expanding operations. This secure and remote site was later identified by Johnson as the first of five Lockheed Skunk Works locations.{{sfn|Bodie|2001|p=51}}<ref name="Wilson1969"/><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kocivar |first=Ben |date=1964-10-06 |title=Collier Trophy |magazine=[[Look (American magazine)|Look]] |volume=28 |page=36 |quote=He calls his development plants 'skunk works'. There have been five of them&nbsp;– the first, an abandoned distillery. |number=20}}</ref> The XP-38 first flew on 27 January 1939 at the hands of Ben Kelsey.{{sfn|Bodie|2001|p=33}}{{refn|The 1939 edition of the ''German Aviation Manual ''already contained a detailed drawing and a close-up photograph of this prototype along with detailed information on the engines, and indicated that its maximum speed was supposed to be {{convert|640|–|680|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}. Dimensions, equipment, and weaponry were indicated as unknown.<ref>Schnitzler, R., G.W. Feuchter and R. Schulz, eds. ''Handbuch der Luftfahrt (Manual of Aviation)'' (in German). Munich: J.F. Lehmanns Verlag, 1939. pg386-7</ref>|group=Note}}

[[File:020903-o-9999b-059.jpg|thumb|One of 13 YP-38s constructed]]

Kelsey then proposed a speed dash to [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base|Wright Field]] on 11 February 1939 to relocate the aircraft for further testing. [[Henry H. Arnold|General Henry "Hap" Arnold]], commander of the USAAC, approved of the record attempt and recommended a cross-country flight to New York. The flight set a speed record by flying from California to New York in seven hours and two minutes, not counting two refueling stops.<ref name="Aviation Museum">[http://www.aviation-history.com/lockheed/p38.html "Lockheed P-38 Lightning."] ''aviation-history.com.'' Retrieved: 21 January 2007.</ref> Kelsey flew conservatively for most of the way, working the engines gently, even throttling back during descent to remove the associated speed advantage. Bundled up against the cold, Arnold congratulated Kelsey at Wright Field during his final refueling stop, and said, "don't spare the horses" on the next leg.{{sfn|Bodie|2001|p=36}} After climbing out of Wright Field and reaching altitude, Kelsey pushed the XP-38 to {{convert|420|mph}}.{{sfn|Bodie|2001|p=40}} Nearing his destination, Kelsey was ordered by [[Mitchel Field]] tower ([[Hempstead (town), New York|Hempstead, New York]]) into a slow landing pattern behind other aircraft. Carburetor icing caused it to be brought down short of the Mitchel runway, and it was wrecked. On the basis of the record flight, though, the USAAC ordered 13 YP-38s on 27 April 1939 for US$134,284 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=134284|start_year=1939}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) each.{{sfn|Donald|1997|p=581}}{{sfn|Knaack|1988|p=3}} (The "Y" in "YP" was the USAAC's designation for service test, i.e. small numbers of early production aircraft, while the "X" in "XP" was for [[Experimental aircraft|experimental]].) Lockheed's chief [[test pilot]], [[Tony LeVier]], angrily characterized the accident as an unnecessary publicity stunt,{{sfn|Caidin|1983|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} but according to Kelsey, the loss of the prototype, rather than hampering the program, sped the process by cutting short the initial test series. The success of the aircraft design contributed to Kelsey's promotion to captain in May 1939.{{sfn|Bodie|2001|p=51}}

[[File:Mechanized P-38 conveyor lines.jpg|thumb|Mechanized P-38 assembly lines in [[Burbank, California]]{{sfn|Parker|2013|pp=59, 75–76}}]]
Manufacture of YP-38s fell behind schedule, at least partly because of changes to meet the need for mass production, making them substantially different in construction from the prototype. Another factor was the sudden required expansion of Lockheed's facility in [[Burbank, California|Burbank]], taking it from a specialized civilian firm dealing with small orders to a large government defense contractor making [[Lockheed Ventura|Venturas]], [[Lockheed Ventura#PV-2 Harpoon|Harpoons]], [[Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar|Lodestars]], and [[Lockheed Hudson|Hudsons]], and designing the [[Lockheed Constellation|Constellation]] for [[Trans World Airlines|TWA]]. The first YP-38 was not completed until September 1940, with its maiden flight on 17 September.<ref>[http://p38assn.org/aboutp38.htm "About the P-38: Early Years."] ''P-38 National Association & Museum.'' Retrieved: 21 January 2007.</ref> The 13th and final YP-38 was delivered to the USAAC in June 1941; 12 aircraft were retained for flight testing and one for destructive stress testing. The YPs were substantially redesigned and differed greatly in detail from the hand-built XP-38. They were lighter and included changes in engine fit. The propeller rotation was reversed, with the blades spinning outward (away from the [[Cockpit (aviation)|cockpit]]) at the top of their arc, rather than inward as before. This improved the aircraft's stability as a gunnery platform.<ref name="Smithsonian">[http://collections.nasm.si.edu/code/emuseum.asp?style=single&currentrecord=1&page=search&profile=objects&searchdesc=A19600295000&quicksearch=A19600295000&newvalues=1&newstyle=expanded&newcurrentrecord=1 "Collections Database: Lockheed P-38J-10-LO Lightning."] National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved: 6 February 2009.</ref>