Lockheed P-38 Lightning in RAF Service

Lockheed P-38 Lightning in RAF Service

In March 1940, the French and the British, through the Anglo-French Purchasing Committee, ordered a total of 667 P-38s designated Model 322. The aircraft would be a variant of the P-38E. To ensure commonality of Allison engines with the large numbers of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks both nations had on order, they ordered the Model 322 with twin right-handed engines instead of counter-rotating ones and without turbo-superchargers. These modifications resulted in a significant decrease in performance. Eventually the RAF received only three Model 322s for evaluation, with the remainder being passed on to the USAAF.

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RAF Droop Snoot Lightning

RAF Air Commodore Alfred C H Sharp, a former Deputy Chief of Staff HQ 8th AF, was gifted P-38 Lightning 44-23517 as his personal aircraft when he left to take up a new posting as 54 base commander. Initially flown solely by Sharp it was later used as operationally.

A ‘Droop Snoot’ was lent to No 5 Grp RAF for a month, causing quite an impression, and upon its return to the USAAF, 44-23517 was sent to Langford Lodge for conversion. Used extensively on operations in the master bomber role until AC Sharp left Coningsby for a new posting at Northolt, later transferred to No 51 MU at Lichfield for disposal, thence onto Delft University, Netherlands in 1948 and finally back to the USAAF.

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