P-38 Over Water

[MIflyer]

This one of the pictures that randomly pop up when you log into the site. Anyone know if this is a real WWII photo or anything about the circumstances? I think it is real WWII vintage because the P-38 is equipped with SCR-274-N, complete with long wire antenna. The most likely location would seem to be the Pacific because P-38's that went to Europe were equipped with SCR-522, although the CBI is a possibility. In any case, this is a great photo!

 

[Wurger]

 

[Tieleader]

Looks a little to clean for a combat bird. No heavy exhaust streaks,faded paint with chips,etc . Maybe enroute somewhere?

 

[MIflyer]

I'll admit it does look nice and fresh. There does seem to be a stain near the fuel cap on the right wing. And with those turbos where they are you don't get as much of an exhaust stain, although there is some there. And there are no drop tanks I can see..

 

[Tieleader]

Maybe a check or acceptance flight out on the west coast?

 

[MIflyer]

Acceptance or ferry flight? I hardly think it would have with nose art.

 

[Gnomey]

Nice shot!

 

[GrauGeist]

The color of the photo is a bit off, but the camo and the yellow H leads me to think it might be from a unit of the 8th FG operating in the south pacific, like Papua New Guinea.

By the way, zoom in the photo, it has exhaust streaking all the way to the radiators.

 

[MIflyer]

Notice it has both the long wire antenna for the SCR-274-N and a long blade antenna under the nose that looks too long to be an AN-104. I doubt it would have both HF and VHF comm radios - fitting them all in there would be a challenge, among other things. Could the long blade antenna be IFF?

 

[fubar57]

I don't think that's an antenna underneath. It looks like a pitot tube as seen on the E model. I've blown it up and though its not very clear, it certainly looks like a protrusion at the front which you can just make out as well in the original photo above

 

[MIflyer]

Well, I found some more pictures of earlier model P-38's with that same "antenna" under the nose. It might well make sense as a pitot tube because the leading edge intercooolers would have made putting a pitot tube in the wings a lot more difficult,but they could have gotten rid of it by putting it in the wing for the late models, with some early J's being airplanes in transition. I also found pictures of F-5's with the same "antenna" atop the nose, presumably because it would interfere with the camera installation otherwise. You cannot see anything sticking out on the front but a pitot tube intake would not have to stick out - a hole would suffice. Now the earliest P-38's DID have a part that stuck out at the end of that part so a pitot tube probably is what it is - but not all of them had it, and of those that had it, not all of them had anything sticking out at the tip.

I did find a color picture of an 80th Fighter Squadron P-38J on the ground at Port Moresby. It is also OD, has nose art and is coded "G" on the nose and the tail and also has green tipped spinners. So that photo very probably is genuine WWII!

 

[GrauGeist]

That is an AN-104-A antenna for the SCR-522A range reciever on the nose.

The pitot tube is underneath the port wing about halfway between the engine and wingtip.

 

[MIflyer]

The SCR-522 is a VHF comm radio, not a range receiver. If that airplane has SCR-274-N, as the long wire antenna and the type of radio gear behind the pilot tends to indicate, there is not enough room on board for both the SCR-522 and the SCR-27-N.

Now I did find one photo of a Pacific theater P-38 with Jerry Johnson standing next to the nose and the base of that device looks to be wooden, like a AN-104. But it looks to be too long to be an AN-104. I don't guess there is any reason that a pitot tube could not be made like an AN-104, shaped wood with a metal covering.

 

[GrauGeist]

P-38L 4-view...

 

[fubar57]

No landing gear light on the leading edge in the photo

I did find a color picture of an 80th Fighter Squadron P-38J on the ground at Port Moresby. It is also OD, has nose art and is coded "G" on the nose and the tail and also has green tipped spinners. So that photo very probably is genuine WWII!

I agree about the squadron, I've only found letters on 80th FS, 8th FG. I used a different photo editor on your picture. It's a bit clearer and will say its not a pitot tube. Still a few P-38 books to go through

 

[fubar57]

OK, I've found a profile that is not entirely like the photo but its a start. The profile is missing the antenna on the nose and the word "Millie" on the lower part of the left nacelle. It might be there in the shadows. Anyhoo... the caption says, "P-38J-10 42-67898 Hill's Angel/Millie of Lt. Allen Hill, 80th FS/8th FG, Finschhafen, January 1944"

 

[fubar57]

Right off the get-go, the serial number is wrong

 

[fubar57]

Going to have to do more reading on this. Found photos of the aircraft but there is no nose antenna. There must be more than one "Hill's Angel"
lt. allen hill p-38 hill's angel - Google Search

 

[MIflyer]

I looked in the P-38L Erection and Maintenance Manual posted elsewhere and it is missing quite a lot of pages, including almost all of the the instrumentation section, so it was no help at finding the location of the pitot tube. . It does show that the SCR-522 antenna, the AN-104, is located in that exact spot under the nose.

The SCR-695 IFF antenna, AN-95, is located under the right rear boom, pointing down.

But that airplane has a long wire antenna. And the radio in the back is black and at that point in the war most SCR-274-N were unpainted aluminum. The SCR-522 was painted black, like the radio in the photo. So I guess the long wire antenna could be for the BC-1206 Detrola 200 - 400 KHZ receiver, which could be fitted in addition to the SCR-522 (note, I have an SCR-522, numerous SCR-274-N sets and a few BC-1206 receivers). I have wondered for years if the BC-1206 was used overseas, but it was really only useful for receiving the US A-N navigational ranges and control tower transmissions; it was not an ADF. What they would use the LF for in the Pacific, I do not know.

I looekd in the Detail and Scale books as well as the Warren Bodie book and it is clear that the earliest P-38's had the pitot tube on that stick under the nose. But I cannot see where the pitot tube is on the J and L models. Some of the drawings (P-38L Pathfinder and P-38M night fighter) and one photo of a P-38L shows it under the left wing, but when it migrated there I do not know.

And in any case that looks like one of the best WWII aerial shots of a P-38 in a combat zone that I have ever seen. Don't know how Jeff Ethel missed it for his WWII in color books.

 

[GrauGeist]

As I've already mentioned (and provided a 4-view), the pitot tube is located beneath the port wing, midway between the engine and the wingtip. To clarify that, I meant by the time the P-38 in the original photo was in service.

It is true that the YP-38 through the P-38D had the pitot in the nose, however, by the late E model, it had been relocated to the port wing.

Here's a look at Glacier Girl (which is an F model) - note the pitot under the port wing and the AN-104-A under the nose.

Here's a look at the pitot on the YP-38 for comparison.