| Artikelnummer:: | 61123 |
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Developed in response to a February 1937 request from the armed forces for a fighter excelling in speed, firepower and range, the P-38 Lightning would be a wildly successful design that had around 10,000 units produced and spawned numerous US ace pilots. While its design was constantly evolved from its maiden 1939 flight onwards, more powerful engines eventually overtook the P-38's cooling function, and output was limited to 1,250hp at higher altitudes. In August 1943 the answer to this problem appeared: the P-38J, which featured intercoolers moved from the wing leading edges to the underside of the engines. The superior cooling enabled use of its full 1,425hp even at high altitudes, while the newly-available leading edge space was not put to waste, being filled with auxiliary fuel tanks to improve the fighter's range.
