I have traveled to see 16 different P-38s in person (some several
times). These pages
contain close-up shots as I walked around and studied the planes. My
goal is to eventually see and photograph all remaining P-38s.
I believe this may be the largest collection of up-close,
walk-around photos of the P-38 on the net. I offer these photos for
any and all P-38 enthusiasts, model builders, "warbird" fans, etc.
Enjoy!
I claim copyright for all photos. Please contact me if you wish to use any of them.
| Plane | Location |
| P-38L "83" | Evergreen Museum, McMinnville, OR |
| P-38L "Marge" | EAA Museum, Oshkosh, WI |
| P-38L "Lizzy V" | Boeing Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA |
| P-38L unnamed | USAF Museum, Dayton, OH |
| P-38J "85" | Hill Air Force Museum, Ogden, UT |
| P-38L "Marge" | Richard Bong Museum, Superior, WI |
| P-38J | Smithsonian Institution Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, VA |
| F-5 (converted P-38L) | Yanks Air Museum, Chino, CA |
| P-38L (full size replica) | National P-38 Association Museum, Riverside, CA |
| Plane | Occasion and Location |
| P-38F "Glacier Girl" | First flight, Middlesboro, KY |
| My second visit, Middlesboro, KY | |
| EAA Air Show, Oshkosh, WI | |
| P-38 Gathering, Sacramento, CA | |
| P-38J "Porky II" previously called "Joltin' Josie, now called "23 Skidoo" P-38J "23 Skidoo" |
Planes of Fame Museum, Chino, CA Planes of Fame Museum, Chino, CA |
| P-38L "Ruff Stuff" | Planes of Fame Museum, Chino, CA |
| EAA Show, Oshkosh, WI | |
| P-38 Gathering, Sacramento, CA | |
| P-38L "Tangerine" | Tillamook Air Museum, Tillamook, OR |
| P-38L "Honey Bunny" | P-38 Gathering, Sacramento, CA |
| P-38L "Thoughts of Midnite" | P-38 Gathering, Sacramento, CA |
| P-38F "White 33" | National Museum of World War II Aviation, Colorado Springs, CO |
| Description | Occasion and Location |
| Solo and groups in flight | P-38 Gathering, Sacramento, CA |
| Groups on ground | P-38 Gathering, Sacramento, CA |
| Gallery | Features Included |
| Center Fuselage | |
| Wings | |
| Engines and propellers | |
| Tailplane | |
| etc | |
Keywords: P-38 Lightning, P-38 FS2004, P-38 Flight Simulator, P-38 Walkaround, P-38 Photos, P-38 Images, P-38 Photo Gallery, Lockheed P-38, P-38 Pictures
I'm not sure what drives me to do this. Maybe it's the inspirational stories I've heard from actual P-38 pilots, maybe it's a love of aviation and the symbolism of the P-38 as a defender of freedom, but whatever it is, it has caused me to travel all over the US to see these wonderful planes.
Many times I combined the trips with other travel reasons, but in some cases I made special trips just to see the planes. My family has accompanied me on several of the trips. My girls have many "fond" memories of posing for dad in front of P-38s when they were younger! :-)
I shot my first P-38 walk-around session back in 1999 or so. At that time I was using an old Pentax A3 film camera. I used to have scanned copies of those photos on my site, but have since visited that plane several times with a digital camera. (EAA's Marge in Oshkosh, WI)
For nearly 10 years I shot digital with a 3 mega-pixel Sony point-n-shoot. Many of the photos here were taken with that camera. It was decent for its day, but by 2010 I was ready to finally get a DSLR and an assortment of lenses. I was glad I had the new camera at the big P-38 Gathering in September of that year.
I'm currently shooting with a Pentax K-S2, using four lenses: 18-55mm, 23mm prime, 70mm prime, 55-300mm telephoto. I use a tipod for some HDR and low-light shots, and a monopod for extended range shots (way above my head, if the particular museum allows (many don't)).