Warbird Information Exchange

Seen several photos of PTO P-38's with sharks mouths (great looking schemes) but I believe this is the first I've seen the checkerboard tails.
Found on ebay.

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No expert, but wonder if this is the same #20 earlier ... I'd guess no.

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“With bottomless pockets...anything is possible”

Works for me as far as the paint on #1...

The eyes on the cowlings look different as well as the shapes of the teeth in the sharks mouths on the cowlings. The lower image has a band around the aft boom on the right hand side. Even the camo on the nose is a different wave pattern. At least to me it does. Cool pics!

I don't think the chequered fin seen in the photo, is attached to the P38, if you look closely

Zoomed in and enhanced the photo. Definitely checkers on the tail.

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The tail looms to be yellow and maybe red checks. They are now t black unless very faded, and the lighter color isn't white. Any 38 squadrons have che ks on their tails?

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

It looks like the checkers would be white and the same color as the prop spinners. There were some P-38's from the 475th FG and 18th FG that had blue spinners and blue checkers on the radiator fairings, and another from the 8th FG that had green spinners and green checkers on the rudders. My first thought was 475th FG, and blue spinners and blue/white checkers on the tail fins. (Some 35th FG Lightnings, like the P-38F "White 33" nearing completion at Westpac, went onto serve with other Groups, like the 475th FG and 8th FG.)

The second one is a totally different airframe - even the demarcation lines of the factory-applied camouflage are different between the two (not to mention different mouths, eyes, and other details) - just like there are the two well known early model "White 33" P-38's (and both with shark mouths too), that also both served with the same Groups.

Why refer to "White + number"? That is usually used describing German or Ruskie machines...

Checkers from front to back ...


P-38L Lightning #88 of the 94th FS 1st Fighter Group twin 8 balls




P-38L 18th FG 70th FS


P-38 Lightning (8V-C, serial number 44-24274) of the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group in flight.

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“With bottomless pockets...anything is possible”