"The Lockheed P-38 Lightning" by Warren Bodie
"The torpedo bombers in World War II were normally large and slow. Images of the Battle of Midway show the sacrifices of the American torpedo pilots made in desperate attempts to launch their torpedoes against Japanese aircraft carriers.
Had the P-38 been carrier based, it would have been
arguably the finest torpedo bomber of the war. One Lockheed P-38F sn 43-2035 was configured to carry torpedoes and was successfully tested. Both external fuel tank pylons were configured to each carry a torpedo. Most bombers were only able to carry one torpedo, and were slow and extremely vulnerable. The P-38 that was tested had no problems delivering the dummy torpedoes, and showed only a 16.7% speed loss (300 mph top speed). Equipped with two torpedoes, the maximum range was 1,000 miles. If the P-38 was equipped with one torpedo and one 310-gallon fuel tank, the range was increased to 2,160 miles. With a single drop tank, the speed loss was reduced to 12.6%. The test flight was described as very stable, and jumped slightly when the torpedoes were released. The tests were extremely successful, and the P-38 would be a first class torpedo bomber. However, all these tests were after the Battle of Midway, and the emphasis was beginning to shift away from torpedo bombers in favor of dive-bombers. Also, the P-38 was land based, and the range options were limited when compared to a torpedo bomber on an aircraft carrier which could attack targets not available to land based aircraft. The P-38 never made a combat torpedo attack.
Most properly, it was the initial Model 332-60-04 Lightning II. It is the only RAF designated airplane to have the turbosuperchargers. It's a USAAF P-38F-13-LO numbered as RAF AC43-2035. It was retained by the USAAF and used for the torpedo demonstration by Lockheed. This was only a demonstration, never adopted.
The project was a serious Lockheed response to the pathetic performance of the obsolete USN torpedo bombers that preceded the Grumman TBF/TBM at Coral Sea and Midway. The Navy was looking for any current production aircraft that could deliver a torpedo attack with a reasonable chance of surviving the effort.
To maintain performance with the heavy weapons load, Lockheed stripped the plane of machine guns and suggested they be escorted by regular P-38 fighters for fighter and flak suppression."
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