XP-76 Double Lightning

[Scotaidh]

XP-76 Double Lightning

In early 1942, the USAF was worried about having unescorted bombers operating over Japan.  The heavy losses incurred by the RAF in daylight bombing missions over Europe seemed to indicate that unescorted bombers were easy pray for modern fighter aircraft.  At a time when the Japanese seemed unbeatable, un-escorted bombing missions over the Japanese home islands seemed certain suicide. 

The Doolittle raid did nothing to allay these fears.  Of the 16 aircraft employed, none returned, and even though that had been expected, no-one liked it.  The crews did mostly return to service, but only after significant delays.  The Air Force was not happy with the idea of "single-use" aircraft, and experienced air crews were simply not expendable.

The island hopping campaign was still in planning stages at this time, and no-one knew if it would be a success or a disaster.  No existing fighter aircraft had anything like the range required to escort bombers from Peal Harbor.  Naval aircraft required vulnerable carriers, which were expensive and had long build times.

Accordingly, Lockheed was asked if there were something they could do, using an off-the-shelf solution to avoid unnecessary costs.  Hibbard and Johnson, being busy with the P-38 development, handed the project off to Virgil Upton. He decided on a 'double-Lightning' – basically a P-38 with pilot's nacelle lengthened and an extended wing-and-engine set-up added outboard the original engines.  The design team was confident that this configuration would yield the required range, and that the aircraft would do well using the "boom-and-zoom" tactics beginning to work out against the Japanese air force and naval aircraft. The project was designated ''XP-76''. 

Work on the ''Double Lightning'', as the XP-76 was called, progressed well, if slowly.  Wind tunnel tests had revealed a number of serious problems that needed to be resolved before the aircraft could be safely test-flown. 

Before all the problems were resolved, it became evident that the island-hopping campaign was working, and the XP-76 program was cancelled.


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This is the Revell 1/48 model - well, parts of three of them, actually.  One kit had an unusable pilot-pod - the box had been crushed, and that was a casualty.  I had originally planned to do a double nose-wheel as well as the mains, but I ran out of Wanna, so that tyre is very high pressure. 

Thanks for looking! 

[comrade harps]

Very nice. Like what you did with the wings, especially. 

[TomZ]

Very nice. Wonderful execution!


TomZ

[kerick]

Four engines could make it a bomber too!
Nice work! Now you have to figure out where to display it!

[Tophe]

 


I love it very much! Thanks a lot!
I will for sure draw it for my collection, adding 2 versions to make 3 as I do often in my huge collection of Lightnings, missing this beauty of yours!

(well, if I were president of the World, destroying a twin-boom layout would be classified as criminal, but your way is so pleasant, you would get a Medal of Honour!)

[Tophe]

I will for sure draw it for my collection, adding 2 versions to make 3 as I do often in my huge collection of Lightnings, missing this beauty of yours!

Now it is at the (temporary) end of my site http://www.kristofmeunier.fr/#Sit : XP-76 of yours, YP-76 and P-76A to complete the set, thanks again!

[andrewj]

Nice model and concept , well done indeed.

Andrew

[Captain Canada]

That's wild ! I like the look of that one. Thanks for sharing !

[zenrat]

Wow!  That's great.
Good job.

[PR19_Kit]

Superb job of wing extension, both in span and chord, there. 

[Hobbes]

Crap. Photobucket doesn't allow you to insert photos anymore?

[zenrat]

Works fine for me.

[NARSES2]

Great work

[ericr]

excellent

[su27rules]

  Great!!