USE Edit/WORD WRAP!
P-38L-5-LO
of MAJ GERALD R. "JERRY" JOHNSON, Deputy CO, 49th FG, Biak, October 1944
NOTE!
Careful with the gauge installation! See the installation section below.
For best view, set CFS2 "texture size" (in settings/display/image quality/) to 1024.
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1. Legal stuff
2. Credits
Gryphon Aviation
714th 1% Flight Test Center
Joe Amodea and Graham (aka RPS Viper)
3. The P-38
4. Col. Gerald R. "Jerry" Johnson
5. Bibliography and Links
Books on the P-38
Links to information on the P-38
Links to information on COL Gerald R. "Jerry" Johnson
6. Installation
7. Textures and Add-Ons
8. Panel (see other *.txt file!)
9. Contact Gryphon
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1. LEGAL STUFF
This aircraft is freeware. It will not be bought, sold, or traded for profit without the written permission of Gryphon Aviation.
This aircraft may be uploaded to another site, re-textured, and re-posted as long as proper credit is given to Gryphon Aviation and this readme is included. We would appreciate a note letting us know what modifications you have made and where you've re-posted it.
NOTE: Paint Shop Pro (*.psp) texture files are available on our site to make re-texturing easier. See Textures and Add-Ons
All gauges labeled GA.* are the property of Gryphon Aviation
These gauges may be used by other panel designers subject to the following restrictions
The gauge names and bitmaps can not be altered without permission
Proper credit is given in the documentation
These gauges may not be used in any aircraft or panel for which money is exchanged in ANY form.
These gauges may not be loaded as separate items to any website, bbs, or other media without express written consent of Gryphon Aviation
These files (aircraft, panel, sound, and gauges) are not warranted in any fashion. The builders have taken all precautions possible and have found no damage to any system running them, but make no warranties as to function, applicability, or as to damage to any system on which they are placed.
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2. CREDITS
Visual Model, textures, panel, and DP by Gryphon Aviation.
http://gryphon.users3.50megs.com/
Air file by the 714th 1% Flight Test Center
http://home.socal.rr.com/flighttest/
Pilot Figure modified from the one by Dave Eckert, available at the Free Flight Design Shop
Special Thanks to Joe Amodea of C.H.A.P.S. and Graham (aka RPS Viper) of VB Planes for all their assistance with this project!
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3. THE P-38
When first flown, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning was an aircraft ahead of it's time. It was the first twin-engined fighter to serve with the USAAC, the first modern fighter equipped with tricycle landing gear, the first American plane to use butt-jointed flush riveted external surfaces, the first to make extensive use of stainless steel, the first fighter to use a bubble canopy right from the start, and the first fighter with speeds over 400 mph... It's series of firsts continues: "it was the first USAAF fighter to shoot down a German aircraft, it was the first USAAF fighter to carry out an escort mission to Berlin, it was the first USAAF plane to land in Japan after that country had surrendered, it was the heaviest US single-seat fighter of World War 2, it was the only American fighter in production at the time of Pearl Harbor to be still in production at the war's end, and it accounted for more Japanese aircraft destroyed in combat than any other US fighter..." Joe Baugher, Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
Captain Eric Brown--test pilot for the Royal Navy who flew nearly every combat aircraft type of WW2 from all sides--called the later model P-38 "one of the best all-around fighters" of the Second World War. Range, speed, ceiling, agility, and firepower... The P-38 had them all. The P-38 was also difficult to mass-produce and had severe teething problems. Due to the problems of compressibility, difficulty in bailing-out, and engine failure (mostly when flying out of England and likely caused by weather, high altitude operations, poor maintenance, and/or poor quality fuel) it developed a bad reputation at first. However, it excelled in the Mediterranean, CBI, and Pacific Theaters, and the top two American Aces, Bong (40) and McGuire (38) flew the P-38. The P-38F-13-LO introduced Fowler "combat flaps" (also called "Maneuver flaps") could be deployed at high speeds and gave the P-38 an excellent turning radius, tighter even than an Fw190.
Starting with the "J" series (P-38J-25-LO) and continuing through the "L" P-38s were equipped with aileron boost which required only 17 percent of the previous stick forces, giving the P-38Js one of the best roll rates of any fighter. The "J" series also introduced "Dive Brakes" ("D" key on the CFS2 board set up) which changed the center of lift on the wings, enabling the aircraft to pull out dives after it had entered compressibility. They were also a great assist in dogfighting. The pilot would roll 90 deg, hit the dive brake button on the control column, and it would pop the nose around in a flash. This is the aircraft that Captain Eric Brown evaluated.
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4. COL GERALD R. "JERRY" JOHNSON
This aircraft, P-38L-5-LO (serial unknown) was flown my MAJ Gerald R. "Jerry" Johnson (not to be confused with the other Gerald Johnson, a P-47 ace in the ETO) while he was the deputy commander of the 49th FG at Biak in October 1944. The pre-war style tail stripes were common in several fighter squadrons in the South Pacific.
MAJ Johnson was one of the most experienced U.S. fighter pilots in the PTO with 22 confirmed aerial victories and 21 probable. Described by his peers as "a true combat leader", MAJ Johnson commanded the 9th FS as a Captain and later commanded the 49th FG. He flew the P-38, P-39, P-40, and P-47 in combat.
Two months after VJ day, now Colonel Johnson was a passenger on a B-17 (some sources say a B-25) over Japan that became lost in a storm and ran low on fuel. After the order to bail out was given it was discovered that some passengers did not have parachutes. COL Johnson and another pilot remained on board to attempt to nurse the aircraft to a runway. They were both killed in the attempt.
There are several good sources for information about the p-38 and COL Johnson on the web. See below for some links I found useful.
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5. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LINKS
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Books on the P-38
"The Lockheed P-38 Lightning: The definitive story of Lockheed's P-38 Fighter" by Warren M. Bodie, Widewing Pub. 1991
The P-38 bible. Lots and lots of information (almost too much!)
"Fork Tailed Devil: The P-38" by Martin Caidin, Bantam Books 1971
Lots of good stories, but a little shaky on the facts. Think of this as "semi-nonfiction."
"P-38 Aces of the Pacific and CBI" (Aircraft of the Aces, No 14) by John Stanaway, Osprey Publishing Limited 1997 Good information and nice color profiles (this is where I got the texture information).
"P-38 Lightning Aces of the ETO/MTO" (Aircraft of the Aces, No 19) by John Stanaway, Osprey Publishing Limited 1998
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Links to information on the P-38
The Ultimate P-38 Web Site Photos, development, aces, everything!
Joe Baugher's Encyclopedia of American Military Aircraft Excellent history and development of the P-38.
Also see Joe's Home Page with many more links to aviation sites
Der Gabelschwanz Teufel (The Fork Tailed Devil)
from: Aircraft and Planes of World War Two An online World War II Aviation History Magazine. Excellent history and development of the P-38
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Links to information on COL Gerald R. "Jerry" Johnson
"The Bravest Man I Ever Knew" Article from Air Force Magazine On-Line.
PTO P-38 Lightning Aces of WWII Excellent summary of Johnson's career with several brief reports of his air battles.
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6. INSTALLATION
NOTE: For the best view, you must have your settings set to view 1024 textures. It will not effect your frame rates too significantly.
1. This aircraft uses the sound of the stock P-38F LIGHTNING. Ensure you have not changed the name of--or deleted--this aircraft. If you have, you must either reinstall it from your CD or change the "P-38L-5-LO\sound\sound.cfg" file.
2. Place the "P-38-5-LO" folder in the CFS2/Aircraft folder
3. Place the "GAmilprop" folder in the CFS2/Gauges folder.
Yes, the whole "GAmilprop" folder. NOT LIKE USUAL.
The result will look like this (see also "instal.jpg" in the /Gryphon folder):
--C:\
--Program Files
--Microsoft Games
--Combat Flight Simulator 2
--Aircraft
--P-38L-5-LO
--Model
--Panel
--Sound
--texture
--Gauges
--GAMilProp
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7. TEXTURES AND ADD-ONS
The Paint Shop Pro source files for these textures are uploaded up loaded at the Gryphon web page, http://gryphon.users3.50megs.com/ Be warned, It's a very large file!
If you use using Photo Shop (or another program) you can download an evaluation version of Paintshop Pro from http://www.jasc.com/ and convert the files.
Any other updates for this aircraft will be posted on our web page.
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8. CONTACT GRYPHON
If you make any improvements to the airfile, textures, or visual model--or have any suggestions--please contact us so we can improve this product.
Thanks and enjoy!
Gryphon Aviation.
http://gryphon.users3.50megs.com/
Steve Downing, Marv Howell, and Hugh Shoults
shoultsh@yahoo.com
gryphonav@yahoo.com