Was P-38 copied from D-2 ?

Here is the Tow Snyder Show proof. Episode 2/26/1979

http://www.tv.com/shows/the-tomorrow-show-1973/season-6/

The wing platform as seen in the 3-view, reminds me of the Northrup P-61.

Yes Black Widow was similar.

I find most annoying the hints that HK-1 aka Spruce Goose wasn’t flyable at all.

There is a 1978 Tom Snyder Show which tells us ( 3 engineers of the project ) that it ( HK-1 ) was a year from completion when HH flew the huge aircraft.

Unfortunately the 4 videos of the show have been removed from the internet.

HK-1 weighed only 1/3 of the present day similar carrying aeroplanes. Thanks to DURAMOLD structure.

The wing platform as seen in the 3-view, reminds me of the Northrup P-61.

One thing puzzles me. We will never know the real performance of the XF-11 as it was destroyed on the maiden flight and never fitted with contra props again.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_XF-11

Here is the second proto; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtZDfdpbnws

D-2 was sorta souped up G.1.

See this…6 MGs front and 4 at the back !

Clearly a predecessor of the XF-11.

D-2 was sorta souped up G.1.

See this…6 MGs front and 4 at the back !

I’d imagine Lockheed was quite capable of designing a high performance aircraft without Hughes help.
After all, were not talking about some small firm, by the time the P-38 was in the works, Lockheed was doing very well with its celebrating twins and with Johnson, a very capable design staff.

My father-in-law’s best friend was Hughes’ personal aircraft mechanic for years. Said he was a first class pilot.

Well Howard Robart Hughes was many things. He had also crashed 8 times ( aeroplanes and cars ) which undoutably left a mark on him.

Having lots of money he was able to accomplish huge undertakings, but the HK-1 was definitely a year behind ( or two ) the schedule.

Hiring Virginius Clark to make the Spruce Goose was a wise move, but I heard they accomplished more when Hughes himself was not around making the behemoth details.

I’d imagine Lockheed was quite capable of designing a high performance aircraft without Hughes help.
After all, were not talking about some small firm, by the time the P-38 was in the works, Lockheed was doing very well with its celebrating twins and with Johnson, a very capable design staff.

My father-in-law’s best friend was Hughes’ personal aircraft mechanic for years. Said he was a first class pilot.

In his autobiography, Kelly Johnson basically said they had a long engine to fit in, the turbocharger and it’s associated plumbing, the landing gear and the cooling system. And by the time they had found room for all that they were out where the tail could be-so they just stuck one on!
Incidentally, he went up with Hughes in a Constellation when Hughes was shopping for his TWA airline and the pilot let him fly it for a while-and at one point the ASI read ZERO! (The first and only time Johnson and his team had seen that while flying!) So they got him out of his seat and landed back in silence!

Lockheed started design on the P-38 in 1937 as well

That is correct just prior to the first flight of the Fokker G.1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_P-38_Lightning

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A good D-2 story; https://oldmachinepress.com/2015/11/23/hughes-d-2/

Apparently D-2 was a failure ?

Lockheed started design on the P-38 in 1937 as well

No I highly doubt it, Hughes was twisting stories to get paid for his twin, which was lost in a fire :rolleyes:

“The Lockheed P-38 Lightning racked up an impressive series of “firsts”–it was the first Lockheed-designed military aircraft to go into series production, it was the first twin-engined interceptor to serve with the USAAC, it was the first production fighter powered by the Allison V-1710 in-line engine, it was the first modern fighter equipped with a tricycle landing gear, it was the first American plane to use butt-jointed flush riveted external surfaces, it was the first to make extensive use of stainless steel, it was the first fighter to use a bubble canopy right from the start, it was the first fighter with speeds over 400 mph, it was the first US twin-boom fighter to go into production, 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 USAAF fighter.”

That does not seem likely, the D-2 had its first flight in 1943 while the P-38 first flew in 1941. Considering the pace of development back then 2 years is a massive lead. Consider the P-51 took less then half a year from first drawings to first flight.

Besides, the Fokker G.1 first flew in 1937 and I would not be surprised if planes with similar layout can be found prior to the G.1

Hughes started his D-2 in 1937; Design and development[edit]

In 1937, Howard Hughes began the design of an advanced twin-engine, twin-boom interceptor in the hope of interesting the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) in its procurement. The design was somewhat similar to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning that won the 1939 USAAC design competition.

Fokker G1 was the early twin boom too; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra-GilItPHo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_G.I

Would it be possible that both “copied” the fundamental idea from G.1 ?

That does not seem likely, the D-2 had its first flight in 1943 while the P-38 first flew in 1941. Considering the pace of development back then 2 years is a massive lead. Consider the P-51 took less then half a year from first drawings to first flight.

Besides, the Fokker G.1 first flew in 1937 and I would not be surprised if planes with similar layout can be found prior to the G.1