As far as its numerical presence is concerned,

the P-38 was third in line at Kingman,

numbering 300-or-so and far behind the B-24 &

B-17 in quantity. However, considering mass, that still means there were around 1900 TONS of surplus Lightnings sent to Kingman...

These were also one of

Sales-Storage Depot No.41's luckier types, because along with the Invaders that survived Kingman (more about them on the A-26 Page), it's reported that quite a few of Lockheed's beautiful twin-tailed fighters were also fortunate enough to have flown back out again, purchased by aircraft brokers, air racing enthusiasts and even one of Burbank's best-known test pilots, Tony LeVier. More on him later...
Although they were at Kingman in far fewer numbers than Liberators & Fortresses, the amount of P-38 artifacts in the

Depot 41 Museum Collection disproportionately approaches that of her 4-engined cousins.

Incredible Discovery Site

Revisited

On a clear January day back in 1985 and once again searching for the illusive planes that vanished some 37 years prior, this Canopy from a P-38 Lightning magically appeared before me among the sagebrush:

With all the other carried equipment, my AE1 had been deemed too cumbersome for these lengthy treks, so unfortunately there are no photos of this marvelous event.

However, flattened long ago by some unknown force, the Canopy appeared to have been waiting patiently on me all those decades, for still beside the famework was the housing of

its rearview Mirror , the P-38's distinctive YALE Lock and scattered everywhere were dozens of pieces of broken

& sun-scorched plexiglas.

After taking time to savor the moment, the location was noted, then the first three items were gathered and boxed. In my defense, it was early in this writer's AIRcaeological career, so the plexiglas was left lying on the ground...

...a decision I had always lamented.

Fast forward over 2 Decades:

Often wondering if this special site could again be located, the old treasure map was finally dusted off and on a recent field trip, we began what turned out to be a surprisingly short search. In an area over half a mile from where the line of Lockheed fighters once sat and what has always been an empty patch of desert, a scattering of broken and sun-scorched plexiglas was again discovered. Having now been there some 60 years, this plexiglas was not only thinner than normally found in turrets or other aircraft cockpits, but it was a size that seemed (as memory served) to closely match the few shards remaining in the Frame. Colored flags were placed by each fragment for photo & GPS documentation and this time all were most assuredly retrieved!

Significantly, two bits of plastic mirror were also recovered , further increasing the probability that this was indeed the precise spot where the Canopy had been nearly

23 years earlier...

The clincher that slammed the door on all doubt came with the discovery of a large, riveted washer... the type known to have been used on the P-38 Canopy's steel cross-brace which prevented the plexiglas from breaking during extreme maneuvers.

Upon returning home, the Frame was pulled from dusty storage and, HOLEY GYM SOCKS,

it was found to be missing

a single, riveted washer!!!!

Now, you might call the recovery of these long-lost artifacts pure luck and/or bulldogged determination, but in over 3 decades of KAAF involvement, there has never been a more satisfying sequence of events than this!

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Among the many other Kingman P-38 artifacts in the Depot 41 Museum Collection are the crash remains described on the Mishaps Page and the

Pilot's Main Instrument Panel

from this P-38M:

     

One of only seventy five P-38Ms built, 7234 on her nose was short for 44-27234 and like all the other Night Lightnings, she began life rolling off the Lockheed assembly line as an "L" model.

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Photo credits this page:

Douglas D. Olson,

Lockheed via Robert C. Ferguson,

Depot 41 Photo Archive