44-23507 Trail Blazer
The view of the bombardier through the plexiglass nose of a Droop Snoot P-38 coming in to land. Note the bombardiers feet at bottom of frame. Roger Freeman Collection
Roger Freeman Photo.
Built as a P-38J by Lockheed, field modified to 'Droop Snoot*' configuration.
* The 'Droop Snoot' field conversion entailed the removal of the nose armament and associated equipment to make room for a prone bombardiers position with the installation of a plexiglass nose, a Norden bombsight, side windows and an emergency hatch. The theory was for a formation of P-38's to drop their bombs on the formation lead 'Droop snoots' signal with the precision of the Norden bombsight ensuring the accuracy of the formations bombing. An idea championed by Lt Col Cass Hough and Lt Col Dan Ostrander.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Manufactured |
Burbank, CA, USA | Built at Lockheed aviation as P-38J. | |
Delivered |
Long Beach, CA, USA | Delivered to USAAF. | |
Other Field modified |
Langford Lodge, Ireland | P-38J Lightning field modified to 'Droop Snoot*' configuration. | |
Assigned |
Stoney Cross, Derby, Derby DE21 7NS, UK | Assigned to 393FS, 367FG, 9AF. |