Lockheed XP-58 Chain Lightning

The Lockheed XP-58 Chain Lightning was an American long-range fighter of the Second World War, derived from the P-38 Lightning but plagued by engine problems that eventually led to the project's cancellation. Lockheed funded it as an improved Lightning after the Army Air Corps released the Lightning for sale to Britain in April 1940. The engine changed from the Continental IV-1430 to the Pratt and Whitney XH-2600, then the Wright R-2160 Tornado, and finally the Allison V-3420, while the intended role moved between a long-range fighter, a low-altitude attack aircraft with a 75 mm cannon, a high-altitude fighter to break up bomber formations and a photographic reconnaissance aircraft. The first flight was on 6 June 1944, 25 test flights were completed and the prototype reached Wright Field on 22 October 1944, where it proved a maintenance headache and no further trials were conducted. The second prototype was abandoned.