What was the P-38L's "Christmas tree"?

Short answer

It was the name of the P-38L's rocket racks: the "Christmas tree" mounts carried five HVAR rockets under each wing and added 1,365 lb (619 kg) to the aircraft. They replaced the original setup of seven rockets on mounts under each wing, on the first Lightning with zero-length launchers.

Published: October 24, 2026 · Updated: October 24, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Lockheed P-38 Lightning (USAAC)William Pretrina (CC BY SA), vía commons

The P-38L, the ultimate Lightning

The P-38J-25-LO block and the later P-38L are considered the ultimate Lightnings. The P-38L was the most numerous variant, with 3,923 units, 113 of them built by Consolidated-Vultee at its Nashville plant, and it entered USAAF service in June 1944, in time to support the Allied invasion of France on D-Day. Lockheed-built aircraft carried the suffix "LO" and those from Consolidated-Vultee, "VN".

Rockets under the wings

The P-38L was the first Lightning fitted with zero-length rocket launchers. At first it carried seven HVAR (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket) rockets on mounts under each wing; later the "Christmas tree" racks were adopted, with five HVAR on each wing, which added 1,365 lb (619 kg) to the aircraft. The P-38L also had reinforced hardpoints to carry 2,000 lb (900 kg) bombs or 300 US gallon (1,100 l) drop tanks.

A fighter turned attack aircraft

That capability suited the way the Lightning was used in Europe. The 370th and 474th Fighter Groups of the IX Tactical Air Command dive-bombed radar installations, armor, troop concentrations and anti-aircraft towers, and in July and August 1944 they attacked artillery positions, troops, depots and tanks near Saint-Lô and in the Falaise-Argentan area.

Lockheed also modified 200 P-38J airframes on the production line to convert them into unarmed F-5B photo-reconnaissance aircraft. The 370th Group continued ground-attack missions across Europe until February 1945, when it transitioned to the P-51 Mustang. In the Pacific, meanwhile, the P-38 shot down more than 1,800 Japanese aircraft, and more than a hundred of its pilots became aces.