[dimmreaper]

The only problem with the lightening was the design didn't provide room for large enough intercoolers for the 1,750HP engines used toward the tail end of the war(origional engines were only 960HP). High pressure and high intake temperatures had a tendancy to lead to explosive predetonation in cylinders 11 and 12 when British fuel was burned in them. The P-38s in the South Pacific never saw these problems because they used higher octane American fuel, but the P-38s stationed in Europe got a reputation for being "unreliable" at high altitudes.