Virtually all American fighters had locking tail wheels. If you read through any pilot's handbook for these aircraft, you will find an item on the takeoff checklist that says, "tail wheel locked." BTW, locking the tail wheel did aid in controlling torque, that is until you raised the tail. This is when most pilots got into trouble due to torque, on takeoff that is. A worst case scenerio ofr torque roll was when an inexperienced pilot "firewalled" the throttle at speeds near stall. There was insufficient airflow across the control surfaces to overcome the effect of torque, and the fighters tended to roll inverted, stall and spin in. In this regard, many pilots experienced in both the P-51 and F4U will tell you that the P-51 was as bad or worse than the famous "Ensign Eliminator" with regard to "torque roll." Thunderbolts, thanks to their greater bulk, were easier to control. P-38s were, essentially, torque-free unless an engine failed on takeoff. If that were to occur, only the most experienced pilots could avoid rolling inverted and crashing alongside the runway This was almost impossible to avoid if you were still below minimum single engine airspeed. It took experience and a cool head to chop the throttle on the good engine while pushing the nose down with scant room between you and the ground. If possible, the preferred method was to land straight ahead. Should that not be feasible, and should the P-38 not hit a ground object, the pilot could then slowly add power to the good engine until he could climb out and make an emergency landing.
Sorry for wandering off topic....
My regards,
Widewing
