Many pilots who flew the Lightning long enough to master all of its unique capabilities, especially for the late J & L variants said that there wasn't another fighter aircraft in the world that they wouldn't gladly take on at any altitude. Col. Oliver Taylor who was a P-38 ace and a group commander in the MTO said in 1944 that it took a pilot about twice as long to master the P-38, but that he could then become "invincible" in this aircraft.
Mit einer späten FW190 oder 190D mit einem halbwegs ausgebildetem Flugzeugführer hat die P38 keine Chance ! Der Gabelschwanzteufel ist als Bodenangriffswaffe ganz gut - aber sonst ?
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I'm somewhat of a WW2 aircraft buff. It seems the German pilots called 38's Lightnings and the Japanese refered to them as fork tailed devils when it operated in the later parts of the war.
OK. I'd always heard it described the other way around, with the Germans using the "fork-tailed devil" nickname. Then again, given that the Japanese suffered a terrible pounding by P-38 pilots like Bong, McGuire, Lynch etc., they undoubtedly had less-than-generous thoughts about this great fighter:) --
Unfortunately Maj. MacGuire with his P-38L was shot down in Philippine.
Ki-84 FTW!
deathstrike44 7 months ago
"The P38 would beat the Axis fighters like a red-headed stepchild!"
MrWINNSLAW 11 months ago
My favorite plane. :)
777JFH 1 year ago
Just nice.
82abnoff 1 year ago
The reason the P51 became the main US FIGHTER was cost the P38 cost twice as much....
But the P38 had the performance and the long range, well before the P51 was deployed...
ClarksonsinUSA 1 year ago
The P38 was supposedly something of a hangar queen. It was a complex machine for its day.
When it flew, it did some great things like killing Adm Yamamoto.
TRUMPHENT 1 year ago
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Many pilots who flew the Lightning long enough to master all of its unique capabilities, especially for the late J & L variants said that there wasn't another fighter aircraft in the world that they wouldn't gladly take on at any altitude. Col. Oliver Taylor who was a P-38 ace and a group commander in the MTO said in 1944 that it took a pilot about twice as long to master the P-38, but that he could then become "invincible" in this aircraft.
Tommy McGuire & Dick Bong certainly thought so!
OneLancelotLink 2 years ago
A P-38 pilot who served in the Pacific once told me the Japanese called the P-38 "Two planes, one pilot."
sheboggie 2 years ago 4
Mit einer späten FW190 oder 190D mit einem halbwegs ausgebildetem Flugzeugführer hat die P38 keine Chance ! Der Gabelschwanzteufel ist als Bodenangriffswaffe ganz gut - aber sonst ?
64Kongootto 2 years ago 4
@64Kongootto
not much is competition for the 190D
its a good thing too few of them were built.
Yamaha950 2 years ago
Das ist genau das , was ich geschrieben habe.
Und Setherion99 liegt leider falsch....Der Gabelschwanzteufel ist bei den Deutschen Flakbesatzungen aufgekommen.
Viele Güße ( Many Greetings ) aus ( from ) Deutschland ( Germany )
Torsten.
64Kongootto 2 years ago 5
It was the japanese that called it the fork tailed devil, not the germans.
Sethorion99 2 years ago
How do you know this?
stevevandien 2 years ago
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I'm somewhat of a WW2 aircraft buff. It seems the German pilots called 38's Lightnings and the Japanese refered to them as fork tailed devils when it operated in the later parts of the war.
Sethorion99 2 years ago
OK. I'd always heard it described the other way around, with the Germans using the "fork-tailed devil" nickname. Then again, given that the Japanese suffered a terrible pounding by P-38 pilots like Bong, McGuire, Lynch etc., they undoubtedly had less-than-generous thoughts about this great fighter:) --
stevevandien 2 years ago
@Sethorion99
I believe the germans did call it the fork tailed devil
the japanese called it "two planes one pilot"
Yamaha950 2 years ago 11
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Two girls, one cup?
beautydaddy 2 years ago
Have you heard of Glacier Girl?
hutigg 2 years ago
Mmmmm Sexy Death
Zippercdrr 2 years ago