P-38 Lightning Historical overview

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. The aircraft was used in a number of different roles, including dive bombing, level bombing, ground strafing, photo reconnaissance missions, and extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with droppable fuel tanks under its wings. The P-38 was used most extensively and successfully in the Pacific Theater of Operations and the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, where it was flown by the American pilots with the highest number of aerial victories to this date. America's top ace Richard Bong earned 40 victories (in a Lightning he called Marge), and Thomas McGuire (in Pudgy) scored 38. In the South West Pacific theater, it was a primary fighter of United States Army Air Forces until the appearance of large numbers of P-51D Mustangs toward the end of the war.

Category:

Education

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• jane's
• ww2
• wwii
• fighters
• world
• war
• usaaf
• fork
• tail
• devil
• gun
• camera
• guncam

[Yamaha950]

@Sethorion99

I believe the germans did call it the fork tailed devil

the japanese called it "two planes one pilot"

[64Kongootto]

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.

[deathstrike44]

Unfortunately Maj. MacGuire with his P-38L was shot down in Philippine.

Ki-84 FTW!

[MrWINNSLAW]

"The P38 would beat the Axis fighters like a red-headed stepchild!"

[777JFH]

My favorite plane. :)

[82abnoff]

Just nice.

[ClarksonsinUSA]

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...

[TRUMPHENT]

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.

[sheboggie]

A P-38 pilot who served in the Pacific once told me the Japanese called the P-38 "Two planes, one pilot."