The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twin-boom design with a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament.

With its distinctive design, the P-38 was sleek but its twin tails gave the Lightning a radical new look. The pilot, pumping 409 rounds per minute from its nose-mounted machine guns, dispatched the Condor in seconds, marking the first successful American engagement of a German aircraft during World War II.

The P-38 mission entailed flying 600 miles (965 km) at wave top level with a return trip of 400 miles (644 km). F4F Wildcats and F4U Corsairs available at the time didn't have the required range, and only P-38s (with drop tanks) were capable of performing the …

Early model P-38s experienced turbulent airflow over the tail and problems at high dive speeds, known as compressibility, but later modifications corrected these difficulties. The first major production version was the P-38E, which had a 20mm cannon rather than the earlier 37mm cannon. Production of the E began in September 1941 and 210 were built.

The P-38 was now the dominant fighter-bomber in the Pacific, with the two top American aces, Bong and Major Thomas C. McGuire, matching each other, kill for kill.

2024年10月15日 · Nicknamed the “Fork-Tailed Devil” by the Germans and “Two Planes, One Pilot” by the Japanese, this iconic twin-boom fighter aircraft played pivotal roles in numerous …

Originally conceived as a high-altitude interceptor to meet a 1937 Army Air Corps requirement, Lockheed's Model 22, designated P-38 Lightning, was to become one of the most successful fighters of World War II. The P-38 was the only type flown by the top two American aces of the war, Major Richard Bong and Major Thomas McGuire, Jr.

The Germans called the P-38 Lightning ‘Gabelschwanz-Teufel’ (‘The Devil with the Cleft Tail’). The two leading American WW2 aces, Major Richard I. Bong and Major Thomas B. McGuire, made their last kills in the P-38.

2024年10月21日 · The P-38 Lightning is one of the most iconic and versatile fighter aircraft of World War II, and it set a new standard for American aviation. With its distinctive twin-boom design and unprecedented performance, the P38 became a cornerstone of …

2019年1月9日 · The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is 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. Named "fork-tailed devil" (der Gabelschwanz-Teufel) by the...