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The Lockheed Corporation designed the P-38 in response to a February 1937 specification from the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Circular Proposal X-608 was a set of aircraft performance goals authored by First Lieutenants Benjamin S. Kelsey and Gordon P. Saville for a twin-engined, high-altitude "interceptor" having "the tactical mission of interception and attack of hostile aircraft at ...
The first P-38 of the Compañía de Aviación Air army arrived in Santiago on 30 March 1947. It was its first modern aircraft. The air force of this small Latin American republic employed 11 Lightnings, mostly not armed. Dominican Republic was one of the last P-38's users until late 1950, when the remaining Lightnings were cut up and dumped. [3]
Richard "Dick" Ira Bong (September 24, 1920 – August 6, 1945) was a United States Army Air Forces major and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II.He was one of the most decorated American fighter pilots and the country's top flying ace in the war, credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft, all with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
While scoring no aerial victories in the Aleutians, McGuire was able to hone his skills as a pilot. In December 1942, he married Marilynn "Pudgy" Giesler [6] shortly before he was transferred to Hamilton Field, California. [5] In February 1943, he reported to Orange County Airport, California for transition training in the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
The 475th was perhaps the best known of the theater's Lockheed P-38 Lightning groups since its personnel included the top flying aces in the Pacific: Richard I. Bong (40 kills) and Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. (38 kills), both Medal of Honor recipients. By the war's end, 38 other pilots from the 475th had achieved ace status in P-38s.
The Lockheed P-38 Lighting is an American two-engine fighter used by the United States Army Air Forces and other Allied air forces during World War II. Of the 10,037 planes built, 26 survive today, 22 of which are located in the United States, and 10 of which are airworthy.
Nadine Bernice Ramsey (1911–1997) was an American aviator who became one of the first two women to fly mail for the US Postal Service. She was a Women Airforce Service Pilot and one of only twenty-six WASPs to pilot a Lockheed P-38 Lightning during World War II.
Colonel Charles Henry "Mac" MacDonald (November 23, 1914 – March 3, 2002) was a United States Air Force officer and a fighter ace of World War II. [1] [2] MacDonald commanded the 475th Fighter Group for 20 months in his P-38 Lightning, "Putt Putt Maru", and became the third ranking fighter ace in the Pacific during World War II.