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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 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.
P-38 Lightning 1941: YP-38 through P-38D 222: P-38 Lightning P-38E through P-38H 322: P-322 Lightning Export variant, impressed into U.S. service at war's outbreak 422: P-38 Lightning P-38J through P-38M 522: XP-49: Nov 11, 1942: Advanced fighter prototype, based on P-38 622: XP-38A Lightning Jun 6, 1944: Pressurized conversion of a P-38 822: P ...
— The famous P-38 Lightning Fighter plane flown by World War II ace of aces Richard I. Bong — and decorated with a photograph of its namesake "Marge" — was discovered last week nose-down in ...
They were equipped with Lockheed P-38 Lightning aircraft in February and trained until May 1944 when the group entered combat. Their missions consisted of dive-bombing radar installations and flak towers, and escorted bombers for attacks on bridges and marshalling yards in France as the Allies prepared for the invasion of Normandy .
The aircraft is named after the Second World War vintage Lockheed P-38 Lightning, with which it shares its dual tail layout. [1] [2] The aircraft is made from aluminum tubing, with the wing leading edge made from birch plywood, supported by foam and wooden wing ribs. The wings and tail surfaces are covered in doped aircraft fabric.
The 474th carried out its first mission on 25 April with a sweep along the French coast. The P-38's ability to carry two 1,000 lb bombs with ease, and its heavy nose-mounted armament, made it an excellent ground attack aircraft, although it appeared to be far more vulnerable to light anti-aircraft and small arms fire than the redoubtable P-47.
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]