Lockheed P-38 Lighning

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a 1930s fighter that served with the United States Army Air Corps (later the Army Air Forces and Air Force) during and shortly after World War II.   It first flew in 1939 and was placed in service in 1941.  Over the production run from 1941-1945, 10,037 airframes were built.  The Lightning had a long service life, with the last examples in American service being retired in 1949, by which time they were re-designated as ZF-38s ("ZF" meaning "obsolete fighter).  The type remained in service with other countries until the last operational examples were retired in 1965 by the Honduran Air Force.

The Lightning had an unorthodox appearance.  It had twin booms, with a cockpit pod in the center of a long wing.  German pilots called the P-38 a "Fork-Tailed Devil," while the Japanese called it "Two Planes, One Pilot."

The P-38L model was powered by twin 1,725 hp engines, which could pull the fighter to 443 mph at 28,000 feet.  Stall speed was around 105 mph.  At combat speed, the Lightning had a range of 1,300 miles.  Its service ceiling was 44,000 feet, and it could climb at 4,750 ft/min.  Armed with a 20mm cannon and 4 x .50 inch machine guns, the fighter could also carry a wide variety of rockets, bombs, and extra fuel tanks.