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.

In Roy Grinnell’s “Danger Lightning” a Lockheed P-38 fighter gains altitude to confront high-flying Japanese aircraft. The Lightning was the first Allied fighter to seriously challenge Japanese domination of the skies in the Pacific.

When first introduced in 1939, the Lightning was able to fly a steady course at 413 mph (665 km/h) making it the fastest production airplane in the world and it remained one of the fastest climbers right up to the end of WW II.

Jan 14, 2013 · The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was the first military type developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corps. It was designed to meet an Air Corps specification issued in 1936 for a twin-engined interceptor fighter a specification which called for, among many other stringent requirements, a minimum speed of 360 m.p.h. (576 km.h.) at 20,000 ft. (6,100 m.).

The pilot in a new American fighter, the P-38 Lightning, peeled down from the skies over Iceland on August14, 1942. True to its name, the P-38 was akin to a force of nature: fast, unforeseen and immensely powerful. The aircraft’s target, was a German Focke-Wulf …

Jan 31, 2025 · Most of the top Army aces in the Pacific flew Lightnings. The Lightning’s long range and high ceiling made it a natural for photo-reconnaissance, and cameras replaced guns in the F-5 version, which ranked second only to the British Mosquito as a workhorse of Allied photographic intelligence.

The P-38 was originally conceived as an advanced, high-performance twin-engine interceptor. On Feb. 11, 1939, Lt. Ben Kelsey set a coast to coast record of 7 hours, 48 minutes in the sleek prototype Lightning, but crashed while landing.

Jun 12, 2021 · The P-38 Lightning, at the time still known as XP-38, was flown for the first time on January 27, 1939 by one of its strongest advocates, Ben Kelsey, 1st Lieutenant of the Air Corps. It became the interest of national media when it crashed on an transcontinental record attempt.

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was designed and built by Lockheed for the United States Army Air Corps during the Second World War. It is a piston-engined general fighter introduced in July 1941 and served as a fighter-bomber and night fighter, as well as aerial reconnaissance.

It flew at amazing speed and altitude for its time, faster and higher than any other. The sight of a P‑38 Lockheed Lightning so terrified the enemy that the Luftwaffe dubbed it the “der gabelschwanz-teufel” (fork-tailed devil). Guess they knew there’d be hell to …