Built by Lockheed to meet a USAAC requirement for a long-range, high-performance escort for the B-17 bomber, the P-38 Lightning made its combat debut in Europe in 1942. Its service in several combat theatres earned it the nickname "der gabelschwanzer teufal", or "the fork-tailed devil". Some 17 pilots scored seven or more kills in the P-38, with the top scorers, William J. Sloan and Michael Brezas, scoring 12 kills each. This volume presents archival photographs of Lightnings, scale drawings and interviews with several leading Lightning aces.
| ISBN: | 9781855326989 |
| Publication date: | 5th June 1998 |
| Author: | John Stanaway |
| Illustrator: | Tom Tullis |
| Publisher: | Osprey Publishing an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 100 pages |
| Series: | Aircraft of the Aces |
| Genres: |
Air forces and warfare European history Second World War Modern warfare Weapons and equipment History of the Americas |