Summary and Key Points: The Lockheed P-38 Lightning, the first aircraft produced by Skunk Works under Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, played a pivotal role in World War II. Some experts declare it the best ...

Key point: Despite its flaws, the P-38 was a rare early example of a successful “heavy” fighter boasting speed, range, and firepower—similar to modern multi-role fighters like the F-15 and Su-27. In ...

2nd Lt. Allan W. Knepper took off from Tunisia in his P-38 "Lightning" aircraft as "one of many fighter waves" set to attack enemy Axis forces in Sicily, Italy on July 10, 1943. During the attack, air ...

On July 8, 1944, a P-38 piloted by 23-year-old 2nd Lt. Henry Donald Mitchell of Harmon crash-landed in a deeply wooded area near Waldegg, Austria after a flight sweep to Vienna with the 48th Fighter ...

In the time between World War I and World War II, fighter planes underwent rapid changes. During the first World War, the Sopwith F.1 Camel was known as one of the best combat planes around. It had a ...

Richard Bong’s P-38 Lightning “Marge” became one of the most legendary aircraft of the Pacific War. It carried America’s top ace through countless victories and defining moments in aerial combat. This ...

TheLockheed P-38 Lightning was one of the most successful fighters of World War II and saw service in every major theater of the conflict. TheP-38, easily recognizable for its distinctive twin-boom ...

VERNON -- World War II veteran Orville Miller came home from Okinawa in 1946 with a unique memento of his service in the Pacific Theater. And it wasn't a keepsake that was easily brought back to the ...

The jubilation the search team felt when it discovered "Ace of Aces" Richard Bong's downed P-38 Lightning fighter plane in a South Pacific jungle reverberated more than 8,000 miles away in northern ...

Lockheed's P-38 introduced the concept of the interceptor a fighter aircraft of great speed and high rate of climb. As WWII progressed the lighting was developed in to a wide range of roles - ground ...