CLASSIC U.S. COMBAT AIRCRAFT OF WWII
P-38 LIGHTNING

RUNTIME: 58 MINS

CAT: AWA259
UPC: 881482325993
RRP: $14.95

The CLASSIC U.S. COMBAT AIRCRAFT OF WWII programs tell the story, through a series of classic war planes, of the development of the combat aircraft of the Second World War. Each machine was produced to meet a specific requirement, usually to meet or beat the capabilities of an existing enemy or a potential aggressor.

The LOCKHEED P-38 LIGHTNING was a revolutionary twin tail-boom design, the prototype of which first flew in January 1939. When it initially entered service in June 1941, its two in-line engines made it faster than the Messerschmitt Bf109 and even the Luftwaffe’s twin-engined Bf110. 

Its initial armament of one 37mm cannon and four machine guns was in the nose, firing dead ahead. Within minutes of the US declaration of war, on December 7th, 1941 a Lightning shot down a Focke-Wulf Condor near Iceland and in the Pacific shot down Admiral Yamamoto’s aircraft north of Guadalcanal. In the thick of the fighting over Europe, North Africa and the Pacific however, the P-38 lacked the range for long distance bomber escort.

As air opposition over Europe and the Pacific became less intense, the Lightning was unleashed for strafing against targets of opportunity on the ground. Its range was progressively increased with drop-tanks and was fitted with iron bombs for ground-attack missions.