The P-38 Lightning was one of the few American aircraft that was produced before Pearl Harbor and continued in service after the victory over Japan (VJ Day). In all, 10,003 P-38s were built by Lockheed at a typical cost of $97,100 apiece.
In the Pacific Theater of Operations, the P-38 was credited with downing nearly 1,700 Japanese fighters, transports, bombers, sea planes and Kamikazes from 1942-1945. About 160 American pilots were able to proclaim themselves “ace” while flying and fighting in the twin-engine, twin-boom fighter around the globe.
In April of 1943, 16 P-38s flew almost 450 miles (one way) over open ocean at wave-top height on a sneak attack mission to intercept a pair of Betty Bombers, one of them containing the “architect” of the bombing of Pearl Harbor,…
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Flight Journal (Digital) - 1 Issue, July/August 2024