P-38 Lightning DVD

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 U.S. 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. [show more]

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