Downloadable leaflet below: https://www.vqmodel.com/NewVQModel_46size/Book/P-38_Lighting/VQ-Model_P-38_Lighting_46_size_EP-GP.pdf
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was an American propeller-driven fighter aircraft of World War II. Developed to a requirement of the United States Army Air Corps, the P-38 had a distinctive character. It featured two booms and a single central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Referred to as the "forked-tailed devil" (der Gabelschwanz-Teufel) by the Luftwaffe and "two planes, one pilot" by the Japanese, the P-38 was used in a number of roles, including interception, dive-bombing, level bombing, ground attack, night combat, photographic reconnaissance, radar and visual guidance for bomber and evacuation missions, and largely as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks under its wings.
The P-38 was used most successfully in the Pacific Theater and the China-Burma-India Theater as the aircraft of top U.S. aces Richard Bong (40 victories), Thomas McGuire (38 victories) and Charles H. MacDonald (36 victories). In the Southwest Pacific theater, the P-38 was the primary long-range fighter of the U.S. Air Force until the appearance of a large number of P-51D Mustangs late in the war.
The P-38 was unusually quiet for a fighter, the exhaust muffled by turbochargers. It was extremely forgiving and could be mismanaged in many ways, but the roll rate in early versions was too slow for it to excel as a dogfighter. The P-38 was the only American fighter in production throughout the American involvement in the war, from Pearl Harbor to Victory over Japan Day. At the end of the war, orders for 1,887 were cancelled.
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