When people refer to the best Lockheed P-38 Lightning, the top World War II fighter aces come to their minds first. The marvelous twin-boom design coupled with the incredible air fights of the world made it not only the most distinguishable but also the most famous among the rest of the sky. The Lightning was no longer just a vehicle; it was the brilliance and the promise of the United States Air Force, and through both wars in Europe and the Pacific, it went on to make a mark that was impossible to erase.
The P-38 myth first materialized in the late 1930s when the U.S. Army Air Corps was on a hunt for a speedster interceptor to take over as a high-altitude plane. Lockheed made a comeback with a rather atypical design. Hall Hibbard and the legendary Clarence “Kelly” Johnson led the company through the process of designing a twin-engine, twin-boom fighter with a cockpit nacelle between the booms. Regardless of the definition of the most unconventional setup by any pilot, the design got people hooked due to its aggressive looks and revolutionary technology.
The P-38 was more than a flashy show. It was the first American fighter to fly at over 400 mph on level ground, a speed record-breaker unprecedented. Turbo-superchargers gave it improved performance at high altitude, making it a prime contender for long-range escort and intercept sorties. The plane also included some other pioneering technologies of the era—counter-rotating propellers to offset torque effect, tricycle undercarriage to improve capability in ground operations, and a steering yoke instead of the classical stick—innovations which were novel to make it as efficient.
Its firepower was all focused in the nose, with four .50-calibers and a 20mm all crammed into one place. This permitted pilots to shoot from long distances without needing to alter their target, providing the Lightning with a deadly dogfighting advantage.
Early operational service did have its challenges, however. The P-38 had engine problems in cold weather in Europe, and the absence of cockpit heating made flight at high altitude uncomfortable and stressful. Except for twin-engine-accredited pilots, pilots struggled with the plane to take off, and early flight tests showed a “compressibility” flaw on dives, which resulted in temporary loss of elevator control—a flaw later fixed by the use of dive flaps.
Over the Pacific, the P-38 was supreme. Its range and range-at-altitude made it possible to escort bombers deeper into enemy country than any other aircraft. Its most famous mission was likely Operation Vengeance in 1943, the daring intercept and murder of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, architect of Pearl Harbor. The 1,000-mile flight to do that attested to the Lightning’s range, dependability, and strategic value, and cemented its status as a war machine.
In the Pacific, it was sometimes referred to informally by Japanese pilots as “two planes, one pilot,” a description of its twin-boom configuration and murder capability. German North African and European forces referred to it as “der Gabelschwanz-Teufel,” or fork-tailed devil, a reverent and fearful moniker that it acquired from enemy pilots.
The P-38 carried some of America’s best aces. Major Richard Bong, piloting the Lightning in the Pacific, downed 40 credited enemy aircraft and was awarded the Medal of Honor. Other top pilots, like Major Thomas McGuire and Colonel Charles MacDona, compiled high scores, illustrating how capably the airplane could fly with capable pilots onboard.
While the P-38 performed so badly in Europe—especially in close combat against the quicker German and Italian aircraft and in cold winter weather—it was eventually redesigned, better trained, and better armed to counteract most of these weaknesses. The Lightning was also extremely versatile and was an excellent reconnaissance airplane, taking most Allied air photographs in Europe, and served as a light bomber, ground-attack fighter, and pathfinder, showing the plane’s flexibility in many varied functions.
Over 10,000 P-38s were built at the close of World War II. They saw over 130,000 hours of combat time and destroyed thousands of hostile aircraft. Few remain airworthy today, but their memory lives on—to museums, histories, and veterans’ recollections, their pilots and their opponents in combat.
Retired Colonel Richard Heyman, a combat veteran pilot of the P-38, said that piloting the Lightning was a test and honor. It was concentration, guts, and skill, but it paid off in unbelievable power and performance and left its mark on every pilot who ever flew it.