LOCKHEED P-38 LIGHTNING 35
Above: P-38 Lightning, pilot 1Lt Stanley Lau of the
famed 27th FS, 1st FG in Foggia, Italy. During his
time there, Stanley flew over 50 combat missions
and was officially credited with destroying four
German fighters and three probable in air-to-air
combat and two destroyed on the ground.Left: A Lockheed P-38L shows off its unmistakable
planform to good effect. The P-38L was the
most numerous variant of the Lightning, with
3,923 built, 113 by Consolidated-Vultee in their
Nashville plant. It entered service with the
USAAF in June 1944, in time to support the Allied
invasion of France on D-Day.Below: Over 10,000 Lightnings were
manufactured in all, becoming the only US
combat aircraft that remained in continuous
production throughout the duration of its
participation in World War 2. The P-38 was used
in a number of roles, including: interception; dive
bombing; level bombing; ground-attack; night
fighter; photo reconnaissance; radar and visual
pathfinder for bombers; and extensively as a
long-range escort fighter.