Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Twin engine fighter, Lockheed Lightning of the US Air Force in aviation art prints by aviation artist Ivan Berryman, Robert Taylor and Nicholas Trudgian. Aviation art prints of the P38 Lockheed Lightning available from aviationprints.co.uk. 

Fork Tailed Devil (Lightning) by Ivan Berryman  It was during the inter-war period that a reawakening interest in twin engined fighter design prompted several countries to investigate a number of revolutionary concepts, of these only the Lockheed's sleek and unconventional P.38 was to be put into large scale production, proving to be a versatile and dominant fighter possessed of extremely long range, good speed and manoeuverability and a formidable armament. When production ceased in 1945, 9,923 examples of the P38 "Lightning" had been delivered.

A Pair of Aces by Stan Stokes. In 1936 the Lockheed Aircraft Company won a contract to produce a high altitude interceptor for the USAAC. This contract was won despite the fact that the company had been nearly bankrupt in 1932, and had never produced a fighter aircraft. Mr. Kelly Johnson, Lockheeds chief designer on the project, settled on a design incorporating a twin engine scheme utilizing twin booms to house the aircrafts supercharged engines, and a central nacelle which housed the pilot and all the armament. Despite an unfortunate crash of the prototype, the USAAC was impressed with the aircraft, and a production order was placed for the first P-38 Lightnings.  The P-38 was to prove to be one of Americas top fighters of WW II. The Lightning was fast, very heavily armed, had excellent range, and a great rate of climb. The aircraft was capable of flying with only one engine, and this proved advantageous in improving long range reliability. The two most effective models were the J and the L, of which more than 6,000 were produced. One early technical problem with the aircraft was the loss of control during high speed dives when the aircraft obtained speeds approximating 500 MPH. This problem was ultimately solved by the addition of a dive flap beneath the spar to offset a nose down tendency during such dives. Nicknamed the twin tailed devil by the Germans, the P-38 saw a lot of action in the Pacific where its great range was a more important asset. Americas two top aces of the War were P-38 pilots serving with the Fifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific. Major Richard Bong was a soft spoken Wisconsin native who achieved 40 confirmed victories, but was killed on August 6, 1945 while testing a P-80 jet over Southern California. On July 26, 1943 Bong achieved four victories on a single mission.  Thomas McGuire was born in New Jersey, and enlisted in the Army as an aviation cadet in 1941. Between August 1943 and January 1945 McGuire was credited with 38 victories. McGuire and Bong flew together in combat on many occasions. On December 7, 1944 both Bong and McGuire chalked up two kills during a mission over Ormoc Bay. McGuire was ultimately killed in combat in early 1945 when he stalled his P-38 prior to an engagement with the enemy. Both of these gentlemen received the Congressional Medal of Honor, and both flew aircraft named after women who would become their wives. The print depicts both Bong and McGuire over the Southwest Pacific in 1944. Bongs Marge is in the foreground, with McGuires Pudgy off his wing.

A Pair of Aces by Stan Stokes.In 1936 the Lockheed Aircraft Company won a contract to produce a high altitude interceptor for the USAAC. This contract was won despite the fact that the company had been nearly bankrupt in 1932, and had never produced a fighter aircraft. Mr. Kelly Johnson, Lockheeds chief designer on the project, settled on a design incorporating a twin engine scheme utilizing twin booms to house the aircrafts supercharged engines, and a central nacelle which housed the pilot and all the armament. Despite an unfortunate crash of the prototype, the USAAC was impressed with the aircraft, and a production order was placed for the first P-38 Lightnings.  The P-38 was to prove to be one of Americas top fighters of WW II. The Lightning was fast, very heavily armed, had excellent range, and a great rate of climb. The aircraft was capable of flying with only one engine, and this proved advantageous in improving long range reliability. The two most effective models were the J and the L, of which more than 6,000 were produced. One early technical problem with the aircraft was the loss of control during high speed dives when the aircraft obtained speeds approximating 500 MPH. This problem was ultimately solved by the addition of a dive flap beneath the spar to offset a nose down tendency during such dives. Nicknamed the twin tailed devil by the Germans, the P-38 saw a lot of action in the Pacific where its great range was a more important asset. Americas two top aces of the War were P-38 pilots serving with the Fifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific. Major Richard Bong was a soft spoken Wisconsin native who achieved 40 confirmed victories, but was killed on August 6, 1945 while testing a P-80 jet over Southern California. On July 26, 1943 Bong achieved four victories on a single mission.  Thomas McGuire was born in New Jersey, and enlisted in the Army as an aviation cadet in 1941. Between August 1943 and January 1945 McGuire was credited with 38 victories. McGuire and Bong flew together in combat on many occasions. On December 7, 1944 both Bong and McGuire chalked up two kills during a mission over Ormoc Bay. McGuire was ultimately killed in combat in early 1945 when he stalled his P-38 prior to an engagement with the enemy. Both of these gentlemen received the Congressional Medal of Honor, and both flew aircraft named after women who would become their wives. The print depicts both Bong and McGuire over the Southwest Pacific in 1944. Bongs Marge is in the foreground, with McGuires Pudgy off his wing.

 Lightning  by Stan Stokes.  The P-38 Lightning was the only twin engine day time fighter produced in America during WWII. It was also one of the most effective American fighters of the War, and was the mount for our two top-scoring aces of the war.

Yamamotos Last Flight by Stan Stokes.  On April 18, 1943, in one of the more interesting, daring, and ultimately controversial missions of WW II, a flight of P-38s under the command of Major John Mitchell, intercepted and destroyed the aircraft carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, and the mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbor. American code breakers had intercepted and translated a message indicating that Adm. Yamamoto would fly from Rabaul to an airfield on the southern tip of Bouganville on the morning of April 18, 1943. Because of the great distances to be covered during this intercept mission the P-38s would have very limited time over the rendezvous area. Fortunately for the Army Air Force pilots, Yamamoto was noted for his punctuality, and if he departed Rabaul on time the mission might just work. Major Mitchell led his flight of 16 P-38s to the rendezvous, with twelve of his fighters acting as high cover to fend off escorting fighters, while four pilots were designated as the killer flight by Mitchell and were to destroy the Mitsubishi Betty which would be carrying the Admiral. Two betty bombers and six Zero fighters were encountered. Both Bettys were downed by the killer flight and one of the four P-38s in the killer flight was lost. Unfortunately, this marvelous mission has also been surrounded by more than its share of controversy. One of the three surviving pilots of the killer flight was Thomas Lamphier. Lamphier claimed that only he fired the fatal shots into Yamamotos Betty. In 1972 the Air Force reviewed all relevant information surrounding the flight, including testimony from a surviving Japanese fighter pilot on the mission and a surviving passenger on the second Betty. The official Air Force decision in 1972 was that both Lamphier and his wingman Rex Barber should share equal credit. In March of 1985 another Victory Credit Board of Review was convened, and it too concluded that the victory should be shared. Later that year new evidence was put forward in the form of a taped interview with one of the surviving Zero pilots, Kenji Yanagiya. Yanagiyas testimony clearly supported the Rex Barber account of the mission and not that of Lamphier. Lamphier, who died in 1987, continued to be outspoken until his death in his claims. In 1993, The noted aviation historian, Carroll Glines published an excellent book entitled Attack on Yamamoto. The bulk of the evidence presented in Glines book supported the conclusion that only Rex Barber probably deserves credit for the victory. More recently a board assembled by the American Fighter Aces Association met and reviewed all available facts. That Board decided that only Rex Barber deserves the official credit for downing Yamamoto. Despite all this unfortunate controversy one cannot deny that the mission to intercept Yamamoto was the longest successful mission of its type in WWII. Yamamotos death boosted morale in the United States, shocked the Japanese public, and was ultimately symbolic of the turn around in the War in the Pacific, which began at Midway in 1942, and gathered momentum in 1943.

Lightning Encounter by Nicholas Trudgian P-38 Lightnings launching a surprise attack on a German freight train as it winds its way through the hills of Northern France towards the battle front, shortly before D-Day, 1944.

Lightning Strikes 7 Times  by Stan Stokes.  The Lockheed P-38 Lightning, called the Fork-Tailed Devil by Luftwaffe pilots in Africa, was one of the largest fighter aircraft to see service during WW II. Flight-testing of the YP-38 prototype was completed in 1941. The first P-38s put into service were dedicated to the defense of the West Coast following the attack on Pearl Harbor. In the spring of 1942 plans were laid to deploy P-38s in Europe. By adding drop tanks the maximum range of the Lightnings were increased to a whopping 2200 miles, making ferry trips to Europe possible. All three P-38-equipped fighter groups in Europe (82^nd FG, 1^st FG, and 14^th FG) were transferred to North Africa in late 1942. These P-38 fighter groups were soon seeing serious combat action in the Mediterranean & North African theaters. The experienced Luftwaffe pilots learned that the P-38s should be attacked at altitudes below 15,000 feet, where they had difficulty maneuvering with the Bf-109s they frequently encountered. Despite these limitations the P-38s had tremendous climbing capabilities and were very effective gun platforms against German and Italian bombers. The Allison engines on the early P-38s were somewhat temperamental and actually caused more difficulties and aircraft losses than enemy action. Most problems related to an inadequate engine cooling system and the lack of cowl flaps. At altitude, gas problems could cause the Allison engines to burn out their valves, backfire through the intercooler ducts, and throw rods. Such problems could often result in the loss of the aircraft. Another problem was compressibility that was encountered during high-speed dives. During this problem the controls might seize up causing the aircraft to go into an uncontrolled dive. As a result P-38 pilots early in the War would often choose not to pursue Axis fighters into a high-speed dive. Both the engine cooler and compressibility problems were eventually solved by the time the P-38J variant was introduced. The large size of the P-38 was both an asset and a liability in combat. The large size made the aircraft easier to spot at distance, but provided a more effective gun platform for downing bombers. Col. William Leverette was a P-38 ace with the 14^th FG, attaining 11 confirmed aerial victories. Leverette was born in Florida in 1913, and earned an engineering degree from Clemson University in 1934. He joined the U.S. Army in 1934, and was accepted for aviation cadet training in 1939. Earning his wings in 1940 he was initially based at Selfridge Field in Michigan with the 31^st Pursuit Squadron. When War came to America, Leverette was sent to North Africa with the 337^th FS of the 14^th FG. Flying the P-38, Leverette broke into the scoring column in a most spectacular manner when he managed to splash seven Ju-87s on a single mission on October 9, 1943. Leverettes flight of six aircraft rushed to the defense of a British Cruiser and several destroyers that were under attack by a large group of enemy Ju-87s and Ju-88s. In an exciting 15-minute air battle, the P-38s managed to down sixteen Stukas and one Ju-88. Leverette received credit for seven. Later during his combat tour he would down two Bf-109s and two Me-110s. Leverette remained with the Air Force after the War, rising to the rank of Colonel prior to his retirement to Florida in 1965. Col. Leverette passed away in April 2003 at the age of 89.

Pacific Glory by Nicolas Trudgian.One of the most successful of the P-38 equipped units was the 475th Fighter Group, Satans Angels, and it is the P-38s of this famous unit that Nicolas Trudgian has portrayed in his tribute to the American Air Forces that made Victory in the Pacific possible. It is March 1945 and the P-38s of the 475th FG are involved in a huge dogfight with Japanese Zeros over the coast of Indo-China. Flying Pee Wee V is Lt Ken Hart of the 431st Fighter Squadron, who has fatally damaged a Zero in a blistering head on encounter. The second P-38 – Vickie – belongs to Captain John Rabbit Pietz, who would end the War an Ace with six victories.

Wide Horizons by Robert Taylor  A superb study of the legendary P-38 Lightning, this print commemorates the American Air Forces that operated in the European Theater

Lockheed P-38 Lightning by Michael OLeary.. The Cadillac of USAAF fighters in World War 2, the Lightning was a highly innovative design produced by Lockheed of Burbank, California, in response to a challenging requirement for a long range, high speed and high altitude fighter to escort the AAFs rapidly expanding B17 and B24 Heavy bomber fleets. To meet the criterion laid down in the requirement, the company adopted a revolutionary twin boom layout and supercharged Allison engines. The latter initially proved troublesome but the gremlins were eventually sorted out and the type went on to see much action in Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean, the Pacific and the CBI. Using the best Lockheed official and private archival black and white photographs available, combined with period colour advertisements, a double-page cutaway drawing and scale plans, this volume reveals all facets of the Lightnings construction and frontline use.