P-38 Lightning

The P-38 was designed prior to the beginning of World War II by Lockheed engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson and his team of designers. The Lightning was a completely different from previous aircraft. Not only did it have twice the power and almost twice the size of its predecessors, but with no less than four .50 cal. machine guns plus a 20 mm cannon, the P-38 had impressive firepower.

While the radical design caused problems initially, the P-38 eventually served until the end of World War II in a number of roles including long range escort, reconnaissance, and ground attack.  Pilots loved its maneuverability and firepower and enemies grew to fear it.  The Germans referred to it as the fork tailed devil.

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