During the dark days of the air war in World War II, the US Army Air Corps’ P-38 Lightning was an exceptional fighter that defeated hundreds of enemy warplanes in air-to-air combat. The National ...

Flying from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, they claimed three during a mission to escort Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers (see NASM collection). On April 18, 1943, fourteen P-38 pilots from the ...

The first P-38s became operational with the 1st Fighter Group in April 1941, and the initial combat deployments were made in Alaska, the Southwest Pacific and North Africa during the latter part of ...

Fighter aircraft of World War II left a legacy that has impacted modern military planning and aerial warfare. Despite rudimentary technology by today's standards, World War II fighters were remarkable ...