Kowabunga: P-38 Lightning

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was designed for the U.S. Army Air Corps as a high altitude interceptor. Heavily armed for its day, the P-38 sported a 20-mm cannon and four .50 caliber machine guns. Its speed and climb rate made up for its lower maneuverability when compared to the enemy fighters that it often flew against.

It was used in all theaters of operation during World War 2, but truly excelled in the Pacific war where it seemed to be most suited due to the warmer climate. The P-38 is credited with destroying more Japanese aircraft than any other aircraft during the war.

One specific mission for the P-38 was the interception of Yamamoto while he traveled in a "Betty" bomber, with a light fighter escort.

During the early part of the war, a group of P-38s, escorting a pair of B-17s, were on a ferry mission, traveling from the u.S. to the U.K. Foul weather forced the flight to turn back before reaching Iceland, and the whole group was forced to land, wheels up, on the Greenland ice sheet. In 1992, a recovery operation took place, drilling through 268 feet of ice to reach the aircraft. The end result of this operation was the restored P-38 now called "Glacier Girl."

Putt-{utt Maru in the Pacific	P-38 at sunset in Chico, California, December 1944.
Group of P-38s in formation.	Group of P-38s in formation.
With Normandy Invasion stripes.	Glacier Girl in flight.