Lockheed P-38 Lightning (WO 2): boeken - historie (2/2)

With its distinctive, twin-tailed design, the P-38 was one of the most recognizable fighter aircraft of World War II. It was also one of the best. The perfect balance of speed, firepower and range, it made a formable opponent during the crucial battles for the Solomon Islands and New Guinea.
In response, the Japanese worked with the Germans to develop the Ki-61, a heavy air superiority fighter with an impressive array of firepower. In head-to-head match-ups, the P-38 proved the superior fighter, but individual duels often came down to the ability and experience of the individual pilots.

This book recreates these fast, deadly duels in the skies of the Pacific using dramatic artwork and first-hand accounts.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and Development - Technical Specifications - The Strategic Situation - The Combatants - Combat - Statistics and Analysis - Conclusion - Further Reading.

The P-38 made its combat debut in Europe in mid-1942, the first American fighters being flown to the UK before heading further east to Twelfth Air Force units in North Africa. Its service in this theatre, and later over the heartland of Germany itself, earned the P-38 the nickname 'der gabelschwanzer Teufel' (the 'fork-tailed' devil).
This volume traces the careers of many previously unknown aces within the USAAF in Europe, and helps redress the balance which has in the past seen all the 'glory' for the fighter victories in this theatre shared between the pilots of the P-47 and P-51. Some 17 pilots scored 7 or more kills on the P-38 in the ETO/MTO.

Contents: Introduction - Pioneer P-38 Aces - Desert War - Mediterranean War - Eighth and Ninth Air Force Aces - Ground Claims - Appendices.

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 1942. Photographic reconnaissance versions of the P-38 were in action even sooner when F-4 (P-38E) models were rushed to frontline units a few months after Pearl Harbor.
Often using modified field measures to equip aircraft and train pilots in this demanding fighter, early pilots wrote a remarkable record of accomplishments that displayed a high degree of courage and innovation. Every theatre in which the United States was involved saw deployment of the P-38, and more than 60 Lightning pilots were credited with at least five victories by the end of 1943.
Featuring illustrations depicting P-38 models from the E to the H-5 previously not known to the general public, unpublished photographs and new data, this volume presents a comprehensive and innovative account of some of these lesser known aces.

Contents: Into the Arena - South Pacific - Southwest Pacific - China-Burma-India - Mediterranean - Northwestern Europe - Appendices - Ace list to December 1943 - Color plate commentaries.

When the 82nd Fighter Group was organized in March 1942, most of its initial pilot cadre was comprised of newly graduated staff sergeant pilots of Class 42-C - enlisted men! They learned to fly the P-38 at Muroc, in California's Mojave Desert, and then moved to the Los Angeles area to continue their training and to serve as part of its air defence. In September 1942 the group was transported to the East Coast, from where it shipped out to Ireland on the Queen Mary. By this time all its remaining sergeant pilots had been commissioned.
As of VE-Day the 82nd Fighter Group's score of confirmed aerial victories stood at 548 aircraft shot down, plus a huge amount of enemy materiel - including aircraft - destroyed on the ground and the sea. It had been awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations. The cost of this success was high, however, for around 250 of the group's pilots had either been killed in action or captured.

Contents: Aces in Training - North Africa: Aces' Breeding Ground - Mediterranean Sweep - Strategic Lightnings - Appendices: Ace listings; Aircraft listings; Colour Plates commentaries.

The P-38 was used on virtually every front to which the USAAF were committed, but enjoyed its greatest successes in the Pacific and China-Burma-India (CBI) theatres. The speed, range and firepower of the P-38 made it the favourite of nearly all aircrew fighting in the Solomons, New Guinea and the Philippines, and over 1800 Japanese aircraft fell to its guns.
From the first encounters at the end of 1942 until the Lightning scored the final Fifth Air force victories in August 1945, these pilots made the Pacific skies very much their own battleground.

Contents: Introduction - Early Operations - The Yamamoto Mission - Wewak, Rabaul and Hollandia - Lessons from Hollandia - The Philippines - P-38 Aces of the CBI - Bong and McGuire - Appendices.