I'm learning that the p-38 lightning has a better reputation that I thought. One p-38 shot down a plane carrying Admiral Yamamoto. The same person who devised the bombing of Pearl Harbor Hawaii. Here are some of the specifications.

Length: 37' 10" (11.53 m)
Height: 12' 10" (3.91 m)
Wingspan: 52' 0" (15.85 m)
Wing area: 328 sq. ft (30.47 sq. m)
Empty Weight: 11780 lbs (5342 kg)
Gross Weight: 14456 lbs (6556 kg)
Max Weight: 15500 lbs (7029 kg)

Can you believe it. The max weight was 15500 kg. that's heavy. I'm getting to where I've shared all the information I can give. But I'm still researching

Another thing I've learned is that the p-38 was one of the strongest plane in World War 2 besides the a-10 Warthog, because of it's exterior plates and double engines. Most planes today have a stealth exterior plate, but the p-38 and a-10 were the strongest planes possibly ever made. Planes back then were not very fancy. Most like the p-51 Mustang were a spitting image of the Wright brother first model of an airplane!!! Like all planes even cars have a cooler that keeps the engine from overheating, but the the p-38 was the only World War 2 plane that used liquid Nitrogen as the substance. It Boils at 321 degrees Fahrenheit! that's so col that if you stick your hand in it and then bang it on a table it will break... and it's boiling! the p-38 cost more then $6,000,000 dollars! I have a video on what the p-38 lightning was like check it out

I've heard from my resources that one p-38 could take down several of German planes in one sitting. Just think how much damage a fleet of p-38 Lightning could cause. As I've talked about there was an invasion of Japan and other bordering territories after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, HI. The invasion was called The Pacific Theater. A fleet of p-38's invaded Japan and camps such as Iijima to rescue Prisoners of War. {POW's}. They destroyed everything in there path. Another place where p-38's stoked the most was the battle of D-Day in France. One pilot alone who was an ace at the end of the day had a total of forty kills alone! and the fleet had about 4 members. If you do the math that's about 160 kills in one day.

The p-38 was invented for a high altitude interceptor.IT took only seven hours for the first p-38 {the xp-38} to fly from California to New York. On the other hand I'm not sure which country nicknamed the P-38 the Fork tailed devil. Japan, or Germany? Since I've learned that Germany and Japan were heavy allies I infer that the nickname the was named by both Germany and Japan. Not quit sure which.

I've been looking on Wikipedia and learned that the two sides of the P-38 have propellers on them. Pretty cool. I have also gained information from Wikipedia that the models were equipped with a Fokker G.1. The only other plane that used this weapon was the P-61 Black Widow. Amazingly some of the last models were equipped with 2 m2 browning machine guns, and a old mobile cannon with 15 rounds. The nose of the p-38 was very unusual. Strangely the nose had no propeller. The nose was used for mounting guns and other weapons. The p-38 was in competition with the German m-109. Lockheed worked very hard to beat Germany and eventually did. Now unfortunately the P-38 has been retired. The P-38 has been a model for many reconnaissance planes such as: the Yf-22 Raptor, and the Sr-71 Blackbird {the fastest spy plane}. I have also learned that the P-38 contributed to World War 2 in many ways. First, it was used to drop bombs over Germany, France, and Japan for the suicide mission after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

I just learned that at the time the P-38 was extremely fast. It was clocked at 500 mph which during the 1940's and 50's was extremely fast. I have also been given information that the p-38 was highly classified it took 1-2 years before coming to the attention of the public. The reason the p-38 was considered stealth was because of it's irregular shape. I have a example of a yp-38 lightning at the end of this post.

The P-38 Lightning is one of the greatest planes in World War 2. It was created by the AAC also known as the Army Air Corps. It was invented in 1937. It was used for Dog Fighting, Bombing, Reconnaissance, {Spying} and even carrying cargo. The P-38 was used in the North Pacific Theater where aces such as Richard Bong flew the plane. The plane was nicknamed by the Japanese it was called the Fork Tailed Devil, because they were highly scared of it. The plane was mainly used in the invasion of Japan after the Japanese bombed the military headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It has distinctive twin booms and the cockpit. It also preformed major demolition during D-day as well. There were many different types of P-38's. The most famous plane was the YP-38 for its bombing skills.

If you have any information on the the p-38 let me know im all ears:)