Fork-tailed devil - Lockheed P-38 Lightning Of the three outstanding U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) fighters of World War II (the others being the P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-51 Mustang), the P-38 was the first to fly by almost two and a half years. Built by the Lockheed Aircraft Company, it was designed to a 1937 specification calling for a high-altitude interceptor with heavy armament and a high rate of climb. Lockheed won the competition on 23 June 1937, construction began in July 1938, and the XP-38 first flew on 27 January 1939 at the hands of Ben Kelsey. Losing this prototype in a crash at Mitchel Field, New York, with Kelsey at the controls, did not deter USAAC from ordering 13 planes for service testing on April 27. Kelsey survived the crash and remained an important part of the Lightning program. The P-38's service record shows mixed results, which may reflect more on its employment than on flaws with the aircraft. As a World War II fighter, the Lightning’s legacy is unmatched. A total of more than 10,000 P-38s—including 18 distinct models—were manufactured during the war, flying more than 130,000 missions in theaters around the world. P-38 pilots shot down more Japanese aircraft than any other fighter and, as a reconnaissance aircraft, obtained 90 percent of the aerial film captured over Europe. 📌 SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL HERE ➡️ https://bit.ly/3xyp8S5 ============== ⏰ Timestamps 00:00 P-38 Lightning Design and development 3:17 Test Flights 05:29 Allied Orders 09:16 Mediterranean Theater 12:03 Pacific Theater ============== ============ We know that sometimes we make mistakes, and you let us know about them by leaving a comment. Thank you for that - we appreciate it! As we are self-taught, we are more than excited to keep on learning and improving! ============ 🎯 OUR WEBSITE https://www.militaryhistory.site/

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A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat
A naval ship is a military ship (or sometimes boat, depending on classification) used by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose. Generally, naval ships are damage resilient and armed with weapon systems, though armament on troop transports is light or non-existent. Naval ships designed primarily for naval warfare are termed warships, as opposed to support (auxiliary ships) or shipyard operations.