Lockheed P-38 Lightning

E36582

World War II aircraft fighter aircraft single-seat aircraft twin-engine aircraft

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a distinctive twin-boom American World War II fighter aircraft renowned for its versatility in roles such as interception, ground attack, and long-range escort.

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Observed surface forms (5)

Surface form	Occurrences
P-38 Lightning	4
P-38F	1
P-38G	1
P-38J	1
P-38L	1

Statements (56)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	World War II aircraft ⓘ fighter aircraft ⓘ single-seat aircraft ⓘ twin-engine aircraft ⓘ
aircraftConfiguration	central nacelle ⓘ twin-boom ⓘ
armamentExternal	bombs ⓘ rockets ⓘ
armamentFixed	1× 20 mm cannon in nose ⓘ 4× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in nose ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
designer	Kelly Johnson ⓘ surface form: Clarence "Kelly" Johnson
engineConfiguration	twin-engine ⓘ
engineModel	Allison V-1710 ⓘ
engineType	piston engine ⓘ
famousPilot	Charles MacDonald ⓘ Richard Bong ⓘ Thomas McGuire ⓘ
firstFlight	1939-01-27 ⓘ
introduced	1941 ⓘ
landingGearType	tricycle landing gear ⓘ
manufacturer	Lockheed Martin ⓘ surface form: Lockheed
maximumSpeed	~660 km/h ⓘ
nickName	Der Gabelschwanz-Teufel ⓘ Fork-tailed Devil ⓘ
notableOperation	Pacific Theater long-range escort missions ⓘ interception of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ⓘ
notableVariant	F-4 photo-reconnaissance variant ⓘ F-5 photo-reconnaissance variant ⓘ Lockheed P-38 Lightning self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: P-38F Lockheed P-38 Lightning self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: P-38G Lockheed P-38 Lightning self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: P-38J Lockheed P-38 Lightning self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: P-38L
numberBuilt	10000+ ⓘ
primaryUser	United States Army Air Forces ⓘ
productionPeriodEnd	1945 ⓘ
productionPeriodStart	1941 ⓘ
propellerType	counter-rotating propellers ⓘ
range	~1100 miles ⓘ
retired	late 1940s ⓘ
role	fighter ⓘ fighter-bomber ⓘ ground-attack aircraft ⓘ interceptor ⓘ long-range escort fighter ⓘ photo-reconnaissance aircraft ⓘ
serviceCeiling	~44000 ft ⓘ
theaterOfOperations	European Theater of Operations, United States Army ⓘ surface form: European Theater of Operations Mediterranean Theater of Operations ⓘ Pacific War ⓘ surface form: Pacific Theater of Operations
usedBy	Republic of China Air Force ⓘ surface form: Chinese Nationalist Air Force Free French Forces ⓘ surface form: Free French Air Force Italian Co-belligerent Air Force ⓘ surface form: Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force Portuguese Air Force ⓘ Royal Air Force ⓘ
usedInConflict	World War II ⓘ

Referenced by (12)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Fifteenth Air Force → aircraftTypeUsed → Lockheed P-38 Lightning ⓘ

this entity surface form: P-38 Lightning

Ninth Air Force → aircraftUsed → Lockheed P-38 Lightning ⓘ

this entity surface form: P-38 Lightning

Seventh Air Force → equipment → Lockheed P-38 Lightning ⓘ

this entity surface form: P-38 Lightning

Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters → facedOpponents → Lockheed P-38 Lightning ⓘ

subject surface form: Mitsubishi A6M Zero

United States Army Air Forces → mainFighterAircraft → Lockheed P-38 Lightning ⓘ

14th Air Force → notableAircraft → Lockheed P-38 Lightning ⓘ

Big Week → notableAircraftUsed → Lockheed P-38 Lightning ⓘ

this entity surface form: P-38 Lightning

Lockheed P-38 Lightning → notableVariant → Lockheed P-38 Lightning self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: P-38F

Lockheed P-38 Lightning → notableVariant → Lockheed P-38 Lightning self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: P-38G

Lockheed P-38 Lightning → notableVariant → Lockheed P-38 Lightning self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: P-38J

Lockheed P-38 Lightning → notableVariant → Lockheed P-38 Lightning self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: P-38L

Cactus Air Force → operatedAircraft → Lockheed P-38 Lightning ⓘ