Summary and Key Points: The Lockheed P-38 Lightning, the first aircraft produced by Skunk Works under Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, played a pivotal role in World War II. Some experts declare it the ...

In the Pacific Theater, P-38s downed over 1,800 Japanese aircraft, and more than 100 P-38 pilots became “aces.” Before the arrival of the vaunted North American P-51D Mustang, towards the end ...