AdoriminiP-38 Lightning Aces of the 82nd Fighter GroupP-38 LIGHTNING Unforgettable Missions of Skill and LuckLightning Strikes!The Lockheed P-38Author & Historian Steve Blake is one of the original members of the P‑38 National Association and was an attendee at...
P-38 Personnel
The P-38 had lots of help in making it the best all-around combat airplane of WWII.
There were the designers at Lockheed who created the unique and powerful concept, the test pilots (who made sure everything was working like it should), the assembly workers at Lockheed, the pilots, and among the most important, the crew chief and other members of the crew who kept these birds in the air so the pilots could do their job.
Once you’ve visited all the pages about the P-38 and its human contributors to the mission, stop by and find out about our P-38 Museum adjacent to the airfield where it all started – the March ARB in Riverside, CA.
Aces – Full Listing
- FULL LISTING - These are the best photos we could find. If you have better ones of any of these men, please send them on over to us. Thanks!GRAPHICS KEY PTO Pacific Theater of Operations MTO Mediterranean Theater of Operations ETO European Theater of Operations CBI...
Aces
Following are the details we have gathered on pilots who were qualified as "Aces" (five or more planes shot down) in the P‑38. It's accurate to the best of our knowledge, but if you find any errors or omissions, please let us know! Search for Ace by last name:A | B |...
Photo Recon
P‑38 Photo Reconnaissance planes (called F‑4s and F‑5s) and their pilots were the eyes of the AAF. Their only weapon was a camera. (Note the camera opening on the side in the photo below.)The F‑4 was the first version of the unarmed Lightning, and the F‑5 was an...
WASPs
Origins of the Women Airforce Service Pilots Ferrying Division Air Transport Command Up until three o'clock in the afternoon of May 29, 1941, there was no organization of any kind in American military aviation to provide for either the delivery of planes or air...
Evelyn Genevieve Sharp
Evelyn Sharp ("Sharpie) was one of the original Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) pilots with over 3,000 flight hours logged when she joined. The WAFS (under Nancy Love) were soon merged with the Women's Flying Training Detachment (under Jacqueline Cochran)...
Nancy Batson Crews
"Alabama's First Lady of Flight"High school cheerleader, campus queen, airplane pilot, wife, mother, politician and business-woman!Ferrying had tense moments. (May 1988, Lightning Strikes) Nancy Batson Crews delivered many P-38s from California to the P.O.E. at...
CatherineBridge
WASP 1 on 1 Interview with Catherine Bridge California of the Past digital story of Catherine Bridge as she tells about her experience during World War II as a civilian ferrying different kinds of military aircraft from air base to air base. It is part of a series...
Mary Lou (Colbert) Neale
Mary Lou was one of many WASPs, but she holds a special place in our hearts because she represented this fine group of women pilots on our Board of Directors She is also responsible, with help from fellow WASPs Catherine Vail Bridge and Iris Critchell, for creating...
Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson
Clarence Leonard "Kelly" Johnson 27 FEB 1910 – 21 DEC 1990 Kelly Johnson is credited with designing the first 400 MPH aircraft -- of course, our beloved P-38.Kelly Johnson's motto says it all: "Be quick, be quiet and be on time." At the remarkably young age of 33 he...
Richard Ira “Dick” Bong
A Young Dick BongGo to Bong's complete biographyAmerica's "Ace of Aces" 24 SEP 1920 / 6 AUG 1945 People have asked us on occasion why we chose this picture of Dick Bong to highlight the page, rather than the more famous one of him sitting in the cockpit of his P‑38....
Jack M. Ilfrey
31 JUL 1920 / 15 OCT 2004 Major...er Lieutenant...er Colonel!United States Army Air Corps Jack Ilfrey has been described this way: "Jack Ilfrey is a real-life cross between Hans Solo and Indiana Jones. Of course, Jack pre-dates those fictional characters by more that...
Thomas Buchanan McGuire, Jr.
1 AUG 1920 / 7 JAN 1945 With 38 aerial victories, he was headed out on a mission which could possibly tie him with Dick Bong for the title of "Ace of Aces" -- America's highest scoring combat pilot. Sadly, he never made it back from that mission, and Dick Bong's...
Test Pilot: Benjamin S. Kelsey
Benjamin "Ben" Kelsey 9 MAR 1906 – 6 MAR 1981 Benjamin "Ben" Kelsey is most well known by P-38 fans as the pilot who first flew the Lightning cross country.XP-38 Kelsey co-authored the technical specifications which led to the development of the P-38 Lightning.In...
The Romanian Rescue Mission
Flight Officer Richard T. "Dick" Andrews made an extraordinarily brave rescue of another P‑38 pilot under extreme combat conditions. Learn about the exceptional story by selecting a link here. >Story Map Photos Silver Star Citation Diorama of Rescue Vietnam Rescue...
The Romanian Rescue Mission Photos
Story Map Photos Silver Star Citation Diorama of Rescue Vietnam Rescue Silver Star Citation - Flight Officer Richard T. Andrews NEXT >
Richard T. Andrews – Silver Star
Story Map Photos Silver Star Citation Diorama of Rescue Vietnam Rescue Diorama of The Romanian Rescue Mission NEXT >
Vietnam Rescue
Story Map Photos Silver Star Citation Diorama of Rescue Vietnam Rescue A Heroic Rescue - Again! In the Vietnam war Lt. Col., Dick Willsie was the commander of the 602nd Air Commando Sqdn. Initially the 1st Air Commando Sqdn and the 602nd Air Commando Sqdn. were based...
Test Pilot: Tony LeVier
Anthony William "Tony" LeVier 14 FEB 1913 / 6 FEB 1998 The P-38 National Association Museum is housed in the Tony LeVier Hangar, for whom it's named and to whom it's dedicated. For more details about the monument, click here.Tony became fascinated with planes as a...
“Hap” Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold 25 JUN 1886 - 15 JAN 1950 "Hap" Arnold is primarily remembered by fans of the P‑38 as the man who approved its first, historic cross-country flight to New York. You can read more about this attempt and the results of that flight here. It met...
Plant Assembly Workers
None of this could have happened, of course, without the personnel working long, hard hours at the Lockheed Burbank assembly plant. Check out these amazing pictures of the line workers doing their honorable work.Here is a clever poem written by them and dedicated to...