The Lockheed P-38 Lightning introduced a new dimension to American fighters during WWII – a second engine. Designed by Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, an engineer at Lockheed, the P-38 Lightning represented one of the most radical departures from the traditional American Fighter ever seen during WWII.  With an unconventional airframe, design, power, and armament, the twin tailed fighter design simply worked.  Equipped with four .50 cal machine guns, plus a 20mm cannon, the P-38 Lightning had enough firepower to sink a ship… and some did!  The concentrated center nose mounted guns eliminated the need for propeller synchronization and was deadly when pointed in the direction of the enemy.

Flightline Fabrications recently interviewed three retired P-38 Lightning Pilots and all three were generous enough to sit down for our Living History Project and tell us about their combat stories and adventures during WWII. Over the next month Flightline Fabrications will publish each pilots story in 3 part segments, so strap on your parachute, and get ready to jump, because these P-38 Lightning Pilot stories are AWESOME! 

Col. Robert Mitchell served with the now famous 44th “Vampire” Fighter Squadron, 13th Air Force in the Solomons & Philippines during 1944-1945.  In air combat flying the P-38 Lightning, Col. Mitchell scored 1 victory and 1 probable victory.

William “Al” Bailey flew 60 photo recon missions in the P-38 Lightning with the 17th Photo Recon Squadron from Guadalcanal in 1943 and 52 missions with the 40th PRS in India during 1945.

John Taylor flew 63 missions in P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustangs with the 364th Fighter Group of the 8th Air Force in England.  Those missions included 6 June 44, D-Day!

400 Miles per hour, four .50 cal machine guns, one 20mm cannon, and a young pilot… These P-38 Lightning stories are what you want to hear. 

Flightline Fabrications wishes to express its gratitude to the P-38 National Association for their partnership in making these interviews possible.

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Do you or someone you know have first hand memories of this or any other historic event, whether you served in the military or as a civilian, Flightline Fabrications Living History Project want to hear from you.  Please contact our Living History Project with your remembrances.  History should NEVER be forgotten.  Your memories are important and should be retained and shared. 

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The very first enemy plane shot down during the Korean War was by a WWII F-51D Mustang! Throughout the Korean War many WWII aircraft distingushed themselves with their accomplishments. These propellor-driven airborne weapons were seen as obsolete, relics of an older era, but these feisty planes not only held their own against the jets of the Korean War era, they were Korean War heroes in their own right.

Over the course of the Korean War, however, it became obvious that the day of the piston-engined fighter was coming to a close and that the future would lie with the jet fighter.  The first operational jets were developed during World War II and saw combat in its final year (1945).   The German Me-262, developed by Messerschmitt was the only jet fighter to see actual combat during WWII.  The Americans were one of the first to begin using jet fighters post WWII, the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star (soon re-designated F-80) was the first jet fighter to see combat after WWII. 

Soon after the introduction of the F-80 Shooting Star, the F-86 Saber was introduced to combat the Mig 15, entering the swept wing fighter into the history books.  Propellor-driven aircraft went quietly into the night, but have never been forgotten!

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The USS Bainbridge, an Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer, is in place and prepared to assist in the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips, who is being held hostage by the Somali pirates who attacked the cargo ship Maersk Alabama on April 8th.

The crew of the Maersk Alabama recaptured their ship from the pirates, but their captain remained in the hands of the Somalis.

“There’s four Somali pirates, and they’ve got our captain,” Ken Quinn said in a ship-to-shore phone interview.

Capt. Richard Phillips is being held in the Alabama’s 28-foot lifeboat after the pirates reneged on an agreement to exchange him for a captured pirate, Quinn said.  “We returned him (the pirate), but they didn’t return the captain,” he said. 

The hijackers forcefully boarded the Alabama early Wednesday, when it was about 350 miles off the coast of Somalia, a failed nation which has become a haven for pirates  who have now attacked over 160 merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

The dispatch of the USS Bainbridge to rescue Captain Murphy is an unusual example of historical justice.  The ship is named after Commodore William Bainbridge, a hero of the Barbary Pirates War who was himself held hostage twice.

Yamato, the lead ship of its class of battleships, was built at Kure, Japan.  By far one of the largest battleships ever built, even exceeding in size the U.S. Navy’s Montana Class.  The nine 460mm battery guns were the largest ever to go to sea, and the ships scale of armor protection was unserpassed by any other battleship.

Commissioned in December 1941, just after the start of the Pacific theater war, the Yamato was to serve as the flagship of Japan during WWII.  During 1942 the Battleship Yamato spent most of her time at Truk as part of the naval forces defending Japan’s Pacific bases.  The Yamato received light damage during the Leyte Gulf  battle and was sent home November 1944, fitted with anit-aircraft guns, and repaired. 

Assigned to take part in the suicidal “Ten-Go” Operation to support naval forces defending Okinawa, the Battleship Yamato was attacked by a massive U.S. force of military plane and sunk on 07 April 1945, 200 miles north of Okinawa.

Aviation Artist Ron Cole has created a Limited Edtion Print of the the Battleship Yamato on the morning of April 5, 1945.  This Limited Edition print depicts the Yamato discarding an observation plane prior to battle. This Art work is amazing and captures the true feelings the mighty Battleship generated.  

Print Available at: http://www.ozarkairfieldartworks.com/rcolebattleshipyamato.html

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April 6, 1917 – The United States under President Woodrow Wilson declares war on Germany and her allies thus entering America into World War One.  This war, optimistically dubbed “the war to end all wars” would see the advent of many new implements of war such as the machine gun, armored tank and possibly most importantly the airplane.

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