Lockheed P-38L Lightning. The P-38 was originally conceived as an advanced, high-performance twin-engine interceptor. On Feb. 11, 1939, Lt. Ben Kelsey set a coast to coast record of 7 hours, 48 minutes in the sleek prototype Lightning, but crashed while landing. Despite the accident, development continued and the first of 13 service test YP-38s flew on Sept. 16, 1940. Early model P-38s experienced turbulent airflow over the tail and problems at high dive speeds, known as compressibility, but later modifications corrected these difficulties.
TECHNICAL NOTES:
Armament: Four .50-cal. machine guns and one 20mm cannon
Engines: Two Allison V-1710s of 1,475 hp each
Maximum speed: 414 mph
Cruising speed: 275 mph
Range: 1,300 miles
Ceiling: 40,000 ft.
Span: 52 ft.
Length: 37 ft. 10 in.
Height: 12 ft. 10 in.
Weight: 17,500 lbs. loaded