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Fighter and Reconnaissance

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Fighter and Reconnaissance

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was designed as an interceptor that could operate and manoeuvre at a ceiling of 12,192 metres. Despite its many roles, it was best known as a fighter and reconnaissance aircraft. Junker-Larsen aircraft

The plane was first used in combat in northern Africa against the German Luftwaffe, where it was the first American airplane to shoot down an enemy aircraft in the Second World War. The P-38 was armed with four .50 calibre machine guns. and a 20 millimetre cannon. It was able to out-fly any aircraft operated by the Germans or the Japanese at the time, and became known by the Germans as, "The Forked-Tail Devil."

The P-38 was equipped with droppable fuel tanks placed under its wings, which transformed it into a long-range escort fighter. As a result of its versatility, the P-38 was used in every theatre of battle during the Second World War.

 

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