The P-38 Lightning and the Men Who Flew It

The P-38 Lightning was one of the fastest operational fighters of World War II, famous for its successes in North Africa and the Pacific. In The P-38 Lightning and the Men Who Flew It, Wolfgang W. E. Samuel shares the stories of the young men who climbed into the cockpits of the P-38 to fight for freedom, and of those who created, tested, and deployed these fearsome machines.

The P-38 was the product of the Lockheed Corporation, the first fighter they ever built, principally conceptualized by Kelly Johnson, whose design was to meet Air Corps specifications. To do that he came up with a twin-engine aircraft with a tricycle landing gear unlike any other military aircraft of the time. But it was no easy plane to fly. Many pilots died in training and routine flying before ever meeting an opponent in combat.

P-38 units were formed quickly once the United States entered World War II in December 1941. Training was rushed to get pilots and planes to Europe as quickly as possible to serve as bomber escorts. Although the P-38 could fly at the high altitudes the bombers flew, it was not the right aircraft for the mission. Without an engine in front of the cockpit to keep the pilot warm, the plane was frigid. Pilots suffered and were sometimes so weakened by the brutal cold that they had to be lifted out of the cockpit upon landing, and the bombers suffered severe losses. In North Africa's warmer air, however, the P-38 came into its own. With four 50-caliber machine guns and a 20mm cannon in its nose, the P-38 was a formidable adversary. With proven success in the Mediterranean, P-38 squadrons were transferred to the Pacific Theater, where they flourished.

Focusing on the men who flew this challenging aircraft and the men who designed and decided how to deploy it, Samuel shares stories of bravery and ingenuity alongside an aviation history long neglected. The P-38's deployment is covered in some detail, including the actions of Richard Bong, who became the US forces' ace of aces. In the Pacific skies, the P-38, its pilots, and designers made the heroic history captured here.

Author: Wolfgang W. E. Samuel
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Published: 04/15/2025
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781496856500

About the Author
Wolfgang W. E. Samuel, Colonel, US Air Force (Ret.), was born in Germany in 1935 and immigrated to the United States in 1951 at age sixteen with an eighth-grade education and no English-language skills. Upon graduation from the University of Colorado, he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force and then flew over one hundred strategic reconnaissance missions against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. His first book German Boy: A Refugee's Story garnered favorable reviews from the New York Times and numerous other outlets. He is author of eight previous books published by University Press of Mississippi.