P-38 Lightning Fighter Interceptor

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning designed by Clarence "Kelly" Johnson and manufactured by Lockheed is an American World War II heavy fighter aircraft. The P-38 Lightning was the only American fighter aircraft in production throughout American involvement in the war, from Pearl Harbor to Victory over Japan Day. The P-38 Lightning was used most successfully in the Pacific Theater of Operations and the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations. The maiden flight of the P-38 Lightning took place on the 27th of January 1939 and it went into service on July 1941. Primary users were the United States Army Air Forces, Honduran Air Force and the Free French Air Force. There were approx. 10,037 P-38 Lightning produced between 1941 and 1945. The P-38 Lightning retired from military service in 1965 to the Honduran Air Force. Cost per unit is approx. 97,147 USD in 1944 (equivalent to 1,305,883 USD in 2016).