For my 1000th post, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.

[CandRFan]

Definitely a unique, and successful, fighter. In a book that I have there's a neat pic of a P-38 tucked into a box of B-17s somewhere over Europe with one engine feathered. Couldn't do that in Mustang or Jug.

 

[MACHINEGUN]

 

[Amishman44]

The P-38 is one of the most unique aircrafts every designed, built, and flown in combat! Their pilots were awesome!!! I believe (if my memory serves me correctly) that Major Boyington disappeared in a P-38 somewhere near the Solomons in 1944??? The five (5) P-38's that landed on the ice in Greenland were found and one (1) was brought to the surface in pieces, brought back to the US, restored, and actually flown back in the '90's and early 2000's. Took 'em over 10 years to get all of this accomplished.

If I had a choice back then, I would have chosen to fly the P-47 Jug....toughest prop-fighter the US ever built that saw combat...that or the F-8 Bearcat...the fastest...but it never actually saw combat b/c the Japanese surrended before it could reach the pacific fleet.

My next-door-neighbor is 90 y/o and he flew P-51's in WWII and helped chase Rommell across Northern Africa! He was nominated for a CMH (Congressional Medal of Honor) for saving a General's life in combat. The General happened to look back as his transport a/c was being riddled with bullets just in time to see Frank slide his P-51 into place behind the ME-109 and shoot it down...right in front of the other 3 ME's in the flight, who proceeded to shoot the crap out of him. I asked him why in the heck he did that and he looked at me sort of funny-like, and replied, "To be honest, I didn't see the other 3 guys!" He then went on to admit that no one had ever asked him that question before (just thinking him a hero) and he had thought that he would get to his grave with that information intact. We both had a good laugh over that. During the summers, we hang out along our fence line and chat quite often and in the winters, I go over and clean his driveway out with my snowblower. Our kids (5, 2, & 1) go next door in the summer to play in their yard (sort of like an extra set of grandparents) and it's all cool. What a great guy!