Source: Fighter Aces of the USA by Toliver & Constable 1979 ISBN 0-8168-5792-XDespite the performance disparity between the P-38 and the P-51, the Lightninghad its devoted advocates. There can be no doubt that the faith and ability ofa P-38 pilot, wherever he plied his trade, could wring from the Lightningsuperior and often surprising performance. For the run-of-the-mill fighterpilot, such attainments were impossible. For the exceptional pilot, who loved,studied and flew the P-38 with everything that was in him, the enemy held noterrors.Such a P-38 devotee was, and is, Colonel John H. Lowell of Denver, Colorado.Lowell served in the ETO, and on one occasion, with his whole group watchingand a beer bust riding on the outcome, he took on an RAF Spitfire Mark XI inmock combat.The encounter took place over Lowell's home base of Honington, in East Anglia,and Lowell administered a sound thrashing to the fabled British fighter. Lowellbelieved that the P-38L was able to fight anything that flew, and in thisinstance, with him at the controls, the P-38L proved superior even to Britain'sgreat thoroughbred.Lowell is credited with 7.5 aerial kills in Europe, but few other pilots in theUSAAF could make the P-38 perform as he did. For the most part, the journeymenpilots who forsook the Lightning for the Mustang as the newer machine flowedout to the squadrons were rarely sorry to say goodbye to the P-38. Lowell livesnear Golden, Colorado.Colonel John H. Lowell, whose faith in the P-38 was dealt with earlier in thisbook, became an ace while flying with the 67th Wing's 364th Fighter Group.Colonel Lowell flew his first mission against the Germans on 6 March 1944, onthe first fighter escort mission to Germany. He flew two combat tours and isofficially credited with 7.5 victories. Now a roofing contractor in Golden,Colorado, Colonel Lowell best remembers a tussle with the redoubtable FW-190's:"Over Berlin we spotted a large gaggle of 190's about to attack. We droppedexternal tanks and turned into them. I was the first to fire, as I was in theLead, and the lead 190, my target, blew up. All hell broke loose then and everyman in my group fired at the enemy that day. I lost two men but we gotthirty-three confirmed. My third victory was a tong-nosed 190 who took me downto the deck, although I was long ago ready to go home. I ran out of ammo. Hewas still going strong, and then in a very low pass at me he ran into a treeand blew up. This occurred 5 December 1944."Below is the caption to the attached image.P-38 LIGHTNING LOVERLt. Colonel John H. Lowell, seen here during WWII service with the 364thFighter Group of the 8th Air Force, was an ace who could really fly the P-38.Credited with 7.5 victories in Europe, Lowell believed the P-38 was the equalof any fighter in the air if it were properly flown. He once whipped an RAFSpitfire in mock aerial combat on a bet.
Originally posted by Dago Why is he posing on a P51?dago
Haha, the dorka hit a tree!
