I thought we decided this long ago and put the proper plane on the home page "A HOG" BigRat
no climb..... cant be the best I thought eny was based on when the aircraft entered the war and how many were made plus something going with the "Lethality" of the plane in the MA
So this is another unofficial P-38 thread right?Aww no. Twist my arm. http://www.acepilots.com/usaaf_mitchell.htmlYknow the only thing better then an unofficial P-38 thread is a P-38 true story, like above. Or, even better then that, is a whole list of P-38 tales. http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/p38.htmlHey, heres the last thing Isoroku Yamamoto ever saw. (Image removed from quote.)
Thats crap everyone knows that whoever wins the war gets to put their own twist on it, what you didnt know it that on that same flight against Yamamoto 2 KI84s were defending the buffs and both got ganged by turdy8 dweebs
Actually the escorts were six Zeros and not Ki-84s.
The ENY limit kicked in?
TO PHOTO-RECON JOEBy Tom McGuire Of all the Air Force pilots that I most deeply admire,I give my top-notch vote to Photo-Recon JoeWho goes it alone, unarmed, and braves the enemy's fireBy taking crucial photos which spell doom to the Axis foe.Ahead of his Lightning's sound, his F-5 zips in at tree-top level;Too late they hear him coming, now he's already gone pastA flashing form, a blast of wind, the Fork-Tail Devil,His photos taken, speeds home, no higher than a mast.On lists of fighter aces, his name is never placed,And sadly, he's soon forgotten after the war has ended,But war historians know that priceless F-5 photos basedThe Normandy invasion so air, sea, and land attacks all blended."Unescorted, unarmed, and unafraid" Joe wings his gutsy wayInto the lethal Axis Reich, where death waits in that murky air.But he presses on, he shoots his films, and dearly earns his payBy these "dicing," flack-filled missions that only he would dare.So now I raise a grateful toast to Photo-Recon Joe,And, Joe, I also bow to you-and believe me, I bow low.
AN ODE TO THE AXIS FROM LOCKHEED WORKERS(Author unknown. Wichita Beacon, circa 1940s)When you hear a whistle in the skyAnd see those twin tails streaking by,You know that you have one less chanceOf ever making an advance.When you started this war in thirty-nine,There was no P-38 assembly line.When you bombed Pearl Harbor in forty-oneThat assembly had just begun.When that line really began to moveYou knew that we were in the groove.When they first hit Africa in forty-two,You began to think that you were through.Now we are turning them out faster and fasterThe sooner to bring you disaster.Every one that leaves the assembly lineHelps to shorten your allotted time.We use them for the camera shipBecause their speed gives you the slip,And when the photographs they take,Our bombers follow in their wake.They escort bombers far and wide,And on every mission tan your hide.From the rooftops to the stratosphere,Of all your planes they are the peer.The Zero, it was sure well named,For when the Lightnings' guns are aimed,The pilot gives them one quick burst,There's nothing there, the Zeros cursed.Over in Europe it's just the same,Focke-Wulfs and Messerschmitts are fair game.Our pilots chase them from the skyAnd make of Goebbels' boasts a lie.For every time their five guns roar,The Axis rats die by the score.Fork'tailed terrors of the air,They make our enemies despair.
Hades SquadronBy Harry BrownThe world seemed covered with dripping mistWith walls of dismal gray.Even the plane seemed to resistWhen pulled from the hangar that day.But everything was soon on boardAnd my walk-around begun.Then I fired it up and taxied towardMy rendezvous with fun.The mags were checked, prop in low pitchMy full run-up was done.Controls were free-the mixture rich.I began my take-off run.I lifted the nose and became airborneInto the overcast.When that eerie mist was suddenly tornAnd I found myself in the past.And I was flying a P-38Stacked in an echelon right.Hades Squadron was tempting fateAnd looking for a fight.We were at angels twenty and my Blue FlightWas lined-up covering the rear.So I knew that things would be alrightAnd I had no sense of fear.I saw some faces I hadn't seenFor forty years or so.Including some that departed this sceneA long, long time ago.There was old Nick to lead the wayAnd then Houseworth appeared.Then Hedrick and Allen and WenigeWith his blonde mustache and red beard.And then Kirby, Willie Haning and Johnny HoodEach man a real heroWho fought with all the strength he couldAgainst a vicious foe.Those wondrous warriors that I knewLike Harris and Tom McGuireChamplin and Monk-Czarnecki tooVerle Jeff and Gronemeyer.And those who lead my elementEach one a friend of mineRed Herman and Mankin and Francis LentAnd Lewis and Pappy Cline.But the mist soon began to thinAnd my friends to fade awayAnd I found out that I had beenBut an instant along the way.And then I broke completely clear.In the brilliance of the dawnAll those scenes of yesteryearAnd all my friends were gone.And so I felt a moment's painWhen returned to reality.And I hoped I'd see them all againAnd that they'd fly with me.For the bonds of friendship that were wroughtOn an anvil of adversityWere forged forever as we foughtIn the skies so valiantly.Hark! Do you hear it? The thundering roarof engines in the sky?Someday I want forevermoreTo be where those brave men fly.
WE ALSO LOVED THE LADYby Fred L. Montgomery, S/Sgt-Crew ChiefThose of us who filled her ever-thirsty tanks with ""Fightin' Blue," Who cleaned and oiled her arsenal and hung her deadly bombs, Who kept her ""ears" and ""voice" always loud and clear,Who patched the combat wounds in her sleek skin.Who checked and tuned her after every flight,Who guarded her through torrid desert days and bitter, frigid nights, Who pulled her preflight before each dawn to make sure that she was fit To take you into combat and bring you safely home again.Who strapped you into cockpit nest and squeezed your shoulder for good luck, And who waited through the endless hours for the thrill of seeingYou and our Lightning lady do the Victory Roll one more time!Sure, there were times when you took her-and us-for granted, But we understood.In fact, we were proud to think that you trusted us both with your life.Believe me, we were with you every second, monitoring her heartbeat, The steady scream of her superchargers, the instant response of her controls.And when you brought her back to us, weary and sometimes wounded, We gladly worked into the night to heal and make her fit to thunder Once again into tomorrow's dawn with you.These things we did because we, too, loved and were proud to share with you Our incomparable Lady Lightning!
is it just me or is that 38 missing its 20mm and has a fifth .50 in its place...