JC WINGS JCW72P38002 - P-38J LIGHTING MAJOR THOMAS MCGUIRE USAAF 431ST FS 1944 - (RRP £87.99)

JCW72P38002 - JC Wings

P-38J LIGHTING MAJOR THOMAS MCGUIRE USAAF 431ST FS 1944

1/72 Scale

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft. Developed to meet a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle that contained the cockpit and armament. The aircraft was used in various roles, including dive bombing, level bombing, ground strafing, and photo reconnaissance missions, as well as extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with droppable fuel tanks under its wings.

The P-38 was used most extensively and successfully in the Pacific Theatre of Operations and the China-Burma-India Theatre of Operations, where it was flown by American pilots who achieved the highest number of aerial victories to date. America's top ace, Richard Bong, earned 40 victories (in a Lightning he called Marge), and Thomas McGuire (in Pudgy) scored 38. In the South West Pacific theatre, it was a primary long-range fighter of the United States Army Air Forces until the appearance of large numbers of P-51D Mustangs toward the end of the war.