American World War II twin-engined piston fighter. Designed at the outset by Lockheed to answer a US Army Air Forces proposal for a high-altitude interceptor, it was also later used in ground attack and reconnaissance roles.
It is easily recognizable by its twin-boom, twin-engined construction. Armament included a 20mm cannon, .50-caliber machine guns, rockets, and bombs. Additional payloads included drop tanks and camera packs. One rather odd light bomber variant replaced all the guns with a second crewman operating a bombsight.
Due to its unparalelled speed and ease of control compared to its contempolaries during the early stage of the war, it has garnered a reputation amongst Axis pilots. German pilots who flew against the P-38 nicknamed it "Der Gabelschwanz Teufel" ("The Fork-Tailed Devil"), while the Japanese called it "Two planes, one pilot".
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