Lockheed P-38 Lightning - "The Fork-Tailed Devil" - WW2 history

Описание: Meet the aircraft that the Luftwaffe reportedly nicknamed "der Gabelschwanz Teufel" - the Fork-tailed Devil in German - a twin-engine WW2 fighter that became a legend in the European and Pacific theaters.

Join Major Tom Simpson (callsign: ground control) from Fights On for a deep dive into the history of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, the only American fighter aircraft to remain in large-scale production throughout the entire duration of the United States' involvement in World War II. In this presentation, we explore the engineering marvels and fatal flaws of this iconic warbird, from its birth in a converted bourbon distillery to its dominance in the Pacific.

In this video, you will discover:

Engineering Firsts: How the P-38 became the first military airplane to fly faster than 400 mph in level flight and how its nose-mounted guns allowed pilots to hit targets at ranges of up to 1,000 yards—far beyond the effective range of standard wing-mounted fighters.
The Compressibility Crisis: The terrifying aerodynamic phenomenon that caused early P-38s to lock up in high-speed dives, allowing German pilots to escape in a dogfight if need be.
The "Dive Flap" Solution: How Lockheed’s "Skunk Works" engineers secretly developed dive recovery flaps to restore control, allowing pilots like Robin Olds to shock the Luftwaffe by pursuing them into dives exceeding 500 mph.
Operation Vengeance: The incredible story of the long-range mission to intercept Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, a feat made possible only by the P-38’s unique range and twin-engine reliability.
Aces and Legends: Why the top two American aces, Richard Bong and Thomas McGuire, favored this aircraft, and how it even inspired the tail fins of the 1948 & 1949 Cadillac.

Whether you are an aviation enthusiast or a history buff, this video covers the triumph of engineering persistence that turned a "widow maker" into one of the most versatile fighters of the war.

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