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Built by Lockheed to meet a USAAC requirement for a long-range, high-performance escort for the B-17 bomber, the P-38 Lightning made its combat debut in Europe in 1942. Its service in several combat theatres earned it the nickname "der gabelschwanzer teufal", or "the fork-tailed devil". Some 17 pilots scored seven or more kills in the P-38, with the top scorers, William J. Sloan and Michael Brezas, scoring 12 kills each. This volume presents archival photographs of Lightnings, scale drawings and interviews with several leading Lightning aces.