Well, this turned out to be a fascinating aircraft to research, since it tied together so many famous people in a single design. One of the greatest aircraft designers of all time, Clarence L "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for the layout of the aircraft, famous test pilots such as Milo Burcham and Tony LeVier were responsible for working the bugs out of the advanced design, and many of the greatest US aces of the Second World War were to fly the big fighter in combat, achieving remarkable results with the large twin against much more agile opponents. Again, I found myself learning a vast amount about an aircraft I thought I knew well, and I sincerely hope I have captured that fascination in these pages. The P-38 was the only US fighter to be in production for the entire length of the Second World War, yet is was produced in smaller numbers than its single engined counterparts, none of which had such longevity. Partly, this was due to the complexity of the design and partly it was down to the fact that Lockheed was busy designing and producing a wide range of other aircraft. Front line demand for the fighter was high in every theatre, but it was not until 1944 that a second production line was set up by Consolidated Vultee Aircraft at its facility in Nashville Tennessee.
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