P-38 Lightning in Detail & Scale, Part 1: XP-38 Prototype Through P-38H Variants (Also Covers the F-4A & F-5A Photographic Reconnaissance Variants) Bussmann FNM-4 (FNM-4, BP/FNM-4) 4 Amp (4A) 250V Midget Time-Delay Class CC Fuse

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a radically different design from any previous fighter aircraft, represented a giant step forward in combat aircraft design and technology. Known by various names, such as "The Forked-tailed Devil" or "two planes with one pilot," the P-38 was a formidable fighter in World War II, particularly in the Pacific theater.

Featuring a twin-engine, twin-boom design with a fuselage pod between the booms, the P-38 Lightning boasted high speed and long range, coupled with its firepower concentrated in the fuselage pod. This made it one of the most formidable fighters of the war, with America's top two aces, Richard Bong and Thomas McGuire, scoring all of their victories in the P-38 while facing smaller, more nimble Japanese aircraft.

In 1998, Detail & Scale published two books on the P-38 Lightning, which were very popular but have since been out-of-print. This publication, "P-38 Lightning in Detail and Scale, Part 1," is the first of two newly expanded, updated, and revised editions of Detail & Scale's previous two-part coverage of the Lightning.

The focus of this volume is on the so-called early Lightnings, beginning with the first XP-38 prototype and continuing through the P-38H. The book also includes the related F-4, F-4A, and F-5A photographic reconnaissance variants. The Early Lightning Details chapter features new and expanded content, with scores of detailed and meticulously restored photographs accompanied by captions that illustrate both important features and subtle differences between P-38 variants.

When the Lightning first flew in 1939, it was larger, faster, and more heavily armed than any fighter aircraft in the world. Early variants of the P-38 found themselves thrust into combat as the United States entered World War II. In Europe, early Lightnings were plagued with problems associated with British fuels interacting with their exhaust-driven, turbo-supercharged engines at high altitudes. However, elsewhere, in northern Africa, the Mediterranean, the Aleutians, and throughout the Pacific, the P-38 performed far more effectively and produced outstanding results in combat.

This publication features expanded and revised historical overviews of the P-38s, along with detailed descriptions of each variant. The book concludes with a Modelers Section that features reviews of the plastic model kits of these early P-38 variants, highlighting each kit's strengths and weaknesses, along with ways that a scale modeler can correct or improve upon accuracy and details.

P-38 Lightning in Detail & Scale, Part 1 contains over 200 high-resolution photographs along with dozens of detailed line drawings of the P-38 variants covered, providing a comprehensive and detailed look at this iconic World War II fighter.

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