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The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is a World War II–era American piston-engined fighter aircraft. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Allied propaganda claimed it had been nicknamed the fork-tailed devil (German: der Gabelschwanz-Teufel) by the Luftwaffe and "two planes, one pilot" by the Japanese.[6] Along with its use as a general fighter, the P-38 was utilized in various aerial combat roles including as a highly effective fighter-bomber,[7] a night fighter,[8] and as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks.[9] The P-38 was also used as a bomber-pathfinder, guiding streams of medium and heavy bombers; or even other P-38s, equipped with bombs, to their targets.[10][11] Used in the aerial reconnaissance role, the P-38 accounted for 90 percent of the aerial film captured over Europe.[12][13]

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