When the first XP-38 took wing in 1939, the Army Air Corps instantly recognized that the Lightning had catapulted fighter aircraft design well into the future. At a time when 325mph fighter was considered very fast, the over 400mph speed of the P-38 was a shock to all concerned, friend or foe. In the early days of W.W.II, the Lightning went through a series of "teething" problems, but one by one they were all solved rendering the later versions of the Lightning awesome fighters capable of truly long-range escort capabilities and/or heavy weapons carrying capacity.
Instructed in the fine art of fuel management by Col. Charles Lindberg, the pilots of the 475th Fighter Wing established an enviable record in the South Pacific. It is quite probable that on one of the outstanding Aces of the Pacific War.