Lockheed P-38 Lightning - California Cutie 3D model

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The P-38J Lightning boasted significant improvements over earlier models, including better cockpit heating, more efficient engine cooling, a flat bulletproof windscreen, extra fuel in the wings, and enhanced maneuverability. This aircraft played a vital role during combat operations from England in 1943 as it was the only fighter with the range to escort bombers into Germany. The P-38 truly excelled in the Pacific theater, with seven of the top eight scoring USAAF aces flying this model. Notably, on April 18, 1943, a P-38 ambushed and shot down an aircraft carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the planner of the Pearl Harbor raid and commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The P-38 became the standard USAAF fighter in the Pacific theater until the end of WWII.