P38 Lightning

Like a bolt out of the blue

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a twin-engined fighter utilized by American forces in WW2 and serves as a unit in Flames of War. Called the "Forked Tailed Devil" by the Germs, and "Two Planes one Pilot" by the Japanese, the P-38 earned a reputation as a powerful fighter, possessing 4 .50 caliber BMGs and a 20mm cannon in its nose, the P-38 could lay down highly accurate destructive fire without having to worry about convergence. First envisioned as an interceptor, the P-38 came to encompass a variety of roles during WW2 from night fighter, high-altitude reconnaissance, and most importantly for Flames of War, ground attack.

IRL

Strike twice

Arguably the first true "interceptor", the P-38 was built from the start to serve a unique role that differentiated it from nearly every other fighter in the war. The designers wanted a fighter with exceptionally high speed and climb rate that could bring down bombers at high altitude. Accomplishing this would require two large, powerful engines with advanced turbosuperchargers, which at the time were expensive and notoriously complicated to maintain. The resulting fighter made compromises in maneuverability and was quite large, but as its main targets were to be bombers, this was considered acceptable. This also explains why it was one of the few aircraft to take a 20mm cannon in the USAAF fighter inventory.

The P-38's large size allowed it to carry much more fuel than a typical fighter, and running at a more economical cruising speed it had an enormous operational range allowing it to escort bombers well into German airspace and operate across the Pacific. The P-38's armament in particular drew the attention of General Kenney of the Pacific Air Force, and this armament was used to great effect in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea and in the role of strafing Japanese airfields. In one instance, a US pilot dumped his bombs after trying to dive on a Zero attempting to takeoff. His bombs caused a massive geyser that resulted in the poor Japanese pilot losing control of his aircraft and taking a drink. The Lightning was the fighter that could claim responsibility for the assasination of Admiral Isoruko Yamamoto, the leader of the Pearl Harbor attack and Japan's foremost and soundest expert of Naval Air Power.

In spite of the many upsides, the P-38 had limitations. Its larger size meant it wasn't as manueverable as single engine aircraft like the Zero or the BF109. It's irregular shape meant that unlike the P-47, it could never get the jump on German pilots. A ban on the export of superchargers meant that British P-38s performed terribly at high altitude. The engines were also tempermental in the colder environment of Northern Europe. To add to the problems, the aircraft turned into a fridge due to an inadequate heater. Thus the Lightning was relegated to tropical service, performing well in North Africa and the Pacific.

As the war progressed and newer designs such as the P-51 became available, the remaining Lightnings were repurposed. With it's large size and easily modified cockpit pod, it was an ideal candidate for conversion to other purposes. Hundreds were converted for reconnaissance, a smaller number were equipped with radar to serve as night fighters, and even fewer were converted as flying ambulances.