Aviation Archive – Issue 25 – OUT NOW!

This issue has some errors relative to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. It is NOT the only US combat aircraft to be in production from the US entry into WWII to the end, as claimed. The Grumman F4F Wildcat, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, the Consolidated Aircraft B-24 Liberator and the Consolidated Aircraft PBY Catalina all meet this criterion. All of these were purchased by the UK and put into service before the US entered the war and all remained in production to the end of the war. It is also not true that seven of the top eight aces in the Pacific all flew the P-38. As far as I can tell, the top aces in the Pacific were: Richard Bong USAAF – P-38, Thomas McGuire USAAF – P-38, David McCampbell USN – F6F, Charles McDonald USAAF – P-38, Joseph Foss USMC – F4F, F4U, Robert Hanson USMC – F4U, Cecil Harris USN – F6F, and Eugene Valencia USN – F6F. I left out Gregory Boyington since some of his victories were in China. When one makes claims like this, one has to remember that the US effectively had three air forces active in the Pacific in WWII – Army, Navy and Marine Corps.