{"id":9642615,"date":"2026-08-05T09:35:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T07:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T10:16:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T08:16:13","slug":"p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38 Lightning"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style><p>You could identify it from the ground before you could hear it: two long booms, a pod slung between them, and a wing that seemed to float without a fuselage behind it. Nothing else in the sky of 1942 looked remotely like the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/aeronef\/p-38-lightning\/\">P-38 Lightning<\/a> &mdash; and, according to legend, German pilots called it <em>der Gabelschwanz-Teufel<\/em>, the fork-tailed devil.<\/p><p>That nickname is probably folklore; no one has ever produced a wartime German source for it. But it stuck, because it fit. The Lightning was strange, fast, heavily armed, and it flew in every theatre of the war &mdash; and it carried the two highest-scoring American fighter pilots in history.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px 24px;margin:24px 0;border-radius:8px;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:18px;color:#333\">Informations cl\u00e9s<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px;line-height:1.8;color:#333\"><li><strong>A\u00e9ronef:<\/strong> Lockheed P-38 Lightning<\/li><li><strong>Designers:<\/strong> Hall Hibbard and Clarence &ldquo;Kelly&rdquo; Johnson<\/li><li><strong>Premier vol :<\/strong> January 27, 1939<\/li><li><strong>Mise en page:<\/strong> Twin-boom, twin turbo-supercharged Allison V-1710s, single seat<\/li><li><strong>Armement:<\/strong> Four .50-cal machine guns and a 20 mm cannon, all in the nose<\/li><li><strong>Construit:<\/strong> around 10,000 &mdash; the only US fighter in production from before Pearl Harbor to V-J Day<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A fighter that broke every rule<\/h2><p>When the US Army asked for a high-altitude interceptor in 1937, Lockheed had never built a military fighter. Hall Hibbard and his brilliant young assistant Kelly Johnson &mdash; the man who would later give the world the U-2 and the SR-71 &mdash; answered with something radical. To fit two turbo-supercharged Allison engines and still concentrate the guns, they split the aircraft into twin booms and hung the cockpit and armament in a central pod.<\/p><p>The payoff was a fighter that could top 400 mph, climb like nothing else, and put four machine guns and a cannon into a tight, non-converging stream straight ahead &mdash; no wing guns, no harmonisation range to worry about. When the prototype first flew on January 27, 1939, and then dashed across the United States in a headline-grabbing record attempt days later, it announced that American fighter design had arrived.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=968888661  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:ysdw.ca88\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/p-38-lightning-15af.jpg\" alt=\"P-38 Lightning of the 15th Air Force\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A P-38 Lightning of the 15th Air Force. The twin-boom planform was unmistakable in any sky. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The aces of the Pacific<\/h2><p>It was over the Pacific that the Lightning became a legend. Its two engines meant a long over-water flight home was survivable on one; its range let it reach where single-engine fighters could not. The top two American aces of the entire war both flew it: Major Richard Bong, with 40 victories, and Major Thomas McGuire, with 38 &mdash; friends and rivals who often flew together over New Guinea.<\/p><p>P-38s also flew the most surgical mission of the Pacific war, the long-range interception that killed Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in April 1943 &mdash; a job only the Lightning had the legs to attempt.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IWo2NmAvU1A\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Lone Eagle in the cockpit<\/h2><p>One of the more remarkable men to fly the P-38 in combat was a civilian: Charles Lindbergh. Officially an observer for the manufacturer, he flew some 50 missions with the 5th Air Force and taught its pilots engine-leaning techniques that stretched the Lightning&rsquo;s combat radius by roughly half. He also, quietly, shot down a Japanese aircraft &mdash; and recorded the moment in his journal with a novelist&rsquo;s eye.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;The nose goes down. The plane turns slightly as it picks up speed &mdash; down &mdash; down &mdash; down toward the sea. A fountain of spray &mdash; white foam on the water &mdash; the waves merge into those of the sea &mdash; the foam disappears &mdash; the surface is as it was before.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Charles Lindbergh<\/strong> &mdash; The Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh, July 28, 1944<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>Lindbergh&rsquo;s fuel-economy lessons were not a footnote. They turned the P-38 into a genuinely strategic weapon in a theatre measured in thousands of miles of open ocean.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=428273115  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:k0Qt.ca87\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/p-38-lightning-new-guinea-groundcrew.jpg\" alt=\"P-38 ground crew in New Guinea\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Allied ground crew work on a P-38&rsquo;s Allison engines at a New Guinea airfield, c. 1944. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Trouble over Europe<\/h2><p>Europe was harder on the Lightning. At the freezing altitudes of high-cover escort, the early Allisons suffered, cockpits went bitterly cold, and pilots ran into compressibility &mdash; a terrifying nose-down tuck in high-speed dives, as the airflow over the wing approached the speed of sound before anyone fully understood the phenomenon. Dive-recovery flaps and better training eventually tamed it, but the P-38 never dominated the European air war the way the Mustang did.<\/p><p>Where it truly excelled beyond dogfighting was reconnaissance. Stripped of guns and packed with cameras as the F-4 and F-5, unarmed Lightnings brought home much of the Allied photo intelligence of the war &mdash; fast, high, and hard to catch.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/N9VBs3BgVjk\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The devil&rsquo;s legacy<\/h2><p>Around 10,000 Lightnings were built, and it holds a distinction no other American fighter can claim: it was in front-line production from before the United States entered the war until the day Japan surrendered. Bombers, escorts, interceptors, photo-ships, even makeshift level-bombers with a bombardier in the nose &mdash; the P-38 did all of it.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Bombers drop bombs. Fighter pilots fight. It was simply the way it was meant to be.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Robin Olds<\/strong> &mdash; P-38 ace, 479th Fighter Group<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>Robin Olds scored his first victories in one before becoming a legend in the P-51 and, decades later, the F-4. For him and for a generation of pilots, the fork-tailed devil was the aeroplane where they learned to fight. Folklore or not, the nickname earned its place.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/c6JciTF2UAM\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p><em>Sources: Wikipedia; Lockheed Martin history; The Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh (1970); Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine; HistoryNet.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Articles similaires<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/kelly-johnson-lockheed-skunk-works-designer-sr-71-u-2\/\">Kelly Johnson : L&#039;homme qui pouvait voir l&#039;air<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/eaa-airventure-oshkosh-2026-p-38-lightning-warbirds\/\">Trois P-38 Lightning se r\u00e9uniront \u00e0 Oshkosh<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/f6f-hellcat-ace-maker\/\">La Hellcat : la machine \u00e0 as qui a bris\u00e9 le z\u00e9ro<\/a><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You could identify it from the ground before you could hear it: two long booms, a pod slung between them, and a wing that seemed to float without a fuselage behind it. Nothing else in the sky of 1942 looked remotely like the P-38 Lightning &mdash; and, according to legend, German pilots called it der [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":9642138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9642615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>P-38 Lightning: The Fork-Tailed Devil<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The twin-boom P-38 Lightning carried America\u2019s top aces and flew in every theatre of WWII. The story of the fork-tailed devil.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"P-38 Lightning: The Fork-Tailed Devil\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The twin-boom P-38 Lightning carried America\u2019s top aces and flew in every theatre of WWII. The story of the fork-tailed devil.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-05T07:35:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-05T08:16:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:k0Qt.ca87\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/p-38-lightning-yippee.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\"},\"headline\":\"The Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38 Lightning\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-05T07:35:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-05T08:16:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":923,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/p-38-lightning-yippee.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"History &amp; Legends\",\"Military Aviation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/\",\"name\":\"P-38 Lightning: The Fork-Tailed Devil\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/p-38-lightning-yippee.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-05T07:35:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-05T08:16:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"The twin-boom P-38 Lightning carried America\u2019s top aces and flew in every theatre of WWII. The story of the fork-tailed devil.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/p-38-lightning-yippee.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/p-38-lightning-yippee.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Lockheed P-38J Lightning\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38 Lightning\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\",\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Connor Kerr\"},\"description\":\"Connor Kerr writes MiGFlug\u2019s long-form features \u2014 aviation history, how-it-works explainers and the stories behind the headlines.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fr\\\/author\\\/connorkerr\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"P-38 Lightning: The Fork-Tailed Devil","description":"The twin-boom P-38 Lightning carried America\u2019s top aces and flew in every theatre of WWII. The story of the fork-tailed devil.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"P-38 Lightning: The Fork-Tailed Devil","og_description":"The twin-boom P-38 Lightning carried America\u2019s top aces and flew in every theatre of WWII. The story of the fork-tailed devil.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-08-05T07:35:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-05T08:16:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:k0Qt.ca87\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/p-38-lightning-yippee.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Connor Kerr","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Connor Kerr","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/"},"author":{"name":"Connor Kerr","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9"},"headline":"The Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38 Lightning","datePublished":"2026-08-05T07:35:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-05T08:16:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/"},"wordCount":923,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:k0Qt.ca87\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/p-38-lightning-yippee.jpg","articleSection":["History &amp; Legends","Military Aviation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/","name":"P-38 Lightning: The Fork-Tailed Devil","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:k0Qt.ca87\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/p-38-lightning-yippee.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-05T07:35:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-05T08:16:13+00:00","description":"The twin-boom P-38 Lightning carried America\u2019s top aces and flew in every theatre of WWII. The story of the fork-tailed devil.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:k0Qt.ca87\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/p-38-lightning-yippee.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:k0Qt.ca87\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/p-38-lightning-yippee.jpg","width":1280,"height":800,"caption":"Lockheed P-38J Lightning"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/p-38-lightning-fork-tailed-devil-history\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38 Lightning"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","name":"Afterburner - Le magazine de MiGFlug","description":"pour ceux qui s&#039;int\u00e9ressent au pilotage d&#039;avions militaires et aux sujets li\u00e9s \u00e0 l&#039;aviation","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9","name":"Connor Kerr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Connor Kerr"},"description":"Connor Kerr r\u00e9dige les articles de fond de MiGFlug \u2014 histoire de l&#039;aviation, explications sur le fonctionnement et les histoires qui se cachent derri\u00e8re les gros titres.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/author\/connorkerr\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9642615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9642615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9642615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9642632,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9642615\/revisions\/9642632"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9642138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9642615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9642615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9642615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}