*OR* ''What no World War II Japanese pilot EVER wanted to see!'' The P-38 'Lightning' by Lockheed was a unique warplane...in far too many ways to mention in a brief synopsis here. But I'll try...;^O Shortly before the outbreak of WWII the USAAF commissioned a new high-altitude interceptor/fighter with very demanding specs. Lockheed came up with what was quite possibly - pound for pound - the most lethal engine of death and destruction to see service in that global conflict. It was flown by both of the top American aces - not just of WWI, but of ALL TIME! Its incredible range became legendary and its twin engines particularly suited it for long over water flights. This last point is striking, for it wasn't designed for long range missions...it was originally designed as a high performance, short range interceptor! Its most common armaments configuration included FOUR .50-cal machine guns and a 20-mm cannon - all nose-mounted in the cockpit nacelle to fire in parallel along the plane's flight axis. This made the guns devastatingly accurate at ranges exceeding 1,000 yards! The 'convergence' firing range of most wing-mounted guns of the day was 300-500 yards MAX (more commonly in the 250 yards range). The Lightning was fully capable of sinking ships using just its guns - no bombs or rockets needed. The P-38 shot down more Japanese aircraft than any other USAAF fighter in WW II. Although my render is a bit on the fanciful side...I'd be willing to bet that something like it was just about the last thing that Admiral Yamamoto saw in April 1943, when the U.S. ambushed and shot down the architect of the Pearl Harbor strike (and his entire squad of Zero fighter escorts). From that point on, the P-38 was almost certainly the single U.S. weapon most feared by Japanese pilots.... I don't know how I let him talk me into it, but Orville insisted on being in this pic! After his qualifying test flight he was incredibly pumped, and said: ''Man, I have GOT to get me one of these!''