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P-38 Lightning first flight
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Celebrating P-38 Lightning first flight anniversary:

from January 28th 13:00 GMT (4:00 PST) to January 29th 13:00 GMT (4:00 PST)

+30% RP gain for P-38G Lightning


In year 1939, Lt. Ben Kelsey would set a coast to coast speed record during testing of a new, high-performance, twin-engine interceptor.  Completing the task in only 7 hours and 48 minutes and despite crashing upon landing, this flight established the reputation of the new P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft.

Many revisions and versions of the plane would be produced throughout the war. The P-38 displayed an impressive array of armament and outstanding maneuverability, earning the nickname “Fork Tailed Devil” due to its combat prowess against both air and ground targets and characteristic twin engine- twin boom design.  The P-38 would serve in all theaters, and many Allied Nations during WWII. It's most famous single combat mission would be the in the Pacific, when a P-38 downed a Japanese G4M “Betty” containing the Japanese Combined Fleet commander-in-chief, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. P-38 was one of the most mass-produced US aircraft in World War 2 with over 10 000 machines put into service.

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War Thunder team

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