Warbirds of World War II

Warbirds of World War II features the most powerful forces in air combat -- The P-38 Lightning, the P-40 Warhawk and the P-51 Mustang together in one volume.  This volume’s fascinating and well-researched text explores the mission, specifications, and histories of these amazing aircrafts and contains over 200 photographs of rare contemporary color photography from the era.

The first section introduces the P-38 Lightning, one of the greatest American fighters of the war.  Flown throughout the Pacific war, the Lightning proved itself the premier army fighter. This twin-engine fighter was flown by three of the war’s top-scoring U.S. aces: Major Thomas McGuire, Major Tommy Lynch, and Major Richard I. Bong.  It was in combat for just over three and a half years andonly a few of the existing planes are still flying.

The  P-40 Warhawk, featured in the second  section,was the U.S. Army Air Force’s most important fighter in the Pacific War.    It achieved fame when Claire Chennault’s American Volunteer Group (AVG), the Flying Tigers, successfully fought back the Japanese over China and Burma from December 1941 to July 1942 with their shark mouth tigers.  Although it was considered obsolete by the end of 1941, it stayed in production until 1944 and saw wide service with both U.S. and Allied squadrons. This section features photos of colorful nose art and markings the 1940s Thompson Trophy races, and postwar aerial survey companies.

Originally designed for the British, the P-51 Mustang, was probably the most famous plane featured here.  An army demand for a long-range escort fighter led to a redesign of that airframe to accommodate additional fuel.  The Mustang became the preferred fighter in Europe after mid-1944 but entered service in the Pacific in large numbers only in the war’s final months.