DOC The Lockheed P-38 Lightning by Warren M. Bodie in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great discussion of the P - 38; it's antecedents; and also proposed subsequent developments.By Bayard B.Great story and history of the P - 38! Describes in detail such issues as how it came to be designed and the construction and manufacturing details that made it such an incredible airplane. Also discusses the deployments in the Mediterranean; European; and Pacific theaters. A nice side feature is that the book also discusses attempts by other countries such as Britain and Germany to design similar single seat; twin engined; fighters and how they failed. Finally; it discusses proposed successor or related projects such as the P - 49 and P - 58. There is also a history of the Lockheed company and it's development of the L - 10; L -12; L - 14; and L - 18 commercial airliners as antecedents to the military airplanes. My only criticism is that there are no tabulations of dimensions and performance characteristics of the many types: P - 38D; E; F; G; H; J; K and so forth. There is plenty of text on the design histories and developments of those models -- but no performance data. There are also dozens of photos; some in color.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I was very pleased to see the dust jacket on this used edition ...By Larry Dell of Sacramento; CAAbsolutely incredible book; I bought this used edition for my great-nephews who surprised me recently by expressing an interest in (and impressive knowledge of) the P-38. I had acquired my own edition of this exemplary book near the time it was published; and my wife and I were actually in attendance at the P-38 40th anniversary symposium held at Burbank High School in September 1977 and then witnessed in person the demo flight by Tony Levier in Dave Tallichet's P-38 the next morning at Burbank Airport (both events by ticket only). We were standing on the tarmac with a group of several hundred P-38 fans just yards away when the 1977 photo of Levier; Kelly Johnson; and Ben Kelsey that appears on the back dust jacket cover of the book was taken at Burbank Airport. I was very pleased to see the dust jacket on this used edition being in such good condition. I have no doubt that my great-nephews will be thrilled to receive this fine book. I have spent countless hours enjoying the fascinating text and terrific photos Mr. Bodie compiled for his extraordinary history of this extraordinary aircraft.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good Research on this PlaneBy Mike CataldoA fair book about a plane that never received the credit it deserved. This is a book that created a lot of Aces during WWII. It was also one of the first places designed by Clarence "Kelly" Johnson; better known for the SR-71.