Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38 (Military History (Ibooks))

After reading Zero, by Martin Cadin, I was looking forward to Forked Tailed Devil.While not IMHO as good as Zero, I still enjoyed reading this book.Caidin starts off with the developmental history of the P-38 and then goes into great depths to explain the differences between the different marks. Using testimonials of experts, test pilots and combat veterans, one really gets the feel for flying this beatiful and important warplane.I was very interested in the technical and aerodyamical aspects of the book, I was somewhat let down on the combat experience part as Mr. Caidin only used U.S.A.A.F sources and not Japanese. This to me was a mistake.Just a disclaimer: I am in no way diminishing the abilities or honesty of our fighting men in WWII, I am sure they believed they shot down all the aircraft claimed, However, no combatant on any side in WWII during the heat and excitement and confusion of aerial combat can be sure if he was the one who hit and brought down an aircraft. Double, triple, and quadruple counting is normal under these conditions. When a furball of >100 aircraft is involved, sometimes 4 or more aircraft are firing on the same enemy, thus the multiple claims.During the Rabaul attacks in November-December 1943, the IJN had two Kokutai of Zero fighters, the 204th and the 251st. Combined, these units had about 80 A6M3 zero fighters. Col King in the book claimes that the P-38s shot down 240 enemy aircraft in air to air combat during the one month campaign. A 16-1 kill ratio is claimed.No doubt some of these were G4M Rikko bombers, but still, I am sure the fighter boys were triple counting. Had Mr. Caidin consulted Japanese souces, I am sure this ratio would be lowered by a factor of at least 3.If it were not for this, I would have given the book 5 stars, however, dispite this it is an indispensible work in aviation history for the technical details alone.

The P-51 Mustang gets all the glory in the movies, but the statistics show the P-38 did more: fighter plane, bomber escort, dive bomber, photography plane, you name it. And it served in more theaters of the war than any other plane. This book starts at the beginning, 1937, when the bid was opened for a new bomber escort. The P-38 surpassed all the requirements put forth: it could fly higher, climb faster, fly longer, dive faster, carry more ordnance, and so forth.The book goes into the different evolutions of the plane before in into the War. It tells of the different air fields around the country where the pilots learned how to fly it, which was very tricky. We read about a timed flight across the U.S. It gives a few pilot stories about how the plane was able to take punishment. For example, after a plane on a strafing run hit a telephone pole between the cockpit and the engine, it was able to limp home. In another experience, a pilot in a dog fight hit his opponent head-on. When he opened his eyes, the other plane was gone and his was still flying. He also got home.This book talks about certain air groups, some in Europe, some in North Africa, and some in the Pacific. I was hoping to read a little about my late father-in-law's group; he was a decorated squadron commander in the South Pacific, but his group wasn't mentioned.But if you want to know more about the P-38 than most people know, this is the book for you. There are unfortunately only 7 flying examples of this wonder plane still in existance; one of them owned by the German owner of the Red Bull company. Most of them were scrapped where they were at the end of the war, as shipping these 'surplus' planes home would have been too expensive. This book will help readers to appreciate the remaining Lightnings before they are all gone.

Information over load

WWII aviation is my hobby and I've read a ton of books on the subject, including many about specific aircraft. This is most well-written and interesting book about any WWII fighter plane I've read in years. Far from a dry technical manual, at times it reads like a novel. P-38s flew close support for my father in WWII, so I have a personal interest in the aircraft. Just when I thought I knew all there was to know about the fighter, this book comes along and shows me wrong. Well done!

Extensively researched with lots of of first person accounts. Disproves much of the accepted narratives about the P-38. I feel the battle accounts are probably exaggerated.A good read!

Great history of the P-38. I always had an interest in the history of the pilots who flew the plane as my cousin was Majory Richard Ira Bong and grew up on the farm across the river from his parents farm. I remember the time when he was home on a bond selling tour and he flew over his folks farm bussing the tree tops and then climbing up into the sky until he rurned her over and came down again. What a great pilot he was and them he came home from overseas and then was a test pilot for Lockheed testing the P-80 when the jet melfunctioned and he was killed.

This is a great history of the P-38 Lightning, but be aware that this edition does not have photos (as the edition from my library did) so it is difficult to visualize the differences between aircraft models and design changes as described in the book. Other than that, it is a great addition to my aviation library. Martin Caidin also wrote an excellent history of the B-17 Flying Fortress ("Flying Forts"); I would recommend that book to WWII aviation enthusiasts as well.

This book was one of the best World War II books I have ever read. It told of the problems when they designed the plane to when the production ended and the airplane was taken out of service. This airplane had an amazing record for being rugged and yet it saved many of its pilots lives by holding together when all shot up. Some of tales in the book are hard to believe and you might think of them as 'ghost stories' but they are all true and witnessed by the ground crews who were there. A very inspirational book for any combat vet reading who is interested in the 'Great War'!