Airplane USAF Lockheed P-38J Flying Red Bulls Diecas Model Aircraft The P-38 Lightning was developed in response to a 1937 request from the Army Air Corps for a twin-engine interceptor that could climb to 20,000 feet in six minutes and have a top speed of 360 mph. With the P-38 capable of high speeds, development was slowed by problems of compressibility and flutter, since little was known at the time about flight with near-transonic airflow over parts of airframes. The P-38 saw service in Europe, where it gained the nickname fork-tailed devil by German pilots and soldiers. However, it was in the Pacific where it found its greatest success.
