Thoughts of Midnite
This U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) P-38 was built in 1944 by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California. Although the aircraft did not see combat during WWII, it did see service in Honduras until 1960. The aircraft went through several name changes before being repainted with the combat markings of Capt. V.E. as “Thoughts of Midnight.” Captain Verl Erwin Jett was a pilot in the USAAF 431st Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group posted to Papua New Guinea in 1943. The special nose art was applied by Capt. Jett during his New Guinea combat operations, likely dreaming of his sweetheart back home.
As a deadly close attack aircraft, the P-38 Lightning was feared by enemy ground troops who nicknamed it the Fork-Tailed Devil. Only 26 P-38 Lightnings survive today, 9 of them are considered airworthy.
Thoughts of Midnite
This U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) P-38 was built in 1944 by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California. Although the aircraft did not see combat during WWII, it did see service in Honduras until 1960. The aircraft went through several name changes before being repainted with the combat markings of Capt. V.E. as “Thoughts of Midnight.” Captain Verl Erwin Jett was a pilot in the USAAF 431st Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group posted to Papua New Guinea in 1943. The special nose art was applied by Capt. Jett during his New Guinea combat operations, likely dreaming of his sweetheart back home.
As a deadly close attack aircraft, the P-38 Lightning was feared by enemy ground troops who nicknamed it the Fork-Tailed Devil. Only 26 P-38 Lightnings survive today, 9 of them are considered airworthy.