Second World War aviation art prints of the Lightning aircraft. Our collection of prints and original paintings of the Lightning aircraft of World War Two.
Designed by Kelly Johnson the P38 made its maiden flight on the 27th January 1939 and introduced into service in 1941. they cost $134,284 at the time each and a total of 10,037 were built. The Lockheed P-38 was introduced as a inceptor fighter but soon proved a valuable long range bomber escort for the 8thUS Air Force's B-17 and-24 bombers as they bombed targets further into Germany.
June 1944, dawn is breaking over a sleepy English village, and P-38 Lightnings shatter the silence as they climb out from a nearby air base, en route to the Normandy beach heads.
Item Code : DHM2665
Dawn Chorus by Nicolas Trudgian. (B) - Editions Available
The highest scoring US pilot of the Second World War, Richard Bong, is depicted in his personal P.38J Marge, claiming just one of his 40 confirmed victories. Insisting that he was not the greatest of marksmen, it was Bongs habit to manoeuvre to impossibly close distances before opening fire on his opponents. His eventual total may well have been greater than 40, as a further 8 probables could be attributed to him, together with 7 damaged. He was killed whilst testing a P.80 jet for the USAF in August 1945.
Item Code : DHM1883
Richard Bong by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
In 1936 the Lockheed Aircraft Company won a contract to produce a high altitude interceptor for the USAAC. This contract was won despite the fact that the company had been nearly bankrupt in 1932, and had never produced a fighter aircraft. Mr. Kelly Johnson, Lockheeds chief designer on the project, settled on a design incorporating a twin engine scheme utilizing twin booms to house the aircrafts supercharged engines, and a central nacelle which housed the pilot and all the armament. Despite an unfortunate crash of the prototype, the USAAC was impressed with the aircraft, and a production order was placed for the first P-38 Lightnings. The P-38 was to prove to be one of Americas top fighters of WW II. The Lightning was fast, very heavily armed, had excellent range, and a great rate of climb. The aircraft was capable of flying with only one engine, and this proved advantageous in improving long range reliability. The two most effective models were the J and the L, of which more than 6,.........
It was during the inter-war period that a reawakening interest in twin engined fighter design prompted several countries to investigate a number of revolutionary concepts, of these only the Lockheeds sleek and unconventional P.38 was to be put into large scale production, proving to be a versatile and dominant fighter possessed of extremely long range, good speed and manoeuverability and a formidable armament. When production ceased in 1945, 9,923 examples of the P38 Lightning had been delivered.
Item Code : B0025
Fork Tailed Devil (Lightning) by Ivan Berryman - Editions Available
A B-24 has been hit and is losing touch with the main bomber formation, as Luftwaffe pilots concentrated their attentions on the unfortunate aircraft. Two Fw190s, are zooming up for the kill on the damaged B-24. Seeing the desperate situation, a P-38 escort pilot has made a head-on attack, splitting the pair of Fw190s, and thwarting their attempt to finish off the B-24. Another P-38, aware of the situation, is turning into the path of the Fw190s, and Robert makes it clear in his dramatic portrayal that the action has some way to go before any conclusion will be reached.
P-38 Lightnings launching a surprise attack on a German freight train as it winds its way through the hills of Northern France towards the battle front, shortly before D-Day, 1944.
Item Code : DHM2026
Lightning Encounter by Nicolas Trudgian. - Editions Available
Doug Canning breaks radio silence to call the sighting of Admiral Yamamotos flight over the pacific island of Bourganville, 18 April 1943. After a two and a half hour, four hundred mile flight just above the waves, mission leader John Mitchell and his 16 ship raiding party push their P-38s to full power to complete one of the most remarkable ambushes in aviation history.
Item Code : DHM2075
Bogeys Eleven O Clock High by Robert Taylor - Editions Available
Stan Stokes painting depicts a P-38 mission flown by 10 Fighter Group pilots Milton B. Adams, Joe Gunder, and Bill Harris in early February 1945. The 18th Fighter Group, part of the Thirteenth Air Force, moved its base of operations to Lingayen Gulf from Mindoro in early 1945. The group participated in numerous daylight strafing missions of Japanese targets on Northern Luzon. The missions were largely very successful and the Japanese had a high chance of getting hit hard by the 18 h whenever they attempted to move men or supplies. In response to the punishment being inflicted by these missions, the Japanese switched to nighttime truck convoys. Typically accompanied by numerous trucks with either 50 caliber or 20min quad machineguns, the nighttime convoys became the principal means for moving both arms and supplies south. Although the P-38 Lightnings flown by the group were not equipped for night fighting, and the pilots lacked any training for such missions, the pilots felt that under.........
In Robert Taylors panoramic painting, P-38J Lightnings of the 364th Fighter Group return from a strafing mission over France in the summer of 1944. Making their land-fall at just 100 feet, they skim across an estuary on Englands south coast, near the old village of Bosham. With his unmistakable skill and vivid imagination Robert cleverly contrasts the exhilaration of the low-level combat flying, with the peaceful atmosphere of a quiet coastal setting, emphasising that curious blend of war and peace that was the daily lifestyle of the World War II flyer. This classic aviation painting provides collectors with a wonderful study of a memorable warbird.
Item Code : DHM2134
Coming In Over the Estuary by Robert Taylor. - Editions Available
On April 18, 1943, in one of the more interesting, daring, and ultimately controversial missions of WW II, a flight of P-38s under the command of Major John Mitchell, intercepted and destroyed the aircraft carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, and the mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbor. American code breakers had intercepted and translated a message indicating that Adm. Yamamoto would fly from Rabaul to an airfield on the southern tip of Bouganville on the morning of April 18, 1943. Because of the great distances to be covered during this intercept mission the P-38s would have very limited time over the rendezvous area. Fortunately for the Army Air Force pilots, Yamamoto was noted for his punctuality, and if he departed Rabaul on time the mission might just work. Major Mitchell led his flight of 16 P-38s to the rendezvous, with twelve of his fighters acting as high cover to fend off escorting fighters, while four pilots were design.........
By any military standards, it is difficult to imagine the Supreme Commander of the largest air force of the day, piloting himself over the battlefront during the early moments of one of historys greatest military operations. But General Jimmy Doollittle was no ordinary commander. Already awarded Americas highest decoration for valour, General Doolittle was, by the summer of 1944, in command of the American 8th Air Force. On the morning of 6 June, D-Day, he dispatched 1350 bombers together with his entire fighter force to attack enemy ground installations near the beachheads. Sitting around waiting for intelligence reports was not Jimmy Doolittles style. He was going to see for himself what was happening! With Pat Partridge as wingman, they took off flying P-38 Lightnings - chosen for their distinctive profile in the hopes they would deter friendly fire - and climbed above the overcast. Having observed the 8th Air Forces operations at first hand, as they turned for home, Doolittl.........
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning, called the Fork-Tailed Devil by Luftwaffe pilots in Africa, was one of the largest fighter aircraft to see service during WW II. Flight-testing of the YP-38 prototype was completed in 1941. The first P-38s put into service were dedicated to the defense of the West Coast following the attack on Pearl Harbor. In the spring of 1942 plans were laid to deploy P-38s in Europe. By adding drop tanks the maximum range of the Lightnings were increased to a whopping 2200 miles, making ferry trips to Europe possible. All three P-38-equipped fighter groups in Europe (82nd FG, 1st FG, and 14th FG) were transferred to North Africa in late 1942. These P-38 fighter groups were soon seeing serious combat action in the Mediterranean & North African theaters. The experienced Luftwaffe pilots learned that the P-38s should be attacked at altitudes below 15,000 feet, where they had difficulty maneuvering with the Bf-109s they frequently encountered. Despite these limitations the.........
With bright yellow spinners and distinctive twin-booms glinting in the June sunshine, two P-38 Lockheed Lightnings of the USAAFs 79th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group hurtle low over Pegasus Bridge as they race across the Normandy landscape shortly after the D-Day landings, June 1944. Flying from their base at Kings Cliffe in Cambridgeshire they have today been tasked to support the advancing allied forces; they will strafe and bomb the enemy lines, destroying enemy communications, armour and ground targets, causing as much chaos and disruption as they can. Dangerous work, these low-level missions, but tasks that the tough P-38 pilots relish. A few days before, the bridge below had witnessed a very different scene. The first action on D-Day happened here when, moments after midnight on the night of 5th - 6th June, three gliders swooped silently from the sky to land within yards of their target - this vital road bridge across the Caen canal. Major John Howard and men of the 6th.........
Fighter, bomber, night-fighter, reconnaissance together with many other variants made the P-38 Lightning one of the most adaptable and respected aircraft of World War 2. The P-38 serving in Europe and the Mediterranean theatre, earned it the German nickname The fork-tail devil. The total production of the P-38 was 9,924.
With 12 victories to his credit, William Sloan was the highest scoring pilot of the 96th FS/82nd FG and is shown here in his P.38 Snooks IV ½, a reference to the fact that this aircraft was made up of so many cannibalised parts from other P.38s.
Item Code : B0309
Lt William J Dixie Sloan by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
The relief of Bastogne turned the tide in the Battle of the Bulge and Hitlers final great offensive of World War II lay in ruins. P47 Thunderbolts of the 406th Fighter Group, in company with P38 Lightnings, support the advancing armor of General George Pattons US Third Army as they prepare to relieve the battered 101st Airborne Division from their heroic defence of Bastogne during the final climax to the Battle of the Bulge, 24 December 1944. The Battle of the Bulge was one of the largest land battles of WWII with more than a million American, British and German troops involved, incurring huge casualties on all sides and this release pays tribute to the sacrifice of Allied Forces, during this important milestone in World War II.
Item Code : DHM2595
Thunderbolts and Lightnings by Nicolas Trudgian. - Editions Available
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Limited Edition : Signed limited edition of 350 prints. Full Item Details
Print paper size 30.5 inches x 23.5 inches (77cm x 59cm)
One of the most successful of the P-38 equipped units was the 475th Fighter Group, Satans Angels, and it is the P-38s of this famous unit that Nicolas Trudgian has portrayed in his tribute to the American Air Forces that made Victory in the Pacific possible. It is March 1945 and the P-38s of the 475th FG are involved in a huge dogfight with Japanese Zeros over the coast of Indo-China. Flying Pee Wee V is Lt Ken Hart of the 431st Fighter Squadron, who has fatally damaged a Zero in a blistering head on encounter. The second P-38 – Vickie – belongs to Captain John Rabbit Pietz, who would end the War an Ace with six victories.
Item Code : DHM2589
Pacific Glory by Nicolas Trudgian. - Editions Available
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Anniversary Edition : Signed limited edition of 350 prints. Full Item Details
Print paper size 35.5 inches x 27 inches (90cm x 69cm)
A P-38 Lightning from the 20th Fighter Group based at Kings Cliffe, England, during the summer of 1944. The Lightning, with its radical twin-engine, twin boom design, dubbed by the Germans the fork-tailed devil, was one of the toughest, hard-hitting and most versatile fighters of its day.
Item Code : DHM2654
P-38 Lightning by Nicolas Trudgian. - Editions Available
The P-38 Lightning was the only twin engine day time fighter produced in America during WWII. It was also one of the most effective American fighters of the War, and was the mount for our two top-scoring aces of the war.
Nobody, least of all Allied aircrew, ever doubted the tenacity of the Luftwaffe, more particularly that of the German fighter pilots. From the early encounters during the Battle of Britain to the greeat air battles in defence of their homeland late in the war, at all times they were held in high regard, even if resented as a foe. At no time was their dedication, determination, and courage better demonstrated than during the final stages of World War Two. By the summer of 1944 the Allies had gained a foothold in Normandy, and total air superiority above northern France. German installations and ground positions were being pounded daily from the air, and the Ruhr, the heartland of industrial Germany, was under constant siege. Even the factories in southern Germany were not safe from the attentions of the USAAF bombers by day, and the RAF by night. But in spite of the pressures of mounting losses and diminished supplies, the Luftwaffe fought doggedly on in best traditions of the fi.........
After leaving West Point in June 1943, Robin Olds was posted to the 479th Fighter Group in England, joining 434 Squadron. Based at Wattisham in East Anglia, and flying P-38s, he was involved in heavy bomber escort duties and fighter sweeps until the Normandy invasion, soon after which his Squadron converted to P51 Mustangs. by early 1945 Robin Olds was in command of 434 Squadron taking part in the Battle of the Bulge, flying escort missions, and providing air support to the airborne attack across the Rhine. At the end of World War II Robin Olds had 24.5 victories, of which 13 were in the air. Later in Vietnam Robin Olds gained four more victories, flying F4 Phantoms and flew with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. Sadly, Robin Olds passed away on 14th June 2007.
Almost two years to the day after joining the USAAF, Delton Goerke found himself selected to take part in the Yamamoto Mission. He had three combat tours to Guadalcanal with 339th Pursuit Squadron and saw action also in the Solomon Islands. He flew P39 and P38 fighters and completed a total of 78 combat missions. On the Yamamoto Missions he was part of Mitchells top cover flight. He died 23rd March 1999.
Before he was eighteen and could join up, Kunkle had a job with Lockheed assembling P-38 wing sections, but as soon as he was old enough he enlisted for pilot training. In May 1944 he joined the 401st Fighter Squadron, 370th Fighter Group at Andover, England. His first mission was an armed reconnaissance across the Channel after D-Day. In July the squadron flew to an airfield on Omaha Beach, and flew air-support missions that devastated the German 7th Army at Falaise. He was shot down after a dog-fight with Fw190s and Me109s but managed to bail out over American lines. He later became a test pilot.
Assigned to the 393rd Fighter Squadron, 367th Fighter Group, Scrappy, nicknamed after his "Scrap Iron" P-38, became one of the few fighter pilots to become an "ace-in-a-day" when he shot down five FW-190s in 15 minutes of aerial combat on 25 August 1944. Scrappy rose to command the 393rd and destroyed another FW-190 before returning to the States in January 1945. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal with 22 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. In 1946, he returned to the United States and became a contractor. Later in life, he purchased a P-38, painted it like his old plane, and flew it at air shows. Sadly Captain Larry Blumer died of Leukemia on October 23rd 1997 in Springfield, Oregon.
Born 18 February 1923, Colonel Dahl served in the 41st Infantry Division as an enlisted man in the early 1940s. He applied for aviation cadet training shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, was accepted and graduated as a Second Lieutenant in June 1943. Following transition training in the P-38 Lightning, Dahl was sent to Tumwater, Washington with the 55th Fighter Group, then on to the Pacific Theater as a replacement pilot in the 432nd Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group Satans Angels. Starting in Buna, New Guinea, he fought through the Pacific, ending up at Lingayen Gulf, Philippine Islands. Lieutenant Dahl scored his first victory on 9 November 1943, a Zeke downed near Alexishafen, and destroyed another Zeke over Wewak three days before Christmas. He was credited with a third Zeke on 23 January 1944 and became an ace on 3 April when he shot down a Zeke and an Oscar near Santani Lake. He was credited with one more Oscar on 8 June before the group moved to the Philippines. Promoted to captain, Dahl continued to run up his score, downing a Tony on 10 November. Two weeks later he was involved in a mid-air collision and parachuted into enemy territory. He was captured by a Japanese patrol but was rescued by Filipino guerrillas. He returned to his unit thirty one days later and concluded his scoring in March 1945, credited with a Sally on the 5th and a Hamp on the 28th. Following World War II Dahl attended the University of Washington and Southern Colorado State University, where he graduated with a Batchelor of Science degree. He was employed with the Seattle Post Intelligencer when he was recalled to active duty in February, 1951. Following recall, his duty assignments included: Test pilot, Air Force Depot; Editor Flying Safety Magazine; Student, Air Command and Staff College; Commander 734th Aircraft Warning and Control Squadron; Air Staff, Pentagon, Washington DC; Vice Commandant of Cadets, United States Air Force Academy; Deputy Chief of Staff, North American Air Defense Command and Commander, 56th Special Operations Wing. Colonel Dahl flew two combat tours in Southeast Asia. He retired from the Air Force on June 30 1978.
After arriving in Europe, Arthur Jeffrey became the top-scoring P-38 Ace with the 479th Fighter Group, and later became the Groups leading scorer after they converted to P-51s. He went on to command the 434th Fighter Group. Arthur had the distinction of being the first pilot to shoot down the Luftwaffes jet-rocket aircraft - the Me163. He flew 82 combat missions and was credited with 14 aerial victories.
Charles McGee graduated from flight school and shipped out to Italy in December 1943 as a flight Lieutenant in the 302nd fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group. He flew missions in North Africa, Italy and Germany, and got his first victory on 24th August flying escort in the Ploesti oil field raid. After the war this outstanding flyer commanded fighter squadrons through
