P-38 Lightning Aces of the ETO/MTO

Osprey Pub Co, 1998. New book, 95 pages, 94 photos, 80 color profiles, 6 color uniform illustrations, 9 1/72 scale drawings. ACE19. The P-38 made its combat debut in Europe in mid-1942, the first American fighters being flown to the UK before heading further east to Twelfth Air Force units in North Africa. Its service in this theatre, and later over the heartland of Germany itself, earned the P-38 the nickname 'der gabelschwanzer Teufel' (the 'fork-tailed' devil). This volume traces the careers of many previously unknown aces within the USAAF in Europe, and helps redress the balance which has in the past seen all the 'glory' for the fighter victories in this theatre shared between the pilots of the P-47 and P-51. Some 17 pilots scored 7 or more kills on the P-38 in the ETO/MTO. Contents: Introduction, Pioneer P-38 Aces, Desert War, Mediterranean War, Eighth and Ninth Air Force Aces, Ground Claims, Appendices.. Soft Cover. As New. Illus. by Tullis, Tom. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.