P-38M Night Lightning

The P-38M "Night Lightning" was the night fighter version of Lockheed's very successful twin-engine, twin-boom fighter. To meet the Army's need for a night interceptor aircraft, 75 P-38L's were modified in late 1944 with the addition of a second cockpit for the radar operator and a radar pod installed underneath the nose among other less significant changes. Crew training was begun at Hammer Field in California in early 1945 and completed that summer but the war in the Pacific ended before any could see combat action. This model of "Shady Lady" depicts one of four P-38M's that were part of the USAAF Occupation Forces in Japan as part of the 418'th NFS based at Atsugi, Japan, during late 1945 and early 1946.