P-38 Lightning aircraft of the 9th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Group, at Schwimmer Field near Port Moresby, New Guinea, during World War 2. Crew chiefs attend to P-38 aircraft, some with engines running. Ground crewmen manually maneuver nose wheel using towbar. Crew chief cleans the aircraft of American Ace, Captain Richard I. Bong. His P-38, named "Marge," displays large picture of woman and 27 Japanese victory flags ( Bong having just broken Eddie Rickenbacker's World War I record of 26 victories). Staff in control tower use light signals. Aerial view from airplane flying among cumulus clouds.
Mechanics of the U.S. Army Air Forces 80th Fighter Squadron ("Headhunters") perform maintenance on a P-38 Lightning aircraft in New Guinea, during World War 2. A small dog stands on the wing next to men as they work on an engine. Two flights of four P-38s fly in in formation. A squadron of P-38s seen in flight. Several different views of the P-38s in formation with clouds behind. One scene shows P-38s illuminated by sunlight from above against contrasting dark water below. View from cockpit of a P-38 with pilot visible and another P-38 seen through cockpit window. Pilot waves at the other P-38 which rocks its wings. A P-38 passes in opposite direction.
Pilots of the U.S. Army Air Forces 80th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, ("Headhunters") ride on hood of a jeep to their P-38 aircraft during World War 2. Squadron Commander, Ace, Major Jay T. Robbins, stands in front of a P-38, with his hand on a propeller.(Film is reversed). He converses with crew chief. P-38s taxiing out for a mission. A crewman wearing a headset climbs out of cockpit of a P-38 and slides down the its wing. View from another airplane, in flight, of a P-38 making a pass close to the camera plane. Aerial view of a military installation on the ground.
November 25, 1943 in the South Pacific during World War 2. Two P-38s of the 13th Army Air Force photographed in formation from a third airplane. Cumulus clouds in the background.The two P-38s peel off and dive. In another sequence, the P-38s join in close formation, peel off and maneuver at high speed in the distance, over water. Includes closeup views of individual P-38 aircraft and of multiple P-38 aircraft in formation.
November 25, 1943 13th Air Force, South Pacific,during World War 2. A flight of three P-38s in formation with cumulus clouds behind them. Two are being photographed from the third airplane. The lead P-38 demonstrates ability to improve performance for aerial combat, by jettisoning its long range 250 gallon drop tanks and accelerating ahead of the other aircraft.
U.S. 55th Fighter Group P-38 planes at Nuthampstead Airfield (Station 131) in England in World War 2. Mechanics prepare P-38 planes prior to the 55th Fighter Group's first combat mission on 15th October 1943. Some of the mechanics work on the .50 Browning machine guns mounted in the nose of the plane. One of them checks fuel lines and the interior of the plane. 38th Fighter Squadron pilots gather in front of their Commander, prior to the mission. Pilots include the Group's first P-38 "Ace," Gerald Brown, and fellow 38th pilots, Jerry Leinweber and Jo Myers. Visual and Audio of 55th Fighter Group Commander, Lt. Colonel, Frank James (Group CO), briefing pilots and emphasizing their bomber escort mission. He tells them not to break off to pursue individual German aircraft. The crews disperse to their respective aircraft for take off. View of Lt Col. Jack Jenkins' P-38H "Texas Ranger" readies for take-off with assistance from his crew chief Sgt. Donald Maloney
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