For this GB I'll be building Eduard's P-38. The basic plastic comes from Academy and Eduard adds lots of resin and PE to update the kit along with some nice decals and masks. The decals include one of Bob Dehaven's P-38s and since I'm also working on a P-40N that he flew I figured I would go with that one.
Bob Dehaven flew with the Screamin' Demons of the 7th FS, 49th FG and racked up 14 kills during the war. He started out flying P-40's and actually preferred those to the P-38. In his own words, After training I requested duty in the Pacific and I requested being posted to a P-40 squadron and both wishes were granted. This was early in 1943 and most pilots already desired more advanced types and some thought my decision a mistake. Yet I had been inspired by the deeds of the Flying Tigers. We had also heard accounts that the P-38 was difficult to bail out of because of its twin-boom tail and that it was difficult when flying with one engine. I also knew that P-38s were still rare in the theater and I wanted to get into the war as soon as possible. That wish, too, was granted. I never regretted the choice.
If you flew wisely, the P-40 was a very capable aircraft. In many conditions, it could outturn a P-38, a fact that some pilots didn't realize when they made the transition between the two aircraft. The P-40 kept me alive and allowed me to accomplish my mission. The real problem with it was lack of range. As we pushed the Japanese back, P-40 pilots were slowly left out of the war. So when I moved to P-38s, an excellent aircraft, I did so not because I believed that the P-40 was an inferior fighter, but because I knew the P-38 would allow us to reach the enemy. I was a fighter pilot and that was what I was supposed to do.
This is the only pic I have been able to find of this particular P-38 so if anybody has anymore, feel free to post them.