The Millennium Falcon Is The Lockheed P-38 Lightning Of Star Wars [3/4] - Millennium Falcon 3.jpg (1/1)

https://jalopnik.com/the-millennium-...-of-1821356125

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning served the United States armed forces primarily in
the Pacific theater of World War II and was utilized in just about every role
possible ranging from a bomber escort to photo reconnaissance. A pilot and Medal
of Honor recipient by the name of Richard Bong had 40 confirmed enemy aircraft
kills while seated in the cockpit of a P-38. During the course of the war, it
was referred to as “the fork-tailed devil.” Its large airframe and twin boom
design allowed it to be fitted with all manner of .50 caliber machine guns,
bombs, cannons and rockets. It was powered by two giant supercharged 28-liter
12-cylinder engines which allowed it to go much faster than any other fighter
plane in the world when it was introduced in 1940.

According to Wookiepedia, the Millennium Falcon started life as a Corellian
YT-1300f freighter ship meaning that it was essentially the Ford Econoline van
of the Star Wars universe. After smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca got a hold of
it, they hot-rodded it to become one of fastest ships in the entire galaxy.
Among the speed upgrades are weapons modifications and advanced stealth/cloaking
equipment. Their mods made it perfect for smuggling and remaining unseen and
also acting as a one ship battle station capable of outrunning or outgunning
every fighter ship it came in contact with. For armament, it sports eight total
blaster cannons on both sides of the pancake shaped craft and numerous other
guns that allowed it to fulfill its role as the deus ex machina in more than one
Star Wars film.

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was developed in the late 1930s as a long range
fighter plane capable of doing whatever it is you asked it to do. Lockheed
engineers Hall L. Hibbard and Clarence Johnson devised the goofy looking plane.
By the time World War II rolled around, the P-38 was responsible for the first
ever confirmed American downing of a German aircraft. In the Pacific Theater,
its long range allowed it to intercept Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto who
helped orchestrate the Pearl Harbor attack. P-38 test pilot Col. Ben Kelsey was
noted as saying that the P-38 would:

“would fly like hell, fight like a wasp upstairs, and land like a butterfly.”

The P-38 was also faster than both the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero and the
German Messerschmidt BF-109 in their top speeds and could absorb more damage
than many other aircraft in similar roles. It was beloved by its pilots.

Both vehicles became characters of themselves in their tours of duty on the
movie screen and real life. The Falcon and the P-38 both had wide unconventional
airframes covered in all manner of weaponry and equipment that made them perfect
multi-role fighters. When it came to speed, the Falcon and the Lightning both
lived up to their names by being top of their class and outperforming every
other craft.






*