The Bizarre American Aircraft that Terrified the Luftwaffe

Like a true force of nature, a new American fighter peeled down from the Icelandic skies on August 14, 1942. The aircraft was chasing a Focke-Wulf Fw-200 Condor, and the German crew watched in disbelief, as they had never come across such an impressive machine. Its airframe was sleek, but its twin tails gave the warbird a radical appeal. Before the Germans could react, Second Lieutenant Elza Shahan fired at a rate of 409 rounds per minute from the aircraft’s innovative nose-mounted machine guns, and the Condor was dispatched in seconds. It was the first successful American engagement with the Luftwaffe during World War 2. Less than six months later, the fighter was taking advantage of its versatility in North Africa when a lone German pilot surrendered to Allied soldiers at a camp near Tunisia. Agitated, he pointed to the sky and grumbled over and over: (QUOTE) “Der Gabelschwanz Teufel.” He was referring to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, and called it “The fork-tailed devil.”