The P-38 was always my favorite WWII aircraft, so I loved Martin Caidin’s book and still have a copy. I liked his other aviation writing, too, including what I’ve read about Iron Annie.
When I was a kid, I read Martin Caidin’s book Thunderbolt about Robert Johnson and the 56th Fighter Group (”Zemke’s Wolfpack”). The P-47 is my favorite WW2 plane. It was heavy and used twice as much gas as the P-51. It was tough, had 8 50’s, carried bombs and rockets, and could out dive all other WW2 planes. The P-47 was the best ground attack single engine plane until the Skyraider.
The P-51A, P-38, and P-40 with the Allison engine had good performance up to 15,000 feet. Fighter combat was mostly at high altitude in the ETO but at low and medium altitudes in North Africa and the Pacific. The P-38 had Fowler Flaps which could be used to tighten turns. These were in the original design. The only other WW2 plane with Fowler Flaps was the Japanese KI-43 Oscar.
One of the most famous field modifications for WW2 aircraft was when Pappy Gunn’s team created the B-25 strafer gunships with 8 50’s. North American then created the B-25 version with the strafer nose which devasted Japanese shipping in the South Pacific. The B-25G/H gunship models included a 75mm cannon and 10 50’s. The B-25J gunship version did not include the 75mm cannon.