Steve Blake’s upcoming book Lightning Strikes: The Lockheed P-38 is touted as offering the “full story” of the Lockheed P-38, “one of the most successful and versatile aircraft of the Second World War.”

The book describes the Lightning’s design and its technical details as it gradually evolved and improved, from the original XP-38 to its final variant, the P-38L-5. The main focus is on its service in the combat theaters, from the frigid, windswept Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific to the steaming jungles of the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, the burning sands of North Africa and the more temperate climes of Europe. All the units that flew the Lightning are included, as are the experiences of many of their pilots and groundcrewmen as they fought the Japanese Empire and the European Axis. Also related are the P-38’s service with foreign (non-U.S.) air forces, its postwar commercial utilization as civilian aircraft and the surviving examples in museums around the world.

The 320-page book, described as “extremely well illustrated” with “over 400 high-resolution photographs, art work and graphics” as well as detailed appendices, is currently slated for release in November and is available for pre-order here ($45).