P-38J LIghtning, Radar Pathfinder, Airfix + Scratch, 1/72

 Precision bombing was always a problem in Europe. Finding a target at night, in bad weather, could only be done with very precise navigation, something that could only be achieved by observing the stars or the terrain—impossible if you can't see it.

The RAF solved the problem with the Pathfinder concept, in which a group of aircraft, with the best navigators, flew ahead of the main formation and marked the target with phosphorus incendiary bombs. The heavy formation would then release its bombs, but even so, targets weren't always hit. It wasn't until the development of the Radar Bombing concept that a group of Mosquitos reconnoitered the terrain using radar to locate the targets.

As soon as the Americans saw the results, they decided to do the same. The Mosquito's equivalent was the P-38 Lightning. They were already using the Droop Snoot, with a navigator in the nose, equipped with the Norden gunsight. So they modified others, but instead of a bomber nose, they fitted it with radar. I haven't found any information on whether it saw combat; apparently not, because the few modified aircraft were still in an evaluation unit.

This is one of the most secret aircraft of the war. There are very few photos of it, and only one unit has been identified. Airfix model, heavily scratch-built, painted by El Viejo Marino, all done by hand