Lockheed P-38 Lightning Armoured Windscreen

This windscreen was recovered from RAF Atcham, near Shrewsbury. Atcham was used by the United States Army Air Force as a Combat Crew Replacement Centre where recently arrived fighter pilots would learn to fly in European weather conditions before joining an active squadron.

Many USAAF pilots had little or no experience of flying in the predominantly cloudy conditions encountered in Europe and needed a period of adjustment before being sent to an active squadron. The centre at RAF Atcham operated all the fighter types used by the USAAF in the UK including the P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang and the P-38 Lightning.