All-rounders.

[Lightning Guy]

Speed has nothing to do with getting to altitude though. I'm not sure what point you are trying to make.

 

[plan_D]

Advantage Lightning, for what? The Lightning could get up there, yes, so could the Mosquito. The Lightning gets up there earlier, a little further from the target, the Mosquito is taking more down when it gets up there with stronger armament.

And don't bother saying the Lightnings guns were closer together, you can line up guns to however you want them to fire. Converge them at a closer distance and you can be hitting them in one spot, where the rounds converge. Or hang back away from your rounds converging distance and you are going to spray the aircraft.

 

[cheddar cheese]

anyway lanc, the mossie was only a tiny insignificant amount faster 8)

 

[Lightning Guy]

Not faster at all, the L would do 443mph the J could hit around 425mph and every model was right around 400mph. The point about the armament alignment is that the Lightning's guns didn't have to converge, they could all fire straight ahead and produce a nice, neat pattern out to 1,000 yds. And of course, if you are going to say climb rate doesn't matter, you have to note that armament shouldn't be mentioned either since both had the guns to knock down a bomber.

 

[cheddar cheese]

wow, faster, even better

 

[plan_D]

So, you're saying they are both the exact same in capability at taking down bombers.

 

[Lightning Guy]

I'm saying that if my argument that the P-38 got there faster should be thrown out because the Mossie could still get there, your argument on the Mossie knocking them down faster has to go as well because the P-38 could still knock em down.

 

[plan_D]

So, you are saying that they are both the same in capability. Ones advantage negates the others.

 

[Lightning Guy]

In practical terms, probably. I personally would still have the climb of the Lighting. With enough warning, the Lightning's rate of climb would give it the ability to perhaps even get above the escorting fighters.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

but you could say the same for the mossie, if it had enought warning the mossie could get up there and perhaps above the figters...............

 

[Huckebein]

You're gonna have a tough time arguing that the dear old Mossie would have made a better point-defence interceptor guys - one of the Lightning's specifications was it had to reach 20,000 in under 6 minutes. In terms of speed, the fastest Mosquito did 437mph - so a fair 5mph behind the P-38 - but all Mossie marks hovered around, and mostly above, the 400mph mark like the P-38. In terms of gun concentration, there is no way you can argue that the difference between a Lighning and a Mosquito in this respect would have any effect whatsoever. There was not a single operational aircraft in either theatre that was small, and tough, enough to be more susceptible to the Lightning because its guns were 3-4 inches closer together - there is no realistic situation I can think of in which all of a Lighning's guns would hit and a Mosquito's would not. In this area the two planes are as good as equal.

In my opinion, if you had to use either the P-38 or the dH 98 as a BoB style daylight interceptor, which is an absurd suggestion anyway, the P-38 would come out top. At night the Mosquito would get my vote every time (despite some useful nightfighter Lightnings appearing towards the end of the war) - it's record is unequalled. As a bomber you cannot seriously make the argument for the P-38 being better any more than you can argue that a Mossie was the better interceptor - the Mossie could carry an 8,000 lb bomb if it had to, and put it right on the target. The Mosquito was renowned for being able to bomb from 30,000 ft to within 75 yards' accuracy using Oboe equipment.

 

[Lightning Guy]

I would agree with that, although the Lightning was used as a nightfighter long before the P-38M came along. At least two P-38s were equipped with radar as early as 1943 to assist the practically worthless P-70s in intercepting the Japanese intruders.

 

[Huckebein]

True - they didn't do at all badly either...

 

[Lightning Guy]

I've read that one fellow took up a standard P-38 and was able to score 2 kills in a minute without radar.

 

[Huckebein]

Lol, beginner's luck that sounds like.

Blimey, that would really pi$$ me off if I was one of those bombers' crewmen: getting shot down by some lucky git winging it in a dayfighter!

 

[Erich]

LG you have a unit for that P-38 black job ?

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

loving the siggy Huckebein.....................

 

[cheddar cheese]

you should see the reply for it i have...

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

go on, amaze us..............

 

[cheddar cheese]

i will do when its finished