Best Fighter

• Dec 16, 2004

• #521

R

remoraptor

Airman

15

0

Dec 13, 2004

A P-38 with Merlin engines.... Now that's a thought.

 

• Dec 16, 2004

• Thread starter
• #522

cheddar cheese

Major General

20,259

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Jan 9, 2004

WSM, England

It was being designed at one stage with Merlins, but they cancelled the project.

 

• Dec 16, 2004

• #523

wmaxt

Staff Sergeant

1,200

11

Dec 5, 2004

Boise, Idaho

cheddar cheese said:

It was being designed at one stage with Merlins, but they cancelled the project.

Click to expand...

Aside from adding weight (I think it was 1000+lbs) it really wouldn't have been benificial the -30 allisions in the L model put out 1,750hp in WEP and the turbo's were making this power long after the supercharged merlins were losing power due to altitude - that's why the P-38L could clime higher.

The difference the merlin made in the P-51 was due to the addition of the supercharger much more than the ghange to the Merlin - a fine engine in it's own right.

 

• Dec 16, 2004

• #524

L

Lightning Guy

Master Sergeant

2,511

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Apr 29, 2004

Kelly Johnson had initially wanted to put Merlins into the P-38 but the idea was shot down from the higher ups. The Merlin was more reliable and more powerful than the early Allisons and that would have benfited the P-38 early on in the war, especially in Europe. The F-30 series Allison was a very good engine and it did produce more hp than contemporary Merlins. The advantage that the Merlin would have offered would have been the fact that the Merlin could have used geared supercharging rather than turbosupercharging. This would have saved on complexity and allowed an exhaust hood to be fitted turning engine exhaust into thrust. All told, however, the P-38L was probably as good or better than any Merlin-engined Lightning was going to be.

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• #525

the lancaster kicks ass

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Dec 20, 2003

the merlin has to be the greatest engine of the war however..............

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• Thread starter
• #526

cheddar cheese

Major General

20,259

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Jan 9, 2004

WSM, England

Dont know about that, certainly greatest British Engine...

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• #527

the lancaster kicks ass

Major General

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Dec 20, 2003

well in terms of greatness what can even come close??

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• Thread starter
• #528

cheddar cheese

Major General

20,259

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Jan 9, 2004

WSM, England

Well some of the late war German Engines were far better (such as the one in the Ta-152) and the Allison was a pretty good engine.

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• #529

the lancaster kicks ass

Major General

19,931

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Dec 20, 2003

were far better

Click to expand...

many engines were better, but in no way were they greater than the mighty merlin.............

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• Thread starter
• #530

cheddar cheese

Major General

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Jan 9, 2004

WSM, England

Explain the difference please...

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• #531

the lancaster kicks ass

Major General

19,931

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Dec 20, 2003

when you ask people to name a WWII plane, if they have no knowledge on the subject they will atleast know of, and therefore say, the spitfire, the fact that a person knows about the spitfire but knows nothing else on the subject makes it a true great, but it wasn't the best aircraft of the war, if you want a really simple explanation, the hurricane was a great aircraft, but on paper it was nothing special and there were countless planes that were better...........

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• Thread starter
• #532

cheddar cheese

Major General

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Jan 9, 2004

WSM, England

Ask most people to name a famous German leader and theyll say Hitler. Was he great? No he wasnt...

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• #533

the lancaster kicks ass

Major General

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Dec 20, 2003

in many ways he was.............

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• Thread starter
• #534

cheddar cheese

Major General

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Jan 9, 2004

WSM, England

I dont call killing millions of Jews great.

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• #535

the lancaster kicks ass

Major General

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Dec 20, 2003

i call the ability to make an entire nation believe in themselfs again great............

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• Thread starter
• #536

cheddar cheese

Major General

20,259

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Jan 9, 2004

WSM, England

Not when they find out he's a meglomaniac thats been taking them all for fools.

 

• Dec 17, 2004

• #537

wmaxt

Staff Sergeant

1,200

11

Dec 5, 2004

Boise, Idaho

I still go P-38L as the best fighter of WWII it just didn't give up anything to anyone and was still there when the smoke cleared.

When considering best engines the 2800 has got to be in the running they were awsome. I read that they took some and ran them at WEP power settings and overboost (into the 3.000+hp range) for more than 250hrs continous and detected no problems on teardown.

I also saw a documentary recently where a crankshaft from a bf-109 was sent to Rolls Royce for duplication - it was returned with the caution "Take care of it, we can't reproduce it".

 

• Dec 18, 2004

• #538

L

Lightning Guy

Master Sergeant

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Apr 29, 2004

I was going to mention the R-2800 as one of the truly great engines of the war. You could put 20mm rounds directly into that engine and it would keep ticking. But of course I completely agree with Wmaxt that the P-38L was the best fighter of the war.

 

• Dec 18, 2004

• #539

the lancaster kicks ass

Major General

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Dec 20, 2003

funny, i don't...............

 

• Dec 18, 2004

• Thread starter
• #540

cheddar cheese

Major General

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Jan 9, 2004

WSM, England

Well I do, and you're outbnumbered lanc...you wont be able to beat 3 hardcore P-38 fans...