alejandro_
Airman 1st Class
- 281
- Jul 4, 2005
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Thats as fast as a Spitfire Mk.XIV flying at full boost (2050 HP), and that aint gonna happen. A P-51B might be able to keep up, but not the heavier "D" model.
alejandro_ said:wmaxt
I think Lunatic mentioned in another debate that most books written on US fighters give the max speed on military power, but not on war emergency power. One case was the P-51D, most sources say it reaches 437mph but in reality it's 448 mph.
The P-38 had a very tight turning circle, good roll, one of the best climb/dive speeds, amoung the best accelerations. By utilizing its strengths could and did fight effectively 1:1 with its adversaries.
The tight turning cycle was not that important in the high speed clashes fought in the ETO. The Fw-190 could easily outroll the P-38 at high speeds, and IIRC the Bf-109 too.
Regards
The Roll rate of the P-38J-25/Ls exceeded the Fw-190s from 350mph on up, These P-38s had hydralic boost the Fw-190 didn't, check the graph I posted earlier.
Remember the vast majority of P-38 clashes were from October '43 to June '44 when the Germans had both the numerical superority and the experiance edge.
alejandro_ said:wmaxt
The Roll rate of the P-38J-25/Ls exceeded the Fw-190s from 350mph on up, These P-38s had hydralic boost the Fw-190 didn't, check the graph I posted earlier.
The Fw-190A4 shown in the graph is a damaged model captured by the US. The Fw-190 was one of the best aircraft when it came to rolling. The Royal airforce stated that at high speeds the rolling rate was slow because of heavy aileron forces.
alejandro_ said:Remember the vast majority of P-38 clashes were from October '43 to June '44 when the Germans had both the numerical superority and the experiance edge.
Well, in the mediterranean it was a very effective fighter but in northern europe it's perforamance suffered quite a bit. I already mentioned the problems in another post.
Regards.
The damage to that Fw-190A (the best rolling model) did not affect the ailerons or thier function.
.
The actual performance of the P-38 in combat in the ETO was just as effective, the 8th AF only lost 451 P-38s to ALL causes. The common issues except for lack of heat, inexperianced pilots and ground crew were more due to operating procedures than anything else. Doolittle confirms this point himself. I recomend this site for a good picture of the P-38 in the ETO, check it out even/esp if you know all the standard stuff thats been laid on the P-38 I think you'll find some interesting stuff:
P-38: Der Gabelschwanz Teufel
There are quite a few historical errors in his narrative regarding P-38's 'carrying the long range escort load 'until ~ march 1944'. Both the 354th and 363rd were 'loaned to 8th AF for LR target escort. In December 1943 the 354th had only 50% strength compared to combined 20th and 55th - but the aborts were so high with their P-38s that the 354th by itself was putting nearly 40% of the effectives in December through mid February 1944 - then the 357th FG and 4th and 363rd added their three Combined Mustang Groups.
During Big week there were twice as many P-51s going deep as P-38s. By the time the 364th was operational in March the 4th and 355th had fully converted from P-47s to Mustangs.
Blakeslee did Not command the 354th as stated in the article, he Led the 354th on their first couple of missions in December - but the only combat group that Blakeslee Commanded was the 4th FG throughout the war.
Ale, there is another reason I belive this way, In the Aleuitions the same models of the aircraft were used for long range missions at altitudes of 15,000ft to 25,000ft with slightly different operating technics. The P-38s were praised for their reliability and capability and the temp were -40deg On The Ground and got colder as they went up! Somebodies telling fibs in the ETO!
wmaxt