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I would think that the last p38, the one with the roundels was not captured but simply deliverd.
That would have to be an early war RAF roundel, if that was the case, as the roundel changed in 1942.I would think that the last p38, the one with the roundels was not captured but simply deliverd.
That would have to be an early war RAF roundel, if that was the case, as the roundel changed in 1942.
At least one captured '38 was used in the MTO to ambush our bombers. IIRC it was flown by an Italian ace. He was finally brought down by a YB-40 (B-17 gunship), but not until after he shot the crap out of it.
At least 3 "P-38s" were delivered to the British in early '42. They were part of the order for the model 322. The Brits insisted on a P-38 variant with 2 same-rotation engines (IIRC V-1710C engines) for compatibility with the P-40s they had. They also specified NO turbochargers. Both of these changes were resisted by Lockheed, who's engineers referred to them as the "Castrated Lightnings".
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NOT TRUE - this fairy tale was made up by Martin Cadin in the book "Fork Tailed Devil." The YB-40 was never operated anywhere near Italy.
This passage is wrong on some accounts. Do you have source for claims that Lockheed was against producing non-turbo V-1710s, and that RAF was specifying just non-turbo 322s?
That P-38 was never "brought down", the Italians ruined the engines with their low grade fuel.At least one captured '38 was used in the MTO to ambush our bombers. IIRC it was flown by an Italian ace. He was finally brought down by a YB-40 (B-17 gunship), but not until after he shot the crap out of it.
That was detailed in Bodie's book. According to him, they not only specified non-turboed and non-"handed" engines, they actually specified the 1710C, which was somewhat obsolete and superseded by an improved single-stage supercharged version at the time. Supposedly for commonality with their P-40s. I have not verified that from other sources.
The British order for specifically non-turbocharged non-handed engines is very well documented. Allison could not have cared less, but Lockheed didn't want to do that to the P-38.
All Allison V-1710 base aero power units were single stage supercharged engines. Some in the 100 series added an auxiliary stage to make an effective 2-stage engine, mostly for the Bell P-63 ... but the base unit was single-stage supercharged.