FinishForty
Airman
- 27
- Jun 26, 2011
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IMO that's eight months too late.
US Warplanes
We produced about 450 P-38s during 1941.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/australia/oceania_pol01.jpg
They should have been providing fighter cover for supply convoys traveling between Darwin, Australia and the Philippines. The P-38 was our only fighter aircraft with endurance sufficient for that mission.
The two Type 97 Flying Boats (later, but not at that time, codenamed 'Mavis' by the Allies) claimed by 54th FS P-38E's August 4 1942 were from the Toko Air Group. The Toko group's combat report says one of the two was slightly damaged in the tail by fire from a single 'B-38' (as miswritten on the original report) which they spotted, but both returned safely. They expended 90 rounds of 7.7mm in return w/o making any claim. Even the original report by the P-38 pilots admitted the target a/c disappeared into cloud or fog. Later telling, paintings etc. made it look clearer cut.August 9, 1942: Two P-38 Lightnings of the 343rd Fighter Group were near the end of a long patrol when they intercepted and shot down two Japanese "Mavis" flying boats. These were the first combat victories for P-38s,
Also many of the 450 P-38s produced in 1941 were not combat ready. ....