The Doolittle Raid....

[wuzak]

The B-25's were supposed to fly on to airfields in China and join our forces there. I doubt that Mossies or P-38's could have been supported logistically given those plans.

Could B-25s be supported logistically there?

 

[wuzak]

Let's consider for a moment, that the RAF made Mossies available to the USAAC.
Would there have been 24 available in fall of 1940?

Fall 1941? No.

By the time of the raid, certainly not 24 of the bomber variant.

 

[GrauGeist]

Yep guys, typo: 1940 = 1941

I keep seeing the prospect of the Mosquito being suggested and I put that question out there as Devil's advocate.

To the best of my knowledge (and I am far from an expert on anything, let alone DH aircraft), the Mosquito started deliveries in fall of '41 (fairly close to the time the P-38E was starting to be delivered).
Which (like the P-38E) leaves little time for crews to work up solid experience in the type before the two month intensive training prior to April.
There is also the bit about the RAF wanting to share their brand new toy with the pesky colonists. So even *IF* the RAF was being nice, would there even be 24 Mossies in hand by October? I don't have production numbers handy, but I seriously doubt it.

In the end, the B-25 was the perfect (and obvious) type for the mission.

 

[wuzak]

So even *IF* the RAF was being nice, would there even be 24 Mossies in hand by October? I don't have production numbers handy, but I seriously doubt it.

Not a chance of having 24 by October 1941. Plus the first 10 (IIRC) were the PR.I model.

 

[MIflyer]

The B-25's could be supported logistically there and in fact were later. My HS teacher stayed on in China as a bomb nav in B-25's there.

 

[Shortround6]

Standard P-38s only had two hard points at this time. 2000lb bomb load is two 1000lb bombs, not four 500lb bombs. If one point is carrying a drop tank then you get one bomb, pick size. Using more than two underwing stores increases drag and reduces range. The 500lb bundle of incendiaries each B-25 carried might have been an awkward load under a P-38.

Do larger than 150 gallon tanks exist for the P-38 at this point?

Is the 2000 mile range of the P-38 done at Ferry speeds with no allowances?

A P-38 could burn 2-3 times the amount of fuel per minute at high cruising speeds as it did at most economical cruise. This is not Military (5 or minute rating) but the 1 hour/max continuous rating or even less. Even a 1/2 hour at near 300mph speeds at low level could shorten the max range by 200-300 miles.

How fast to you want to fly from the east coast of Japan to the west coast and out over the water to get beyond the range of Japanese fighters?
The B-25s actually flew a good part of the length of Japan and not just cross wise.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Standard P-38s only had two hard points at this time. 2000lb bomb load is two 1000lb bombs, not four 500lb bombs. If one point is carrying a drop tank then you get one bomb, pick size. Using more than two underwing stores increases drag and reduces range. The 500lb bundle of incendiaries each B-25 carried might have been an awkward load under a P-38.

Do larger than 150 gallon tanks exist for the P-38 at this point?

Is the 2000 mile range of the P-38 done at Ferry speeds with no allowances?

A P-38 could burn 2-3 times the amount of fuel per minute at high cruising speeds as it did at most economical cruise. This is not Military (5 or minute rating) but the 1 hour/max continuous rating or even less. Even a 1/2 hour at near 300mph speeds at low level could shorten the max range by 200-300 miles.

How fast to you want to fly from the east coast of Japan to the west coast and out over the water to get beyond the range of Japanese fighters?
The B-25s actually flew a good part of the length of Japan and not just cross wise.

Exactly. The tankage/bombload/range thing isn't really happening with the P-38.