The Fork-Tailed Devil..History of the P-38

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Hi Adler,

>No actually Königstiger actually does translate to King Tiger or Royal Tiger.

Linguistically correct, however: biologically, "Königstiger" describes Panthera tigris tigris, which is called "Bengal Tiger" or (and here the languanges converge "Royal Bengal Tiger" in English.

Königstiger - Wikipedia

Bengal Tiger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

That is fine but it is not a bad translation. Königs literally translates to King or Royal. Therefore the literal translation is King Tiger.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I thought I was the only one that worried about that. I felt like in the movie Patton, worrying about getting shot in the nose.

I also still have mine. You can order them by the case on Ebay.

I allways wore mine on my key chain.

 

[Cdat88]

Same here.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Got rid of mine a long time ago - it kept putting holes in my pants!

 

[ccheese]

And who's Martin Cadin?

He also wrote the book "Iron Annie" about his personal JU-52, which he
and his wife ,Babe or Baby, or something like that, use to fly around the
country. I met him years ago in Boston. He looks just like a "Biker". A
big bald headed guy with a very big moustache. Joe is correct, he is full of
BS.

Charles

 

[HoHun]

Hi Adler,

>That is fine but it is not a bad translation.

Oh, I never meant to suggest that!

>Königs literally translates to King or Royal. Therefore the literal translation is King Tiger.

"Royal" would be the adjective "königlich", but "Königs..." could also be "king's" or "kings'". I'd say that "Königstiger" in German really implies that it is the "tiger of the king(s)", not a "tiger king".

I'm not sure how this kind of consideration applies to the English term "king tiger" ... tiger of the kings or king of the tigers? (Or tiger and king both, coincidentally?)

Strange how complicated this turns out now that we have a closer look at it ...

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[plan_D]

I hope you're aware that you're speaking to a man who is half German, half American and can speak both German and English fluently.

 

[HoHun]

Hi Charles,

>A big bald headed guy with a very big moustache. Joe is correct, he is full of BS.

I'm afraid Caidin passed away some ten years ago. It seems he was well liked in the Warbirds scene for his story-telling talents ... one "obit" I read mentioned that during his lifetime, it was common wisdom that "Marty always tells it like it is, even if it ain't."

Great you had the good luck to meet him in person - I bought his Me 109 book very early on in the "aviation enthusiast" career, reading it over and over through the years, and while it is dated now, it compares favourably to many other contemporary books in the quality of research. Of course, Caidin also praised the Me 108 in his 109 book - he was a great fan of the former type

>his personal JU-52, which he and his wife ,Babe or Baby, or something like that, use to fly around the country.

He sold this Ju 52 a long time ago, and it was bought and restored to airliner condition by the Lufthansa who operates it for nostalgia flights (carrying very well-paying passengers It's a regular guest on airhows in Germany and based in Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel.

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Cadin was entertaining but a bullsh!ter....

 

[HoHun]

Hi Plan D,

>I hope you're aware that you're speaking to a man who is half German, half American and can speak both German and English fluently.

Hm, what are you trying to tell me? My English certainly isn't as fluent as my German, and so I occassionally misunderstand things that might be obvious to a native speaker ...

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Hi Adler,

>That is fine but it is not a bad translation.

Oh, I never meant to suggest that!

>Königs literally translates to King or Royal. Therefore the literal translation is King Tiger.

"Royal" would be the adjective "königlich", but "Königs..." could also be "king's" or "kings'". I'd say that "Königstiger" in German really implies that it is the "tiger of the king(s)", not a "tiger king".

I'm not sure how this kind of consideration applies to the English term "king tiger" ... tiger of the kings or king of the tigers? (Or tiger and king both, coincidentally?)

Strange how complicated this turns out now that we have a closer look at it ...

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

Agreed.

Unfortunatly that is how complicated the German language is.

 

[Bobdalf01]

Whether or not the P-38 was ever CALLED "the fork-tailed devil" BY... the Germans is totally irrelevant! What matters is... In the end, it WAS... a "fork-tailed devil" to them. To me, "fork-tailed devil" is a totally RELEVANT term! Whether or not it was EVER even CALLED that, it WAS THAT!

 

[Balljoint]

Some years ago I had lunch with a guy who flew P-38s out of England –often at night- near London. He said the happiest day of his life was when he got his P-51. To be fair, if it had been a year or two later in the Pacific, perhaps he would have had a different opinion.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Whether or not the P-38 was ever CALLED "the fork-tailed devil" BY... the Germans is totally irrelevant! What matters is... In the end, it WAS... a "fork-tailed devil" to them. To me, "fork-tailed devil" is a totally RELEVANT term! Whether or not it was EVER even CALLED that, it WAS THAT!

Interesting you should say that, if I recall most German pilots stated the P-38 was the one they were least worried about.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Whether or not the P-38 was ever CALLED "the fork-tailed devil" BY... the Germans is totally irrelevant! What matters is... In the end, it WAS... a "fork-tailed devil" to them. To me, "fork-tailed devil" is a totally RELEVANT term! Whether or not it was EVER even CALLED that, it WAS THAT!

Ill be blunt, read this...

Lockheed P-38 Lightning with the 8th and 9th Air Forces (ETO)

Then shut up!

 

[Lucky13]

Always suspected it to be a myth, either way, it was a fighter that pulled its weight, when it was most needed, maybe not as good as the P-47 or P-51, but, it was rather successful in the Pacific.....

It was there, at the right time and at right place....

One thing that I don't think that you can't argue, it was then and it is now a d*mn beautiful plane....

Btw, wasn't it the P-38 that first it 400 mph?

 

[GrauGeist]

My Great Uncle Jimmy, who flew them in the PTO, called them a "fork-tailed devil". A friend of the family, who was a Luftwaffe pilot (1939 - 1945), called them "lightnings" and a "tolerable nuisance"...

Big difference.

 

[Denniss]

Better ask what Heer units thought of them if they were on the receiving end of the cannon and four MGs.

 

[Clayton Magnet]

Btw, wasn't it the P-38 that first it 400 mph?

I believe that was the Supermarine S.6B, in 1931.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

I believe that was the Supermarine S.6B, in 1931.

First combat aircraft to reach 400 mph