The P-38 thread!

Arlo, I though Charles MacDonald made it through the war?

Have you seen pics of the P-38 restoration that was recently rolled out in South Australia?

"On my first confrontation with the P-38, I was astonished to find an American aircraft that could outrun, outclimb, and outdive our Zero which we thought was the most superior fighter plane in the world. The Lightning's great speed, its sensational high altitude performance, and especially its ability to dive and climb much faster than the Zero presented insuperable problems for our fliers. The P-38 pilots, flying at great height, chose when and where they wanted to fight with disastrous results for our own men. The P-38 boded ill for the future and destroyed the morale of the Zero fighter Pilot."...Saburo Sakai.

 

Didnt The RAF quickly finish up the P-38's it had, i seem to remember they where not happy about the hign maintaince requirments.

The Alilson engines where also not liked by the RAF with poor high altitude performance (supercharger??).

No attempt was made to provide the Merlin engine as per the P-51 solution to the Alilson.

 

Arlo, I though Charles MacDonald made it through the war?



Oh yes, sorry about that. It was McGuire, not Macdonald.

Have you seen pics of the P-38 restoration that was recently rolled out in South Australia?

No, I haven't. Yet, that is. Have you got any images?

I wish there were air-shows here in the Philippines. The Philippines probably have the oldest crafts still flying around. We still use 50-year old F-86 Sabrejets and P-51Ds during the EDSA Revolution.

The P-38 has high performance, but why were the 8th Air Force keen on the P-51D when it had the weak armament consisting of 6 machine guns.

We never had P-38s. I wish though.

 

Here you go Arlo.

42-66841 - The Lockheed File

 

Sadly the Lost Squadron's site seems to be offline(?) hope it's not down to any sort of financial failure as these projects seem so understandably prone to.


It's closed. The P38 was sold.

[TMP] "Lost Squadron Museum to Close!" Topic

KnoxNews: Local

 

I'd heard she'd been sold as well. A shame given all of the work that would have gone into her. I imagine it would have been heart breaking for the guys who restored her and set up the museum.

 

Here you go Arlo.

42-66841 - The Lockheed File

Awesome work on the restoration. Were they able to fly it?

 

Didnt The RAF quickly finish up the P-38's it had, i seem to remember they where not happy about the hign maintaince requirments.

The Alilson engines where also not liked by the RAF with poor high altitude performance (supercharger??).

No attempt was made to provide the Merlin engine as per the P-51 solution to the Alilson.
I could be wrong, but didn't the Americans sell the UK the P38 minus the superchargers.

 

I could be wrong, but didn't the Americans sell the UK the P38 minus the superchargers.

Yes, the turbochargers were prohibited items for export (before the US entered the war). The RAF cancelled the order after receiving the first three - tests showed that without the supercharger, the P-38 wasn't very good. The ones completed for the RAF (about 150) could only used for training purposes by the USAAF - they didn'tlike it either, without the charger.

There were also small differences in the engine for the RAF.

However, the name Lightning was British.

 

Yes, the turbochargers were prohibited items for export (before the US entered the war). The RAF cancelled the order after receiving the first three - tests showed that without the supercharger, the P-38 wasn't very good. The ones completed for the RAF (about 150) could only used for training purposes by the USAAF - they didn'tlike it either, without the charger.

There were also small differences in the engine for the RAF.

However, the name Lightning was British.
Thanks for the confirmation Kyt. Its good to know that although I am approaching the Biblical age limit my memory hasn't totally gone yet.

 

Yes, the turbochargers were prohibited items for export (before the US entered the war). The RAF cancelled the order after receiving the first three - tests showed that without the supercharger, the P-38 wasn't very good. The ones completed for the RAF (about 150) could only used for training purposes by the USAAF - they didn'tlike it either, without the charger.

There were also small differences in the engine for the RAF.

However, the name Lightning was British.


Which is why I use it. The American names are rubbish.

 

Didnt The RAF quickly finish up the P-38's it had, i seem to remember they where not happy about the hign maintaince requirments.

The Alilson engines where also not liked by the RAF with poor high altitude performance (supercharger??).


Yeah. The P-38 had poor performance at high alt. (mainly engine failures)

 

Which is why I use it. The American names are rubbish.

Did the RAF change the original name from Atalanta to Lightning because they didn't like it, or because there was already another aircraft with the name (Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta)?

 

Thanks for the confirmation Kyt. Its good to know that although I am approaching the Biblical age limit my memory hasn't totally gone yet.

So I take it your username provides a hint to your age, am I right?

 

Awesome work on the restoration. Were they able to fly it?

She's a static resto for the Classic Fighter Jets Museum in South Australia, Arlo. When she was first ebing restored in the late 90s there was a comment that the work would be done to a level where future airworthiness would be possible but I can't say whether this was achieved or not. Great to see something with combat history restored to such a high standard. The same museum is also working on a P-39.

 

Yeah. The P-38 had poor performance at high alt. (mainly engine failures)

They got better though. I've often wondered what the P-38 would have been like with Merlins.

 

I have just found this thread. A beautiful thing even with those underpowered Allison engines and no supercharger. Lightning I in RAF service.

 

I have just found this thread. A beautiful thing even with those underpowered Allison engines and no supercharger. Lightning I in RAF service.


Yep Clearly see the lack of super(or rather turbo)chargers in that shot.