Tiberius Posted May 28, 2016 Posted May 28, 2016 The pilot was sadly lost. http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/27/us/wwii-plane-crash-hudson-river/ According to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the Thunderbolt was a feared ground-attack aircraft. "U.S. Army Air Forces commanders considered it one of the three premier American fighters, along with the P-51 Mustang and P-38 Lightning. The United States built more P-47s than any other fighter airplane," the Smithsonian said.
Tiberius Posted May 28, 2016 Author Posted May 28, 2016 Did they recover the plane? Yup, but they are going to scrap it. In a dog fight would you rather be in a P-38 or an F4F Hellcat?
DC Tom Posted May 29, 2016 Posted May 29, 2016 Yup, but they are going to scrap it. In a dog fight would you rather be in a P-38 or an F4F Hellcat? Depends on the theater and the model of P-38. And who I'm fighting - I wouldn't want to fight a Griffon-engined Spitfire in either.
Tiberius Posted May 29, 2016 Author Posted May 29, 2016 Depends on the theater and the model of P-38. And who I'm fighting - I wouldn't want to fight a Griffon-engined Spitfire in either. I meant flying against each other.
boyst Posted May 29, 2016 Posted May 29, 2016 Yup, but they are going to scrap it. In a dog fight would you rather be in a P-38 or an F4F Hellcat?
DC Tom Posted May 29, 2016 Posted May 29, 2016 I meant flying against each other. Still depends on the theater and model of P-38. In northern Europe, I'd take an F4F over a P-38D with compressibility, detonation, and turbocharger icing problems every day. It also depends on whether or not you're talking about an F4F Wildcat, or an F6F Hellcat, moron.
Tiberius Posted May 29, 2016 Author Posted May 29, 2016 My mistake on F6F I'd go with Hellcat, a true dogging fight aircraft. The p-38 was not that great at air to air combat much like the German twin engine fighters.
DC Tom Posted May 29, 2016 Posted May 29, 2016 My mistake on F6F I'd go with Hellcat, a true dogging fight aircraft. The p-38 was not that great at air to air combat much like the German twin engine fighters. The P-38 was great at air-to-air combat in the South Pacific, for a great many reasons (size, range, power, firepower, the typical altitudes of combat - Japanese planes were lightweight and low powered, and hence couldn't maneuver well above about 20k feet). In Europe, it was substantially less so - higher altitude combat led to dive restrictions due to compressibility issues, colder atmosphere caused turbocharger and cooling issues and engine failures. Overall...I'd take the altitude, rate-of-climb, speed, and firepower advantages of the P-38 in most situations over the F6F. All due respect to Alex Vraciu...if it's good enough for Richard Bong and Tommy McGuire, it's good enough for me.
boyst Posted May 30, 2016 Posted May 30, 2016 The P-38 was great at air-to-air combat in the South Pacific, for a great many reasons (size, range, power, firepower, the typical altitudes of combat - Japanese planes were lightweight and low powered, and hence couldn't maneuver well above about 20k feet). In Europe, it was substantially less so - higher altitude combat led to dive restrictions due to compressibility issues, colder atmosphere caused turbocharger and cooling issues and engine failures. Overall...I'd take the altitude, rate-of-climb, speed, and firepower advantages of the P-38 in most situations over the F6F. All due respect to Alex Vraciu...if it's good enough for Richard Bong and Tommy McGuire, it's good enough for me. NERD
Tiberius Posted May 30, 2016 Author Posted May 30, 2016 http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/veterans/south-buffalo-pilots-mettle-turned-the-tide-in-battle-of-midway-20160529 Wade McClusky was from Buffalo and went to South Park high school. Wow!
dib Posted May 30, 2016 Posted May 30, 2016 I know its not one of the options but I'd prefer, in any theatre the P-51D. The cadillac of the sky.
Tiberius Posted May 30, 2016 Author Posted May 30, 2016 The P-38 was great at air-to-air combat in the South Pacific, for a great many reasons (size, range, power, firepower, the typical altitudes of combat - Japanese planes were lightweight and low powered, and hence couldn't maneuver well above about 20k feet). In Europe, it was substantially less so - higher altitude combat led to dive restrictions due to compressibility issues, me. The Germans actually made mince meat of the P-38 in North Aftrica also. Like I side, the twin boom frame was just too restricting. The Japanese really didn't have many trained pilots after Battle of Santa Cruz so i wonder what factor that had in Bong's kill rate. And yes, P-51 was superior to both
DC Tom Posted May 30, 2016 Posted May 30, 2016 The Germans actually made mince meat of the P-38 in North Aftrica also. Like I side, the twin boom frame was just too restricting. The Japanese really didn't have many trained pilots after Battle of Santa Cruz so i wonder what factor that had in Bong's kill rate. And yes, P-51 was superior to both There is literally no subject that you're not an expert at being a complete idiot in. "Twin boom frame was just too restricting" is the mindless pablum of an ignorant boor who doesn't know ****. What was restricting in the ETO was the prohibition on DIVING in a plane designed for an air combat doctrine that emphasized vertical maneuvering. Not "twin booms." Against a Luftwaffe that largely followed the same doctrine, that's a crippling restriction. There's actually more that determines the quality of an airplane than its techincal specs. Doctrine and environment matter a hell of a lot more. That's why the Mosquito was an abject failure in Burma, the Brewster Buffalo was a disaster everywhere except Finland, the early F4Us were atrocious carrier aircraft but excellent based on land, and the P-39 was a failure in the west but a world-beater in Russian hands.
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