On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 06:08:03 -0700, Eunometic
wrote:

The real reason the P-38 was transfered to the Pacific theater is
because it was in high demand over the not becuase it was a
failure.

It's clear from Doolittle's contemporary correspondence with Arnold
that turbo overspeeding, detonation and aerodynamic problems all
combined to make him prefer the P-51 over the P-38.

In the end the the P-38L-1-LO, could claim a combat radius of nearly
1,500 miles under ideal conditions which was far further than any P-51
could conceivably achieve.

Shame it would require a wait until June 1944 before any of them
appeared. Imagine trying that excuse with Arnold in June 1943: "Well,
we'll have the problems with the P-38 licked a year from now -
meanwhile we'll just have to accept enormous attrition in our
strategic bombing campaign or abandon it for the time being."

I actually meant the P-47N as this was the model with the wing
tankage. It could fly 2000 miles with 300 miles and 20 minutes
combate at full power and 5 minutes a WEP. Further than any P-51.

Shame it wasn't around until March 1945; between then and November
1943 the P-51 managed considerably more than the P-47N.

The P-38 and P-47 were available earlier.

June 1944 for the P-38L; March 1945 for the P-47N. First Schweinfurt
was in August 1943. Can you see the problem?

The P-51C carried its fuel
in its wings; the P-51D added a big tank in the tail that made it
unstable and uncombatworthy to fly.

The B's were fitted with the 75-gallon fuselage tank after delivery,
and before the D model appeared in combat.

As far as I can tell Happy Arnolds directive to Spaatz to develop long
range escorts didn't specify Mustangs.

No; but it was the type that addressed the requirement faster than any
of the others.

The Mustang was a fine plane but I think the P-38 and P-47 could have
done the job if pressed a little more than they were.

The USAAF was pressing both for more than they could deliver. The
P-51 succeeded because of their contemporary limitations.

Gavin Bailey

--
Solution elegant. Yes. Minor problem, use 25000 CPU cycle for 1
instruction, this why all need overclock Pentium. Dumbass.
- Bart Kwan En