Like people complaining about the warwinning P-51's turnrate :rolleyes:

None of that is surprising. The 109G-2 is a very fast fighter and the J2M3 is also a very fast fighter. The late war Russian aircraft are also extremely fast but only at very low altitudes. Take that La-5FN up to approximately 10,000 feet or higher and the P-38L Late (with high boost) gets faster and faster while the La-5FN drops right off.

All true ...

But now imagine a P38 with a pair of Griffon 65's running 21psi and 150 octane gas :D

It would probably be too nose-heavy, unless the booms were extended. Interesting concept though.

To underscore what IceFire said: The P-38 was less successful in Europe as it was over Africa and the Pacific. The Jack was a relatively rare fighter, with only several hundred produced, and most flew bomber interception sorties. The late-war Russian stuff was light and fast (even Kozhedub is reported to have shot down two Mustangs which attacked him in his Lavochkin). The lightning was fast, but not faster than the late-war stuff on that list.

If flown well, it is a good fighter, but the P-38 really wasn't a "magic carpet".

If the development of the design hadn't been so protracted, it could have been a truly great plane.

I think it was anyway.

Airplanes have a center of gravity, some components are fixed, and never change the center of gravity, as the engine, others are expendable, as fuel. Aircraft designers, attempt to keep the expendables in the center of gravity so the plane does not change its flight characteristics. The two worst US aircraft, were the P51, and P38, the P51 had to use the 85 gallon tank up first, to make the plane fly normal, the P38 had the weapons way out front, making for a severe center of gravity change. Most planes place the ammo, and fuel in the wings, so expending both will not change the center of gravity.

The p38 handled differently after it used up ammo.

For such an unconventional twin engine it's been fabulous!

EDIT: Not to forget: its beautifull!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ng_head-on.jpg

uaoooooo bellissima foto goog i like much much this photo whit sea.

The P-51 was not a "war-winner", the war was already won when it came into use in any numbers at the beginning of 1944. By this time the large part of the Luftwaffe's aircraft and best pilots were gone, not to mention that Germany was a small country with very limited resources and never had anywhere near the number of aircraft that the allies had.

The P-51 did well when it finally did get to the war because of these factors, and because it was supported by a wingman and it's squadron. A lone pilot in a P-51 did not fly over the channel and start shooting down "Gerries" right and left.

Chuck Yeager said in his book that pilot with the most experience will always win, no matter what they were flying, and by 1944 Germany was out of experience pilots....

Thinking the P-51 was a war-winner is Fanboy talk...

It was nethertheless a plane with very good performance for its time and - much more important - able to escort the bomber formations to their target and back.