NAVAL P-38s

[Hazard69]

Anyone know if any were ever used by the U.S. navy?

Just was wondering that the P38 accelerates, climbs, and takes damage better than other american aircraft....also is more stable and most important of all has twin engines. So it should have made a good naval plane.

Anyone know of any naval variants that may be included in the game?

[Sikboy]

where do you put the tailhook?



-Sik

[bockko]

The navy never put the 38 into service -- the navy wanted carrier planes and long range patrol planes. The 38 was built to an Army spec, not to a navy, carrier-friendly spec.

[Sikboy]

here's a cool webpage that has some info (no telling how accurate it is).

http://p-38online.com/exp.html

[ra]

The Navy had tested some Grumman twin engine designs even before the war started.  They eventually concentrated their attention on what would become the Tigercat.  I doubt there was ever much interest in the P-38, though they did do carrier trials with a P-51.

ra

[wklink]

I also imagine that the P-38 would have been too large to operate effectively from carriers.  I don't think it could have been modified to fit into the elevators of the current aircraft carriers.  I suppose they could have been used for land based operations but I don't think they would have been any more successful than the F4U which was utilized a lot by Navy/Marine aviators.

[Ack-Ack]

Originally posted by Hazard69
Anyone know if any were ever used by the U.S. navy?

Just was wondering that the P38 accelerates, climbs, and takes damage better than other american aircraft....also is more stable and most important of all has twin engines. So it should have made a good naval plane.

Anyone know of any naval variants that may be included in the game?

Lockheed proposed a carrier-based "Model 822" version of the Lightning for the US Navy. The Model 822 would have featured folding wings, an arresting hook, and stronger undercarriage for carrier operations. The Navy wasn't interested, as they regarded the Lightning as too big for carrier operations and didn't like liquid-cooled engines anyway, and the Model 822 never went beyond the paper stage. However, the Navy did operate four land-based F-5Bs in North Africa, with these aircraft inherited from the USAAF and redesignated "FO-1".


ack-ack

[Sikboy]

Originally posted by ra
The Navy had tested some Grumman twin engine designs even before the war started.

Ohh the XF-5F! that's one of my all time favorites.

[Ack-Ack]

If you were to put those engines on the back of the plane like the A-10 it would look like a mini-warthog.


ack-ack