Originally posted by Widewing
As to the P-38; it was an excellent fighter at medium altitudes, right on down to the deck. It was also a first rate attack aircraft. However, by 1945 it was past its prime and technology was quickly passing it by. Nontheless, it was still a first string fighter in the Pacific and able to defeat anything it would encounter.
Yet in terms of cost effectiveness, the P-38 was very expensive to build and operate. That, probably more than any other factor was what pushed it to the side. Moreover, Lockheed was unwilling to spend addition time and treasure on updating the design as their money was completely invested in the P-80. Likewise, Republic dropped the very capable XP-72 due to the P-84 offering vastly greater performance. All of the late-war piston powered fighters faced a major change of mission with the rapid development of jet aircraft, with older designs being sacked first (P-40 and P-38).
My regards,
Widewing
One can add to all of that the fact that the USAAF and the War Production Board steadfastly refused nearly every improvement Lockheed developed for the P-38 after the P-38K test mule was built and tested. Other than MINOR detail improvements, NOTHING added to the P-38 from late 1943 on had not already been developed by early 1943. It never got the engines or propellors proposed for the P-38K. And of course, they also declined to allow Lockheed to install the improved and simplified control system.
Most everything found on the 1944 and later P-38 was developed in early to mid 1943, and therefore development and improvement of the P-38 ceased at that point. It was not so much that Lockheed was unwilling or unable to carry it further, but rather that what they did was never put to good use. Even the P-38L was a 1943 development that entered service late because Lockheed was wasting valuable production on building B-17's when Consolidated Vultee would have been a far better choice for the task. All the fighters everyone compares to the P-38 saw extensive improvements developed AFTER 1943.
IF one contends that the P-38 suffered because of a poor power to weight ratio, making it sluggish, then the P-38K solved all of that, and with a four or five blade prop rather than the three blade, it would have only gotten better.
Had the basic design premise of the P-38 been a dead end, then the P-82 would never have been built at all. But for the most part, the performance of the P-38K was on par with that of the P-82, which entered service nearly 3 YEARS after the P-38K was rejected out of hand.
Certainly the P-38K is a "what if" plane, as it never saw production. However, it is a clear demonstration that the P-38 had far more potential than was extracted from it. And going by the logical progression of the development process for the P-38, the P-38K SHOULD have entered service BEFORE the J or the L models. The J and L should have been detail improvements on the K. While the P-38K was never produced, it is by no means a fantasy, nor a figment of anyone's imagination. The plane existed, and its performance was verified.
I've never contended that the P-38 was even close to an all conquering wonder plane, merely that it was a successful and versatile plane and easily able to compete with any of the contemporary competitors, as opposed to being a second or third rate fighter as some attempt to portray it. The P-38 was not outclassed by anything on either side with pistons and props.
And by 1945, for use as a FIGHTER,
everything with pistons and props was quickly passed by and rendered obsolete.
