Hi Guys
Here is an example of a comparison I did some time ago of the P-38L fighting a 109G6. From the EM diagram below you can see that if both pilots keep their flaps retracted the 109G6 is going to enjoy a relatively easy kill. It has a slightly better maximum sustained turn rate but a much better instantaneous turn rate at all speeds below corner velocity, and a much better turn radius.
However, when the P-38 driver deploys his flaps as shown with the black set of curves, the situation is very different. The P-38 driver hasn't gained anything in the sustained turn, but has made a big improvement in instantaneous turn rate. For example, you can see that if both aircraft are at 155mph the P-38 will have a four degrees per second advantage and a smaller turn radius.
Of course the P-38 driver won't be able to sustain that for long, but the better P-38 drivers will keep their speed up using nose low slices, and split-s maneuvers in order to gain angles for a snap shot.
But even then when the P-38 driver has used up his energy, they still have a trick or two up their sleeve because air combat is not just about turn rate and turn radius... another very important aspect of air combat has been left out of this discussion almost entirely.
The geometry of the fight is a vital factor, that good P-38 pilots use when they get to low speeds, and the P-38 can fly very slowly indeed.
What do I mean by geometry? Well let's take a concrete example, let's assume that the P-38 with five notches of flaps deployed and the 109G6 with no flaps are both in their best maximum sustained turns. In the EM diagram above that places them both at the point where the Ps curves intersects the stall line.
You can see in that situation the P-38 is about 25mph slower with a slight turn radius advantage... both those facts scream one circle fight to the P-38 driver, and most P-38 drivers don't even need to think about it, they just know if they don't get the guns solution provided by their initial high instantaneous turn rate, they can convert to a one circle fight as they get slow, because they are almost certainly going to win the scissors, and to save time in the reversals they use rudder to increase the roll rate.
The situation is shown below:
This sort of geometry is the real secret of the P-38s success, and works even against the Spitfires and NIKIs simply because their best sustained turn occurs at a higher speed. Infact, in a rolling scissors, the P-38 can get so slow it can squirt almost anything out in front long enough for a shot.
Of course, experienced pilots with a good grasp of BFM know how to avoid that sort of situation, and can exploit a different form of geometry in order to deny the P-38 the sort of fight it wants.
That's not even the whole story, and it is admittedly over simplified, but I hope that helps to validate everyone's experience in the arena, because I can justify almost every viewpoint I've seen in this discussion so far
Hope that helps...
Badboy
