What Lazer said.
The L is the over all better of the three. It has boosted aileron controls and dive flaps, which really aid it in high and low/stall speed maneuvering.
The J is slightly faster than the L but not in any significant way that it's an advantage. The J is slightly more maneuverable than the L but it does pay for it by being a tad more sluggish in rolls and transient turns. It also carries a lighter ordnance payload, 2 1,000lb bombs and 6 3.5in Bazooka rockets.
The G is the slowest of the lot but the best turning of the 3. It like the J model, it doesn't have dive flaps but unlike both the J and L it does not have WEP. Carries the same ordnance package of the J model.
As with all P-38 models, it is best to keep the fight in the vertical as much as possible and using nose low turns. The P-38 has big rudders, use them to aid your rolls especially in the J and G models.
As with all P-38s, be careful when diving. The L has dive flaps which will aid in the dive recovery but the J and G don't have them, so you need to take care in dives. Don't worry about entering compressability though, as long as you stay below 20,000ft you won't enter into a compressability state. You'll just hover below the threshold and still retain control of the craft, albeit sluggish controls due to the buffeting you experience at high speeds. Use your throttle and rudders to aid in controlling you speed in dives.
FLAPS, FLAPS, FLAPS, FLAPS! Get to know them, get to love them, get to know how and when to use them.
Auto-retracting flaps - GAY! Stupid, hand holding, coddling, gamey feature that should be removed except for the planes that has such a feature. Watch out for it, as it can throw you into a very difficult snap spin to recover from.
Ammo load...I know there is some debate to this about whether or not taking a lighter ammo load out will aid you're maneuverability. Personally, I think it's bullcrap. Why hinder yourself with a lighter ammo load? Take the full ammo load, any claims that it hinders your maneuverability is utter hogwash as the lighter load does not give you any advantage. And if you're as a crappy shot as I am, every round you can get your grubby hands, the better.
And remember...while not a master of one particular jog, the P-38 does them all very well. It is a good E fighter, turn fighter and attack plane. You really need get to know the strengths and weaknesses of the Lightning and imparitive that you learn the same about the other planes. Part of being successful in the P-38 (or in any other plane for that matter) is to be able to take advantage of the weakness of your foe's plane in order to negate the weaknesses of yours. For example, if I get into a fight with a Spitfire Mk IX or N1K2, I am not going to turn fight with them at medium speeds. Why? Because at medium speeds the Spitfire Mk IX and the N1K2 turn and maneuver better than the P-38. So instead, I'll try and keep the fight fast or drag them down into a low/stall speed fight, where the P-38 has a slight edge over both planes.
While a lot of us kid and joke about the P-38 being an EZ-Mode plane, it's really a challenging plane to fly and that's what makes the P-38 such a joy to fly.
Search the AH message boards for P-38 tips and films. I know I've posted quite a bit of tips on the boards as well as Murdr. You can also visit the
479th website and check out our extensive collection of P-38 films, probably the single largest collection of AH films for the P-38. Also be sure to read Murdr's PJ University lectures. If any of the films on the 479th show a dead link, be sure to tell me so I can fix the link.
ack-ack
479th FG - Riddle's Raiders
