Originally posted by Krusty
Well if they're in Alaska, what are they doing shooting down axis aircraft?
That's probably somewhere in the ETO.
Oh, and training doesn't mean they used them that way. You train folks to dive bomb. Doesn't mean they always do it. Just means they know how 
(I have to mention that, I'm playing devil's advocate!)
Go back and read it again Krusty. Sometimes I think you just like to be contrary
54th FS in 38Es and later F and Gs flew in some of the worst weather anywhere. Interestingly in their official history and the stuff written since they didn't complain about the cold in their 38s and they managed to fly combat in them and these were the early birds. They hadn't gotten the memo about how bad the 38 was. First 38 kills of the war were August 4, 1942 when two Mavis flying boats were shot down by two 54th FS 38s.
These guys did all kinds of things in that lousy weather. In 42 they took 38Es and tested range and found they could stay up for 11 hours. At the same time in the ETO the bombers weren't getting escorted and the 38s that could have at least provided some help were sent to North Africa.
4 54th FS pilots, out of boredom, more then anything else, on a mission where they were supposed to escort Navy bombers, 'failed to find them', and instead flew down and strafed Japanese targets on the Kurile Islands which are part of the Japanese home islands. Because it wasn't an 'official' approved mission, it never made the records but the 4 pilots, including the one who came back single engine, sure remember it.
Just to clarify Krusty. The Pac 38s first dive bombed in November 42, the MTO 38s in April 43 and the Aleutian 38s in February 43. If you want images of 38s with the bomb symbols on em, I can do that for ya
