Originally posted by humble
Hmmm production started in May of 1943....II/ZG 26 was mauled on May 13, 1944 {which is what led to the removal from frontline service}....so last time I saw...may to may....was a year.
You are correct, deliveries began in May 1943, my mistake. It was not withdrawn from frontline service however, only as a bomber destroyer. It continued to serve as a reconnaissance plane and fast bomber.
Originally posted by humble
I have no doubt the 410 is well suited to bomber interception. The 410 got mauled as soon as it ran into fighters. In the action above the 410's faced 20 P-51's....hardly "overwhelming numbers".
When 12 Me 410 get jumped by 20 mustangs I call that overwhelming numbers.
Originally posted by humble
The 410 got mauled and was withdrawn from its primary role.
The Me 410’s primary role was as a fast bomber and ground attack plane. Bomber destroying was just one of its many talents.
Originally posted by humble
The 38 served with distinction in the ETO/MTO until the end of the war.
With indignation you mean. It was hardly a popular plane with its crews or the leadership in the ETO. So unpopular was the P-38 that the Air Force stateside sent famous air racer Tony LeVier over to Britain to teach the pilots how to survive in a P-38. His “air shows” were indeed popular, but futile.
Early 1944, Tony LeVier was ordered to get to the ETO fast. The P-38 was awash in rumors or how deadly it can be to fly. Pilots not experienced with twin-engine flying were having many preventable accidents. Many of these pilots were killed not by the enemy, but a lack of knowledge on how to operate in case of an emergency. With the many engine problems, operating with one engine was a necessity. At some point in the war in the ETO, every pilot would probably be faced with a one-engine flying situation. LeVier was to get to Britain and demonstrate flying techniques to the pilots and would in the process hopefully dispel many rumors, which were unfounded.
LeVier believed too little testing at high altitudes was done before sending the P-38s to Britain. He also believed that too many experienced pilots were spread too thin in the pilot ranks, and that the cockpit heat was a serious problem. It was not just the comfort of the pilot, but when the pilots were cramped in a small cockpit under extreme cold situations, they were not in a good flying condition when encountering enemy aircraft. Also, the windows would fog up, and reduce visibility. He arrived at the 364th Fighter Group at Honington. LeVier was not spreading propaganda, and was honest with the pilots he met with. They were informed about all the known limitations of the aircraft, but he also spoke with them on all the positive aspects of the aircraft as well. Manu demonstrations were preformed, such as recovering from a dive.
LeVier continued his demonstration tour and arrived at Kingscliff, home of the 20th Fighter Group. The pilots of the 20th were not overly impressed with his lecture. LeVier proceeded to take up his P-38 (equipped with the new dive flaps). At 25,000 ft., LeVier dove straight down, and the pilots rushed out to see what they thought would be a crash. He easily pulled out without any problems, and for extra emphasis, he preformed several low level one-engine rolls. The current P-38s in the ETO were not equipped with this flap, but he was attempting to showcase the new features, which would be arriving soon. The pilots were shown that they would be able to pursue a German fighter diving out of trouble. The demonstration was indeed successful.
Goxhill was home to a commander who could easily be considered a P-40 man. He disliked the P-38, and the pilots under his command reflected that opinion. LeVier went "all out" in his demonstrations. He convinced them that the problem was inadequate training, not an inadequate aircraft. LeVier won over the opinions of the commander and the pilots. The next stop was in Andover, the headquarters of the 9th Fighter Command. These pilots originally came from a P-47 outfit in the States, and were having difficulty transitioning to the twin-engine P-38. LeVier demonstrated several dives, low-level upside-down passes on one engine, accelerated stalls, and circled the base upside-down several times. Virtually everyone on the base came out to watch the "air show".
LeVier's demonstration tour was an overwhelming success. During the four months he was in Britain, an estimated 2,000 engines were replaced on the P-38s. This staggering number was the main reason for the transfer of the P-38s out of the ETO. Levier was using his special P-38, which was equipped with the newly designed dive flaps. The problem was after he demonstrated the P-38s ability to recover from dives, the pilots had to go back to flying the older P-38s in their units. Lockheed quickly loaded up 400 sets of dive flaps for installation in the ETO. A C-54 cargo aircraft was loaded up and sent to Britain. The results from the installation of the flaps would be tremendous and many pilots and aircraft would be saved. However, during the flight, a British pilot mistook the aircraft for a German aircraft, and shot it down. The loss of the flaps was the final blow to the P-38 in the ETO. General Doolittle had previously started the transition to only P-51s and P-47s. Lockheed would never get a chance to reproduce the dive flaps, and none were installed on P-38s in the ETO.Originally posted by humble
Numerous expertain fell to the P-38 in combat actions over western europe in 1944.
Name one. (Edit: I know of one, but do you?)
