For all you P-38 Drivers.

[curry1]

LOL!  It wasn't? 

ack-ack

No that is why the top scoring American aces both flew it.  Wait a second...

[Ack-Ack]

No that is why the top scoring American aces both flew it.  Wait a second...

Not to mention the main USAAF fighter in the PTO with the most kills of any USAAF plane with more aces than any other USAAF fighter in the PTO.  Heck, more USAAF pilots made aces in the P-40 than the P-51 in the PTO.

ack-ack

[CAP1]

top scoring american aces.....

richard bong.......40 kills. flew p-38
thomas mcguirre....38 kills. flew p-38
david mccampbell.....34 kills. flew f6f
greg boyington.......28 kills. 6 as a tiger, 22 in the corsair.
robert johnson.....27 kills. flew p-47
Charles  MacDonald..27 kills. flew p-38


 looks like george preddy is top scoring mustang ace at 27. from what i'm reading though, it looks like 3 of his 27 were in p-47's, and it mentions him making a statemnet of the p-38 being the finest airplane he ever flew.


 i'd hafta say the ole p-38 o doom has earned her place in history.  

[eaglei95]

the only reason the P-51 is considered the best is because they had the 8th Air Force convert most of their FGs to the 51 and as a result got more kills as they outnumbered the 38

[RoGenT]

Not meaning to bash the P38 dweebs because I have much respect for that plane, but weren't most of the kills in the Pacific against more unexperienced than experienced Japanese pilots?

[CAP1]

Not meaning to bash the P38 dweebs because I have much respect for that plane, but weren't most of the kills in the Pacific against more unexperienced than experienced Japanese pilots?

possibly      kind of like the majority of the p-51's kills over europe were against the less experienced luftwaffe pilots?

[RoGenT]

possibly      kind of like the majority of the p-51's kills over europe were against the less experienced luftwaffe pilots?

I had feeling I was going to get this kind of response 

[CAP1]

I had feeling I was going to get this kind of response 

wellllll...you know..........the p-38 and p-47 drivers took on the luftwaffe's best early on, while the spitfires and/or hurricanes had to turn around due to lack of fuel.........then the p-51 came along  for clean up.    it's still an important role though.


 as much as i like the p-38, and even with the stuff i posted about the aces......for some reason, i feel that the hellcat, and corsair had more effect against the japanese than the lightning did.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Not meaning to bash the P38 dweebs because I have much respect for that plane, but weren't most of the kills in the Pacific against more unexperienced than experienced Japanese pilots?

No, not really.

[Ack-Ack]

Not meaning to bash the P38 dweebs because I have much respect for that plane, but weren't most of the kills in the Pacific against more unexperienced than experienced Japanese pilots?

The P-38 was the main USAAF fighter that broke the back of the IJAF and IJNAF in the Pacific, much like how the P-47 is the USAAF plane that broke the Luftwaffe's back over Europe.

ack-ack

[Guppy35]

I had feeling I was going to get this kind of response 

It's generally because the misinformed have this vision of hordes of P51Ds taking it to the Luftwaffe and clearing the skies when in fact the D model Stangs only got there just prior to D-Day.  The best of the LW drivers had been eliminated by this time due to the effort of the guys driving everything but 51Ds from 39-mid 44.  In terms of the USAAF in the ETO that would be the Jug drivers, the 38 drivers.  Add the B Pony drivers who started arriving in December 44 and joined the effort with a great bird going through a host of growing pains with frozen guns, motor mount troubles, no fuselage tank to begin with etc.  Then figure the Bigweek through the Berlin Missions of March-April 44 and you've got it.

It doesn't mean the Mustang pilots didn't play a role.  But because the Mustang, in particular the D-model got the ink and shows up most on the warbird circuit, that guys seem to think it won the war.

Go visit the US Cemetary at Normandy sometime and note all the ground attack pilots buried there.  Those Jug and 38 drivers who did the heavy lifting in that role played a huge part in winning the war and paid for it.  Same goes for the Tiffie drivers.  Follow the route from Caen to Falaise and note all the Tiffie driver graves.  Same deal.  Most would have been happy to be up their out of the flak escorting bombers.

[Brooke]

The P-51 and B-17 got to be the movie stars.  I've met P-47 and B-24 pilots who griped about that.

[Soulyss]

Not meaning to bash the P38 dweebs because I have much respect for that plane, but weren't most of the kills in the Pacific against more unexperienced than experienced Japanese pilots?

Not really, no.  The P-38 began arriving in Australia in the fall of '42 and the 39th FS began operations out of 14-Mile near Port Moresby in October of that year, with the first P-38 victory being scored on November 26th (actually an interesting story).

At the start of the war the IJN (Imperial Japanese Navy) was in charge of the air war in the Pacific with the Army concentrating on events in the CBI (China, Burma, India).   

The 11th Sentai of the JAAF was the first army unit to arrive in New Guinea and had prior combat experience in China.  It arrived at Rabaul on December 18th, 1942.  Two days later they were escorting D3A's to Buna and the flight was intercepted by P-38's from the 9th FS (Richard Bong was among the pilots who made the intercept).

[RoGenT]

Okay, I thought I was going to get verbally ganged on here for my comment, . I was always under the impression the P38 came out about the time most of the more experienced sticks of the Japanese forces were long since fish food. I stand corrected. 

[321BAR]

as much as i like the p-38, and even with the stuff i posted about the aces......for some reason, i feel that the hellcat, and corsair had more effect against the japanese than the lightning did.

well cap, it seems different if you bring phillipine phandango into this...