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Mike Williamson wrote in message ...
Geoffrey Sinclair wrote: The P-38 was the least effective of the USAAF fighters over Germany, thanks to a combination of factors. Once the USAAF could deploy escorts in numbers to the required targets then yes the Luftwaffe day fighter force was in trouble. The engineering to provide the escorts in numbers took most of 1943. Then the long range escorts appeared. I would like to point out that the "least effective fighter" may not be taking an overall view. Would it help is I mentioned the implied late 1943 and early 1944 and on heavy bomber escort missions? The P-38 had real problems with both tactics and equipment in this environment. Most of the problems with P-38 operations were the result of early doctrine and poor training of aircrew in multi-engine operations. They suffered through comparatively high loss rates in early operations where their writ was not to pursue the enemy, but to provide close escort, much as the Luftwaffe fighter force was in the Battle of Britain. Being unable to pursue an enemy limits your kill potential, but they DID cause a significant drop in bomber losses. The P-38s had cockpit heating problems with rally degraded pilot performance, they also had problems with high speed dives, the pilots were very wary of them, and the Luftwaffe liked diving away from combat. It made it hard to use the dive tactic. Also, unlike the Pacific the P-38 was not significantly faster than the fighters it was engaging. The trouble with training is a limit on early deployment of effective fighters. In 1945, P-38s which were still flying escort missions under the later doctrine (and in equal or superior numbers to the defenders) had about the same results as their brethren in -47s and -51s. As far as I am aware the use of P-38s on heavy bomber escort missions in 1945 was very limited, what sort of information do you have on the mission. The P-38 also proved highly successful with 9AF on low level interdiction sorties. Agreed. Adding in its ability to be adapted to do almost anything (how many P-51s were ever fitted with a Norden bombsight or pathfinder blind bombing radar system?) and the P-38 was highly successful in Europe. As a fighter bomber clearly it worked well. Unfortunately the requirement is for a high altitude long range escort fighter in 1943. It's reputation suffered from engine problems (which were absolutely unknown in the MTO, PTO, or even Alaskan theaters, and were quite possibly due to fuel problems which admittedly affected the turbosupercharged Allisons more than the Merlins) and from the inevitable process of being the aircraft tasked with proving that your current doctrine isn't working the way it should. And that meant the ability to put together a reliable escort force was significantly reduced. A poster noted that the use of P-38s in the photo-recon role (F-4 and F-5) limited the number of armed fighter types available, but strategically a squadron of long range high speed photographers (particularly in the Pacific) was almost certainly more valuable than another squadron of fighters - unless they are your escort for the day, of course. The poster was me, pointing out the reality of allocating scarce resources instead of the cardboard cut out "bad guys" approach to the history. Geoffrey Sinclair Remove the nb for email. |
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