On 09/12/2010 07:15 PM, steamer wrote:
--Went to the Mathers AFB air show this past weekend and got to see
4 of the 7 remaining P-38 Lightnings flying. I know they had Allison engines
and I remember the P-51s originally had these as well. Well the P-51 got the
Merlin and a huge boost in performance; why didn't this happen to the P-38s
as well? Talking to a pal at the show we decided it was due to a production
bottleneck; i.e. they couldn't be made in sufficient quantities to equip the
twin engine aircraft. Anyone know the truth of the matter?

From the one book I had on the P-38 it was politics: the RR was a
better engine at high altitude, but GM didn't want to see any more work
going to Rolls.

But it was probably a bunch of reasons -- things are never simple.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

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"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" was written for you.
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