Tim Wescott wrote:
On 09/12/2010 07:33 PM, CaveLamb wrote:
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?


The P-38 didn't need a moderate increase in power..
By virtue of having two engines it had twice the power of the P-51.
The very early ones had engines that turned the same direction.

They had counter-rotating props since day 1. The prototype had them
arranged for best engine-out performance, but that set up some weird
turbulence on the center section and tail, so they were reversed.



Ah yes! I remember that (sorta)

--

Richard Lamb