WarSimBox
An unusual shape
The P-38’s engines sat at the front of two tail booms, with the pilot in a small central nacelle. The layout made room for turbo-superchargers and radiators and let the guns be grouped in a propeller-free nose: unlike wing guns, they did not need to converge at a set range. The propellers turned in opposite directions, so engine torque did not pull the aircraft to one side.
In a fast dive, as the P-38 approached the speed of sound, compressibility effects buffeted the tail and locked the nose down; several pilots could not pull out. The problem was only eased by dive flaps added in late production Js.
In the Pacific
Its long range made the P-38 very valuable in the Pacific. On 18 April 1943, P-38s from Guadalcanal, following a flight plan revealed by broken codes, shot down the aircraft carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, over Bougainville. In Europe, engine trouble in cold, damp air made it less successful, and it later handed over the escort role to the P-51.
Reconnaissance versions of the P-38 were widely used; Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of “The Little Prince”, disappeared in July 1944 while flying one.
In WarSimBox
In the game it is a heavy fighter that fights with energy tactics: its turbo-superchargers make it very fast high up, its concentrated nose guns are accurate and its range is very long. It rolls heavily. In a fast dive compressibility locks the nose down, so you have to pull out early.
Unlocked in the aircraft tree after researching Messerschmitt Bf 110 C-4 and Turbo-supercharger.
- Top speed
- 668 km/h · 8,000 m
- Climb
- 16.7 m/s
- Sustained turn
- 21.3 s
- Stall speed
- 173 km/h
These figures come from the game’s flight model (climb, turn and stall at sea level).
Fly it in WarSimBox