usertron2020
Donor
I don't know what the designers of that contraption had been drinking, but where can I get some?
Peg Leg Pom. The first step in Recovery is to admit that you have a problem.
I don't know what the designers of that contraption had been drinking, but where can I get some?
By the time the P-40N was rolling out Britain was getting Merlin-engined P-51sNope the P-40N had fine performance up to about 25K. Which was about where the Merlin started running out of power as well, they both had mechanical superchargers.
Ah, so it wouldn't have been because it would simplify logistics then (what with virtually every other aircraft in Britain using the Merlin)?The P-51 got the Merlin because Packard could produce them and the Allison production was already over-allocated.
It's just all the time and money spent on this may well have been able to been to have been spent on second sourcing the P-38, which would have allowed for the P-38K--perhaps with a pressurized cabin.It turned out surprisingly well considering it started with a Dauntless tail Corsair maingear, P-40 outer wing panels, Airacobra engine layout, Mustang rad layout, and a Buick cockpit canopy.
A question.. If there is not a long range fighter that can do what a mustang did, at what stage does the 8th airforce abandon daytime bombing?
By the time the P-40N was rolling out Britain was getting Merlin-engined P-51s
Ah, so it wouldn't have been because it would simplify logistics then (what with virtually every other aircraft in Britain using the Merlin)?
Actually NO - The Rolls Royce and Packard Merlins were NOT interchangeable and did not have common parts. So each would need it's own logistics chain anyway. The Lancaster B I used Rolls Royce Merlins (of several version numbers) while the B III used Packards I was told at one point in the distant past that even different tool sets were needed for the two types
A question.. If there is not a long range fighter that can do what a mustang did, at what stage does the 8th airforce abandon daytime bombing?
Curtiss pushed everything they had. Prototypes kept appearing after superior machines were in service. None were good enough, but the P-40 was cheapest of all. Cheap isn't good enough.Would Curtiss have pushed the P-40Q? Shorter ranged than the Mustang but cheaper than the P-38 or P-47? Maybe with the uprated Merlin - was this ever installed in other P-40's?