I would love to take part in this discussion, in detail, but am working toward something similar in my NACA P-38 TL (link in my signature) so I will summarize my thoughts as a simple, "yes, I think it is possible."
I figured as much. It is a great idea but I really think the P-38 would either need to be improved earlier (as in my TL) or Lockheed would need to dedicate massive resources toward it to make it compete directly with the P/F-82--something they had no desire to do because they were already producing the P-80. The solution, of course, would be to have another designer/manufacturer take it over. Such as Consolidated-Vultee (Convair).Your TL is what got me thinking about this, I mentioned it in your thread.
for the long patrol/escort missions envisioned, a co-pilot was needed, and more so, for the Radar version
the droopsnoot or piggyback versions of the P-38 wasn't ideal.
Then as others mentioned, the wing needs work, its not a great airfoil
when you need to replace the wing and nacelle, it's just time for an all new aircraft
Alan Turing lives and designs autopilot/s
What about earlier improvements, a la @everkings NACA p-38?
Would they need to be re-engined? What engines could they mount, especially high-alt turboprops or post WW2 pistons?
Well, Turing was around in time period but was otherwise occupied. Still, no need for Turing to come up with autopilot. The F-4 and F-5 (P-38 photo-recce) airplanes were already fitted with rudimentary autopilot systems which maintained a set altitude, course, speed, and trim. The pilot only had to intervene to make corrections and adjustments (e.g. course change on a dogleg, etc).Alan Turing lives and designs autopilot/s