"OK. so Warren Bodie's book on the P-38 "Lightning" was right: General
Motors' political influence kept the P-38 from having the wretched Allison
engines replaced by the Merlins. Is this new news? Politics and money do
not care about death. But Bodie has a tantalizing look at the Lockheed test
of a Merlin 60 powered Lightning. Think about that: Not a crappy Allison
V-1710 with its inability to handle high-altitude temperatures, forcing many
P-38's to return home before their escort mission with 8th. AF.
But--without the turbo-superchargers, and the attendant plumbing, (and
weight) and huge frontal area for air-to air intercooling....???"
Sounds like the answer could be in the aforementioned book (see link 2).|||The Merlin was in high demand for many aircraft. The time it would take to retool for a new engine was seen as a detriment . Also the Superchargers are what made the 38 the high altitude platform it was. Other than the 8thAF, the P-38 was well reguarded in most othe r theatres.
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|||Not a true read of Bodie's book: Lockheed conducted STUDY of P-38 w/Merlin power; no P-38 was EVER BUILT with Merlins. Study found Allison still superior to then-available Merlin in rate of climb, service ceiling. Allison-powered paddle-blade P-38K was better bet.
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|||The P-38 was an American aircraft, and was designed to use the American built Allison V-1710 engine with General Electric turbo-superchargers. When the airplane was offered to the British during the start of the Battle of Britain, it was delivered without superchargers, which started the speculation that maybe the R-R Merlin engine would be a better engine for the aircraft. I'm sure there were also some politics involved in the decision to keep the General Motors built Allison engine.
Several different models of the P-38 were flown during WWII, and the aircraft was quite effective in several different missions during that time.
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