Quote:
Originally Posted by Jumoschwanz
It does not matter what you fly, if you are used to your airplane and have more experience than the other guy then you will shoot him down. If he has more experience or is more used to his aircraft than you, then he will shoot you down.
|
I know my example is not fair, but: Tommy McGuire would still live if your statement were true.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jumoschwanz
The only disadvantage a P-38 has in general is that it is a large, easy to hit and fragile aircraft. It has great acceleration and speed and it also turns and rolls well.
|
It does not roll well, which is IMHO its greatest disadvantage - especially against planes like 190. Okay I'm biased here, IMHO roll rate (basically negating any turn advantage the enemy may have against you) is the second most important trait of fighters, speed advantage beeing the first(allowing you to enter and exit a fight at will). And a speed advantage can also be obtained by a plane with higher altitude, same is true for exiting fights, if you can dive like hell, you may also escape in the theoretically slower plane. This is why I would pick a P-39/P-40 any day against Japanese opposition - except maybe for late war.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jumoschwanz
I have had great success in P-38s in every kind of combat, z&b and slow "dogfighting", but it had a lot more to do with tactics and the hard settings I was flying, and my experience than with the aircraft type.
|
I think with similar experience in a P-40 or a P-39 you would have been as sucessful.
And for a beginner a plane that has "only" the speed advantage +excellent accelleration+favourable high speed climb is not easy. What the beginner may not be aware of is that against Japanese opposition the P-38 is an excellent choice to survive in -and you get quite some margin for errors other planes, e. g. F4F/P-40 do not have. The P-39 in the real world was a troublesome plane for novice pilots - and it may well be in IL-2, too. Though in the hands of a better pilot it is fearsome against Japanese planes, great roll rate, useful turn rate, speed advantage, armament that is overkill against fighters, and still capable of shooting down multiple bombers - if they appear at medium/low alt.