XP-38G

XP-38G

XP-38G

USA

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.0	3.3	3.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Interceptor

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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This page is about the American premium twin-engine fighter XP-38G. For the production version, see P-38G-1. For other variants, see P-38 (Family).

Description

The XP-38G is a premium rank II American twin-engine fighter with a battle rating of 3.0 (AB) and 3.3 (RB/SB). This twin-engine fighter has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. It is available to be bought at the Gaijin Store in the "USA Pacific Campaign (1941-1942)" pack.

General info

Flight Performance

Despite being a heavy twin engine fighter, the XP-38G has a quite good overall performance. Its level speed is comparable to many single-engined fighters and even faster than some of them. It can reach 550 km/h at the sea level and, thanks to its superchargers, the plane's maximum speed is close to 660 km/h at 5,000 meter altitude and it doesn't drop or increase up to 11,000 m, that makes it a good medium and high altitude fighter and, in most cases, outperforms the opposition.

Climb rate is comparable to other American fighters, the plane is able to reach 5,000 m in 4 minutes and 40 seconds which is quite mediocre, its climb rate at 1,000 m is close to 18 m/s, but again thanks to the supercharger it will not suffer so much at high altitude. When climbing from 5,000 m alt to 9,000 m alt, it will outperform most other fighters. Acceleration in level flight is decent and when it starts diving it gets very good. It is required to keep an eye on the speed because the maximum structural speed limit is low in this plane compared to how fast it can accelerate.

The XP-38G's turn rate is quite good but depends a lot on its Fowler flaps, they do increase the lift a lot but the drag too. Sustained turn rate is quite good, better than in almost every other heavy twin-engined fighter, but in most cases only comparable or worse to other fighters. On the other hand, the instantaneous turn rate, especially with deployed flaps, is very good and can help a lot with getting the guns on the target for high deflection shooting. Of course, due to the plane's configuration, it suffers a lot from high speed compression, which starts close to 0.70 Mach. The other issue is its roll rate, at best it reaches 70 degrees per second at 400 km/h. The way the Lighting's engines are set makes it so the pilot does not need to worry about the propeller torque effect, so the plane doesn't require any trimming except for some elevator adjustments to fly in a straight line.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 8,229 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
634	616	12192	23.1	23.9	14.6	14.6	380
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 8,229 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
689	660	12192	20.9	22.0	22.4	18.0	380

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
790	289	620	500	250	~11	~8

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 380	< 460	< 500	> 420

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
5,800 m	2,620 hp	3,010 hp

Engine performance

Engine
Engine Name			Number present
Allison V-1710-51 12-cylinder			2
Engine characteristics
Weight (each)		Type	Cooling
610 kg		Inline	Water
Engine power (Stock)
Mode	Max		Take-off
Arcade	1,084 hp		1,350 hp
Realistic/Simulator	1,072 hp		1,200 hp
Engine power (Upgraded)
Mode	Max		Take-off
Arcade	1,264 hp		1,531 hp
Realistic/Simulator	1,252 hp		1,380 hp

WEP Duration
Arcade		Realistic/Simulator
25 seconds		Infinite

Survivability and armour

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass in cockpit top front.
• 6.5 mm Steel plates in the nose.
• 6.5 mm Steel plates in pilot's seat.
• 9.5 mm Steel plate in pilot's headrest.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The XP-38G is armed with:

• 1 x 20 mm AN/M2 cannon, nose-mounted (150 rpg)
• 4 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns, nose-mounted (500 rpg = 2,000 total)

The armament on the XP-38G is extremely powerful. A single 20mm cannon combined with 4 M2s in the nose make a devastating, accurate combination. The XP-38G can effectively slice wings in half due to its extremely accurate weapons.

Suspended armament

The XP-38G can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 6 x M8 rockets

Usage in battles

Utilize the P-38 as a strike fighter. The P-38 has very good energy retention and climb speed, so mainly use it as a BnZ fighter. However, it can be an effective turn fighter against less manoeuvrable opponents. Be warned, however, that once at a low speed and altitude the P-38 is a sitting duck. It is a very large fighter and easy to destroy.

The best cure is being prepared. Always maintain a high, safe altitude. If you have to, the P-38 is best in a flat dive. Its roll rate can be used to its advantage as well. Use diving and climbing manoeuvres to get out of trouble. Avoid turning to counter opponents, unless they are less manoeuvrable.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable	Not controllable	Controllable	Combined	Not controllable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 12 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 12 mm MGs
III	Wings repair	Engine		Offensive 20 mm	Rocket Launcher M10
IV		Engine injection	Cover	New 20 mm cannons

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Gathers speed quickly in a dive
• Good armament, can rip apart other planes quickly
• Good for Boom & Zoom
• Good climb rate

Cons:

• Extremely prone to fire
• Poor turning /manoeuvrability

History

The XP-38G in game is actually fictional, created during the very early days of development as an improved performance Premium P-38G. The closest equivalent to the games fictional XP-38G is a P-38H (600 built) or a P-38K-1 (1 built), which had a few minor performance improvements to the P-38G.

In-game description

"The P-38 was an all-metal, three-wheeled, single-seater, twin-engined monoplane fighter with an aerodynamic design rarely seen in World War II.

An experimental XP-38 (Model 22) was first flown on January 27, 1938. Production began in June of 1941.

The G variant was created at the end of 1942 and was based on the E and F variants. The G had a more powerful turbocharged Allison V-1710-51/55 engine. Engine management was significantly more automated than before.

The plane carried a formidable armament consisting of 20mm Hispano AN/M2 cannons with 150 rounds and four 12.7mm Colt-Browning M2.5 machine guns with 300 rounds apiece. The P-38G had a reinforced fuselage and could carry two extra 300-gallon (1136-liter) fuel tanks. The G was not equipped to carry rockets and bombs, but was often modified on the field to carry 250-lb or even 500-lb bombs as well as unguided rockets.

The P-38G was widely used by the Army Air Force (USAAF) in all theaters of the war. They were often used for shuttle missions over Germany from the airfields of Ukraine. The best known operation in which the P-38G participated was Operation Lightning, which changed the war in the Pacific. The mission, which was flown on April 18, 1943, intercepted and shot down a Japanese G4M1 bomber with Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto on board. In addition, the P-38 was the plane of choice of the two most successful American aces: Richard Ira Bong (40 kills) and Thomas McGuire (38 kills).

From 1942 to 1943, Lockheed built 1,462 P-38Gs. They were decommissioned in 1949."

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Bristol Beaufighter
• de Havilland Mosquito
• Kawasaki Ki-96
• Mitsubishi Ki-83
• Nakajima J5N
• Northrop P-61 Black Widow
• Westland Whirlwind
• Petlyakov Pe-3
• Savoia-Marchetti SM.92

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.

Lockheed Corporation
Fighters	XP-38G · P-38E · P-38G-1 · P-38J-15 · Bong's P-38J-15 · P-38K · P-38L-5-LO · YP-38
Bombers	B-34 · PV-2D
Jet Fighters	F-80A-5 · F-80C-10
	F-104A · F-104C
Strike Aircraft	F-117
Export / License	A-29 · ▄Hudson Mk V
	␗P-38L-1
	␗F-104A · ▀F-104G · ␗F-104G · ▄F-104G · ▅F-104J · ▄F-104S
	The Lockheed Corporation merged with Martin Marietta Corporation in 1995 to form Lockheed Martin Corporation.
See Also	SABCA · Mitsubishi Heavy Industries · Fiat Aviation