P-38L-1 (China)
Contents
| This page is about the Chinese fighter P-38L-1 (China). For other variants, see P-38 (Family). |
Description
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The ␗P-38L-1 Lightning is a rank III Chinese twin-engine fighter
with a battle rating of 4.3 (AB) and 4.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision".
General info
Flight performance
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 8,534 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 665 | 647 | 12192 | 23.1 | 23.9 | 15.6 | 15.6 | 332 |
| Upgraded | 717 | 690 | 21.0 | 22.0 | 24.0 | 19.3 | ||
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 790 | 289 | 620 | 400 | 250 | ~9 | ~4 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 380 | < 460 | < 500 | > 420 |
| Compressor (RB/SB) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Setting 1 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| 7,500 m | 1,290 hp | 1,416 hp |
Survivability and armour
Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.
- 6.5 mm steel: in front of pilot
- 38 mm bulletproof glass: windscreen
- 6.5 mm steel: behind and below pilot
- 9.5 mm steel: behind pilot
Armaments
Offensive armament
The P-38L-1 (China) is armed with:
- 1 x 20 mm AN/M2 cannon, nose-mounted (150 rpg)
- 4 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns, nose-mounted (500 rpg = 2,000 total)
Suspended armament
The P-38L-1 (China) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- Without load
- 2 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs (1,000 lb total)
- 10 x HVAR rockets
- 4 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns, wing-mounted (gunpods) (340 rpg = 1,360 total)
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Controllable | Controllable Auto control available |
Controllable Auto control available |
Controllable Auto control available |
Separate | Not controllable 1 gear |
Not controllable |
Modules
| Tier | Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Fuselage repair | Radiator | Offensive 12 mm | DGP-1 | |
| II | New boosters | Compressor | Airframe | New 12 mm MGs | FMBC mk.1 |
| III | Wings repair | Engine | Offensive 20 mm | ||
| IV | G-suit | Engine injection | Cover | New 20 mm cannons | CTRC mk.3 |
Pros and cons
Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".
Pros:
- Excellent speed
- Incredible energy retention let's you have multiple approaches on a helpless target
- Excellent acceleration
- Excellent climb rate
- Very powerful armament, great for bomber hunting
- Nose mounted armament allows it to have the great and fearsome head-on capability. Also makes aiming much easier in simulator as there is no convergence
- Multiple armament presets; allows it to function as a ground attack and/or air superiority fighter
- Good roll and turn time
- Good overall visibility, especially over the nose, in simulator matches
- Counter-rotating propellers eliminates torque, making it easy to takeoff with
- Tricycle landing gears allows it to break continuously until full stop, without having to worry about propeller strike
- Two sets of vertical stabiliser increases handling when damaged
Cons:
- Fuel tanks catch on fire easily
- Low initial roll rate
- Unable to dive to put fires out without breaking wings
- Easy to rip wings in dives; no airbrakes installed unlike the P-38L
- Easy to black-out if your crew's G-Tolerance and Stamina are low
- Low cannon ammunition amount compared to other planes at the rank.
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
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 |
| China twin-engine fighters and strike aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Twin-engine fighters | ␗Ki-45 hei/tei · ␗P-38L-1 |
| Strike aircraft | V-11 · V-12D · ␗IL-10 (1946) · Mosquito FB.Mk.26 |
