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Rank IV USSR | Premium | Golden Eagles
Rank IV USSR | Premium | Golden Eagles INFO
Tu-1 Pack
This page is about the American twin-engine fighter P-38E. For other variants, see P-38 (Family).
P-38E
P-39Q-5 P-38G-1
LOADING...
USA II Rank
Take-off weight 8t
Max
Speed Max Turn time Rate of climb Take-
Characteristics (km/h at altitude (seconds) (metres/second) off run
7,012 m) (metres) (metres)
AB RB AB RB AB RB
Details
Features
✓ ✓ ✓ X X
Limits
Max
Flaps (km/h) Static
Wings Gear G
(km/h) (km/h)
Take-
Combat Landing + -
off
Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Crew 1 person
Speed of destruction
Speed of destruction
Structural 790 km/h
Gear 289 km/h
Modifications
Armaments
Offensive armament
Usage in battles
Air Realistic Battles.
While fast at its BR of 3.0, the P-38 is slower than many planes it will face at 3.7 and 4.0, most specifically
the Fw 190 A-1 and the Bf 109 F-4 and F-4/trop, although it does have an air spawn, which can be used
temporarily to have the advantage on these enemies. Attempt to pick out planes at its BR or planes that are
slower than it, then target them.
When forced to deal with faster opponents, evade and use teammates. If the direction it is caught going in is
opposite to the team's side of the map, a handy trick is rolling over and pulling 180 degrees until the plane
comes out the other direction, a maneuver known as a split S. It gains speed (instead of a horizontal turn,
which loses it) and exposes the plane to the minimum amount of enemy fire while doing so, which is
important, as the P-38 is very broad in the wings and prone to catching fire due to the fuel tanks.
In terms of ammunition, Air Targets is preferential for the cannon and Universal for the MGs, if stealth is not
used. There are other options, most notably Ground Targets for the cannon and Tracers or Ground Targets
for the .50 cals, but the tracers on the .50 cals are weak, unlike the M20 API-T on the P-51s and P-47s, and
groundpounding should be reserved for later parts of the game in case a bomber is climbing to space, as the
plane is an interceptor and cannot carry suspended armaments.
Ammo conservation on the cannon is not very important; it has a low fire rate and does not jam easily once
the 'New 20mm Cannon' modification is unlocked; moreover, each shell has a high damage output,
especially on stealth. The .50 cals can be sprayed indiscriminately.
As a bomber-hunter, the P-38E is superb. Its nose-mounted armaments allow it to sit a kilometer behind
enemy bombers such as He 111s, outside of effective range of their guns but still able to hit hard with its
20mm cannon.
Radiator
Mixer Pitch Supercharger Turbocharger
Oil Water Type
Pros:
Nose-mounted armaments give great long-range accuracy: no need to worry about convergence
Good speed on the deck
Decent at head-ons in a tight spot, due to the 20 mm cannon and nose-mounted .50 cals
Can always get home with one engine left
Cons:
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).
Notable pilots
Major Richard Bong began military flight training in the
P-38E after graduating from basic flight school in the
single engine AT-6 Texan.
Media
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
Official data sheet - more details about the performance (https://forum.warthunder.com/index.ph
p?/topic/272425-lockheed-p-38e/)