[Hoverbug]

I hope we get a solid nose APS-15 "Mickey" droop-snoot as well.

[hworth18]

Originally Posted by tsr2

It does not come with any bombs. The underside of the wing does not have the holes present on Corgi's first P-38 to attach ordnance by. Sorry.

That is a bummer as this should have had bombs... Well, maybe we can get extras from Nona and glue them in place...

[slammin]

At least my bombs from Marge will have a use now....

[JETFAN]

I have a friend who flew P-38s on many bombing missions in Europe. They flew as a formation, usually of around 18 aircraft, at medium altitude to avoid the flak and were led by a droop snoot or an A-26 which was attached to the squadron just for this purpose. They dropped their loads when the saw the lead ship unload. He got shot down when he left the formation (under orders) to investigate some tanks parked under trees. He was hit by a quad 40 and was too low to bale out. He crashed into a forest and, after two days, made it back to the U.S. lines. En route, he killed two Germans with his revolver to avoid capture. His story is documented in detail in the unit's history and on http://www.southernoregonwarbirds.us

A-26s were another type that carried a navigator/bomb-aimer in the lead ship only. B-17s and B-24s, except for the lead ships, had "togeliers" who were nose gunners without training as bombardiers who just watched the lead ship's actions.

Ergo, it would have been correct to add 500 or 1000 lb bombs under the wings.

[STARMAN 352ND]

It would not be hard to add the bombs on there....Just use the ones you got from the Bong P-38.
That's what i'll do when i get mine.
JP

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by STARMAN 352ND

It would not be hard to add the bombs on there....Just use the ones you got from the Bong P-38.
That's what i'll do when i get mine.
JP

I don't have the Corgi Bong P-38. I may have to salvage a 2,000 pounder from a 72nd kit somehow.

[RedBaron]

Droopsnoots/Pathfinders

One of the more interesting experiments performed on the P-38 was the idea of using one to serve as a leader for a level bombing raid. This special P-38 would not carry machine guns in the nose, but would contain a bombsite for a bombardier instead. The frontal nose section was replaced with a small glass window similar to that on the B-17. This lead P-38 would lead a large flight of P-38s to a specified target. The bomb run would be the same as used by the heavy bombers. The lead P-38s bombardier would track the target using the bombsite (or radar in the Pathfinder version) and would signal all P-38s to drop their loads. Once the bombs were delivered, the P-38s could fight their way back home as fighters.

The Droop Snoot/Pathfinder version of the P-38 was originated in mid-1943. Colonel Cass Hough and Col. Don Ostrander came up with this idea. The P-38 had the ability to carry similar loads to a B-17, so this idea was very promising. The daylight bombing raids during that time were suffering irreplaceable losses. Each bomber that failed to return to base meant roughly ten men were lost to the war effort (either KIA or captured by the Germans). Each member of a bomber crew underwent extensive training, and these losses were taxing the bombing effort because crews were being lost faster than replacements could be trained. Hough and Ostrander felt that the P-38 would be able to assist the bombing effort in Germany, and would put fewer men in danger. They felt that the P-38 would be successful because it could carry a large bomb load for an aircraft its size, and was about 100 mph faster. The speed in which the raids would be carried out would also allow the P-38s to be under fire for less amounts of time. Furthermore, once the bombs were dropped, the rest of the P-38s were normal fighters, and would be able to fight their way back home much easier than a heavy bomber. Both men felt it was a win/win situation.

The Droop Snoot design was based around the Norden bombsite used by all the heavy bombers during the war. The nose section was replaced with a glass window. Extra armor was added to the sides of the nose section. Extra ballast was required to balance the aircraft to address the extra weight in the nose. In fact, once the design was finished, only minimal performance loss was detected. Normal armament configuration consisted of one 2,000 lb. bomb, and one 310-gallon drop tank. The Pathfinder version contained radar instead of the optical bombsite. General Doolittle approved this new P-38 version, and fifteen total were built.

The Droop Snoot first saw service on April 19, 1944. The first mission was to attack the Florennes airfield in Belgium. Bad weather halted this mission, and a different mission was scheduled for later in the day. Lt. Col. Harold Rau led 38 P-38s to Gutersloh, Germany. The formation of P-38s managed to drop 26,000 lbs. of bombs in a concentrated area with good observable results. Droop Snoots and Pathfinders were successfully used by the 8th, 9th, and 15th air forces.

In theory this version of the P-38 seemed to be an idea of limitless utilization. The idea of using fighters to deliver significant amounts of ordinance in saturation bombing was tremendous. They would be able to drop their loads, and then act as fighters on the way back home. They would be able to destroy ground targets, and possibly destroy significant numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft and pilots. However, in practice, the Droop Snoot/Pathfinder variations saw only limited action. The idea was never really taken seriously by Gen. Doolittle and his staff. The romantic idea of heavy bombers being able to carry out the daylight bombing practice was prevalent in the minds of the American leaders. Tremendous amounts of heavy bombers were being produced, and nobody wanted to change that. Also, many of these people were preaching the idea of heavy bombers to such an extent, they would not allow themselves to go back on their ideas. After all, the B-17 was the symbol of the Allied effort in the ETO. One very realistic problem encountered by the P-38s was questions about the range. A B-17 would not have to sacrifice range to carry a full load. Even though a P-38 was capable of carrying two 2,000 lb. bombs, it would have to operate on a limited range. P-38s normally carried one 2,000 lb. bomb, and one 310-gallon drop tank. Still, it would not have the range similar to a B-17 or B-24. After the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, the P-38s would have been able to operate out of the liberated areas of France, which would have been very favorable to their range problems. However, at this point in the war, B-17s and B-24 were being produced in large numbers, crews were readily available, and the P-51 Mustang was able to escort bombers deep into Germany. The P-38 was already being phased out in Europe. Even though the operational records do not show the Droop Snoot/Pathfinder versions of the P-38 to be significant, it still showed the P-38 to be used in almost any role imaginable. No other fighter had this ability at this stage in the war.

http://p-38online.com/exp.html

[flyXwire]

Now, if Corgi could spit out a Night fighter P-38M Lightning....that would be AWESOME!!!

[djjeffhall]

I have to say folks, the way Corgi is handling the P-38 is a major dissapointment.

While I'm really appreciate the fact that someone other than IXO is producing a P-38, it's sad that Corgi can't seem to get it right.

We have bombs on the versions that never bombed and no bombs on the bombers.

Nonetheless, I'm sure they will be big sellers and I'm glad that they looks as sharp as everyone has attested that they do. (I don't have any yet.)

Let's just hope that Corgi is willing to get the second wave of P-38's correct.

[timbo]

I'm pondering that is the fact that thew P-38 could carry almost the same bomb load as a B-17 show how awsome the P-38 is or realy how pathetic the B-17 realy was???

What would happen if they lost the lead plane before the bomb run occured?