War Thunder

[ordnance11]

Anyone played this yet? I managed to get up to level 8. I probably will end up getting up two level 10 possibly when I play again next weekend.  What surprises me is the game developers deem a P-38 to be worth more than a F4U Corsair or a F6F Hellcat.  What finally allowed me to advance rapidly is I finally wised up and realized that being aggressive and at the same cautious is the key. Get one good pass at an opponent and then break. Sitting behind someone's 6 is all well and good, but it sets you up on being shot in turn. It used to be I'd go through 6 aircraft in one mission. Now I can go through the entire fight without being shot down. Dinged maybe, but that's about it.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[classicdrogn]

Rule of cool, mate. That's what makes the P-38 worth more.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Logan Darklighter]

Actually the P-38 WAS better in many ways than the Corsair or Hellcat. In fact - according to the Wikipedia article - 
"The P-38 was credited with destroying more Japanese aircraft than any other USAAF fighter."

I think the main reason you didn't see it more often is that it wasn't a Navy airplane and wasn't fitted with any kind of tail hook for carrier operations. 

Until the introduction of the P-51 Mustang, it was the primary escort for bombers in the Pacific theater. Had a REALLY long range. 

It was a squadron of P-38s that shot down Admiral Yamamoto. 

And it was the primary airplane used by the two top American aces - Richard Bong (40 victories) and Thomas McGuire (38 victories). 

So yeah - I can see it being considered worth more in a game than a Corsair or Hellcat, sure. 

[ordnance11]

Logan Darklighter wrote:

---

Actually the P-38 WAS better in many ways than the Corsair or Hellcat. In fact - according to the Wikipedia article - 
"The P-38 was credited with destroying more Japanese aircraft than any other USAAF fighter."

I think the main reason you didn't see it more often is that it wasn't a Navy airplane and wasn't fitted with any kind of tail hook for carrier operations. 

Until the introduction of the P-51 Mustang, it was the primary escort for bombers in the Pacific theater. Had a REALLY long range. 

It was a squadron of P-38s that shot down Admiral Yamamoto. 

And it was the primary airplane used by the two top American aces - Richard Bong (40 victories) and Thomas McGuire (38 victories). 

So yeah - I can see it being considered worth more in a game than a Corsair or Hellcat, sure. 

 Maybe, but the Hellcat earned the moniker "The Zero killer" for a reason:

U.S. Navy and Marine F6F pilots flew 66,530 combat sorties and claimed
5,163 kills (56% of all U.S. Navy/Marine air victories of the war) at a
recorded cost of 270 Hellcats in aerial combat (an overall kill-to-loss
ratio of 19:1 based on claimed but not confirmed kills).[39]
The aircraft performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a
claimed 13:1 kill ratio against the A6M Zero, 9.5:1 against the Nakajima Ki-84, and 3.7:1 against the Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war.[40]
The F6F became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory,
with 305 Hellcat aces. The U.S. successes were not only attributed to
superior aircraft, but also from 1942 onwards, they faced increasingly
inexperienced Japanese aviators as well as having the advantage of
increasing numerical superiority.

Now how many P-38 aces are there in the PTO?
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[Black Aeronaut]

Would have been a lot more if they could have landed on the carriers. If I recall correctly, the Japanese feared the P-38 more than any other fighter plane, giving it the title 'Two-Tailed Devil'.

Another interesting thing about the '38 is its use of turbochargers which made the aircraft unusually quiet. Good for sneaking up on a ground target.

[ordnance11]

Well, this in interesting..you can shoot down a fighter with a rocket salvo. Finally got to level 8 and bought a P-47. Decided to arm the beast with HVAP rockets as a secondary armament against ground targets. I wondered if it would also work air-to air. Well, someone piloting a Spitfire Mk IX decided to go head-to-head with me. The moment our range went to 1000 meters, I opened up with the 8 Ma Duce's..and 8 rockets. One or 2 of them must have connected because he blew into a fireball! The beast got FO'd and that set me up as an easy kill for someone else, but I was cakling so hard, I didn't mind.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell