Comments by "Solo Renegade" (@SoloRenegade) on "The Twin 40mm Mustang; AM106" video.

the Allison engine is very good down low, people never acknowledge that. especially given that so few aircraft were designed for high altitude long range escort, and very few aircraft ever fit the bill in all of WW2 to do long range high altitude escort.
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the Allison engine was producing 1700hp down low, and up to 2200hp by war's end. "Also worth noting that later mustangs were not as fast down in the weeds." becasue the allison engine is superior down low. Did you know the P-40 was faster than the P-47 at low altitudes? And the P-38 proved that with a proper induction system, the Allsion was even superior to the Merlin at altitude as well. The Allisons of the P-38 easily produced more horsepower at altitude than a Merlin. Greg even did a video about this.
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@VenlyssPnorr you forgot to mention they flew P-51s from March of 1944 until September of 1945. only receiving the P-47 after the war was already over in September of 1945. And they flew P-51A, then P-51B, then got P-51Ds in January 1945. In September 1945 they received old P-47D that were already being replaced by newer P-47N models, which had saw limited service in the Pacific before the war's end. This was likely the result of sending the newer and better P-51D models back home and replacing them with older P-47D they didn't care to keep as part of the draw down. The USAF and ANG completely consolidated onto the P-51D/H at the end of WW2 until the jets came long.
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1:23 the P-51 started off in the EXACT role it was designed for......replacing the P-40
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P-51J, P-38K, and many more also have rather disappointingly little data on them.
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@jimdavis8391 the purpose of the P-51 was to replace the P-40 in the ground attack role.....and it did very well in that role. Many Allison powered Mustangs flown in the ground attack role, their pilots preferred them over the P-47 for ground attack even.
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it didn't change. go to an airshow and see late model mustangs in action. when the engine fires up and the pumps come on, the doors close.
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@danpatterson8009 people like action shots. Some photographs are actually stills from a motion camera even. People take pictures and video of planes taking off, landing, on mission, etc. Google "P-51 Parked" and you'll get a variety of images of mustangs with gear doors open and closed. Some are freshly parked. And others, after a fresh rebuild, might hold pressure for longer with tight seals and such. Takes longer for the pressure to bleed out.
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@martijn9568 "Only some variants of the Allison engine produced 1700hp, and none were put in the P-40, the P-39 or the P-51 for that matter." not true. engines capable of 2200hp were in late model P-40s. After the war engines modified for racing reached 3300hp. Curious thing how engine stats are reported. they pick a single value, usually much derated, and then ignore the max horsepower possible. Greg has done a video on this as well, so it's not just me saying it.
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@IncogNito-gg6uh Commanders and Generals begged to get more P-38s. The real issue with the P-38 was its cost, and consumption of resources. For 2x the money and engines (not to mention the extra maintenance), you got half as many fighters. in a war of logistics this wasn't going to continue, especially once better single engine fighters were plentiful. More likely the P-38s started to get neglected and run short of parts as they were phased out, and that's why you saw increasing issues as planes wore out from use and lack of support.
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@IncogNito-gg6uh the Allison was tough and reliable. In fact, many restored or replica WW2 fighters today fly on Allisons (Yaks, FW190...). the issue was it's carburetor. it never received the attention it needed. Allison got shafted by the US gov during WW2. They never got the funding they needed to develop induction systems, and I don't understand why. The engine was lighter and more powerful than the RR Merlin. It just need a better carburetor first off, then a proper forced induction solution. the P-38 had a cold cockpit issue for sure though. I think part of the problem is that most pilots have a strong tendency to try to maneuver fight. the P-38 was not a maneuver fighter. it was a dive in fast, shoot, climb away, turn around and try again. Boom and Zoom. but this requires both patience and discipline. Low skill pilots always resort to turning when they get flustered or scared. and that just wasn't the right thing to do.
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@IncogNito-gg6uh But the US gov never invested in developing a 2 stage supercharger for the Allison. And the US gov aborted development of the turbocharger that was supposed to go into the P-39 and other aircraft. Some of this was the result of RR lobbying. Rolls Royce successfully pulled strings to interfere with and even destroy engine manufacturers in the US and UK. Many engines with potential were sabotaged by RR political influence. Allison even had excess manufacturing capacity available, when other engine manufacturers were swapped, and the US gov never utilized that.
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The P-51 was never originally designed for high altitude long range escort duty, it was designed to replace the P-40 in low level ground attack and fighter roles. And in that role, the Allison mustangs are superior to the Merlin Mustangs. It was later adapted for high altitude roles. But note, the P-40 was also equipped with the Merlin engine, and it did Not dramatically change the P-40's performance. And the P-38 with Allisons was superior to a P-38 with Merlins, as the P-38's Allisons outperformed the Merlin at high altitude. Keep in mind the Allison was a higher HP engine, and lighter, than the Merlin. It just needed a proper forced induction system. Just look what it took to turn the P-47 in to a high altitude fighter by comparison....look at that monster forced induction system....
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If you study North American close enough, they were building up the knowledge and experience to design something like the P-51. they clearly had a good work culture, and were truly innovative and creative people. Their boast was justified. And the Allison powered Mustangs were far superior to the P-40, just look at the A-36 for example.
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@Cancer McAids absolutely. the P-51 also benefited from lots of aerodynamic testing and ideas from North American themselves in those years, as well as benefiting from the many now famous NACA reports that were published after the P-40, P-38, and others were developed.
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