Turbo vs Supercharging in WW2 Airplanes 

Fun fact: That big building in the foreground of the aerial photograph of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? It's the Allison aircraft engine factory -- it's literally just across 16th street.

‘I may do a video on the Thunderbolt’. Nice foreshadowing and understatement.

It is becoming more and more clear to me that the Thunderbolt was one hell of a fighter - -thanks for this post.

I’m an old manual machinist, would have been awesome to make the prototypes of these turbochargers from prints to help help win the war. The technology from the 20s to the present is unbelievable on the aviation front. Thanks for the video.

I count myself so lucky to have stumbled across your channel. I am learning so much that it is actually rather exciting. Huge thanks.

The P-39 is just awesome. I am always amazed that I never heard of one for the first 40-odd years of my life, despite a resounding interest in aircraft.

Gotta love The Juggernaut. It was a battle axe in the company of rapiers such as the Spitfire, Mustang, ME-109, A6M Zero. It could absorb amazing punishment and still get a pilot safely home. Not to mention the enormous punishment it could deliver with 8 Browning M-2 "Ma Deuce" .50 cals. Thanks for another great presentation. These lectures are not only very informative, they're always a pleasure to watch.

I want to thank you for the documentation you provided. I am a retired Army senior officer the saying that you either continue to learn or fade into oblivion. Your research is the best. Thanks

You have a gift sir. Easily understood even with a rudimentary background in engines. The time it must take you to put one of these videos together so eloquently is only superseded by the quality of the end product I'm sure. Thank you for caring immensely about what you consider a helpful and informative video for the rest of us!

You’ve taught me I know nothing.

As a young man working as a heavy equipment mechanic, I worked on some big ore haulers that were powered by big v16 diesel engines. They were turbo charged, intercooled and supercharged. Four exhaust driven turbo chargers pushed air into an intercooler and then the cooled air went through the belt driven supercharger which rammed the air into the cylinders. Those engines were rated at about 2200 horsies.

Hi Greg, As an avid aviation enthusiast as well as a driven gearhead, these videos of yours are absolutely fantastic. Thank you for the effort you put into them and keep them coming.

Rolls Royce with both Merlin and Griffon stuck with a two stage supercharger because their iterative design methods created a system which worked extremely well. Their blower was so good they used it on the Nene turbo jet used in many early jets.

I know I’m watching this 5 years late but I thought I’d just point out the auto brand I work for has been using electric supercharging successfully for a few years now. However, only within certain limitations. It’s on their highest performing cars and only acts as a super charger in high load low speed applications where the relatively large turbo isn’t doing much. In such an application, the electric supercharger will spin up within .5 seconds to max boost of 7 pounds for a max of 5 seconds. By this time the transmission has downshifted, the engine has spun up, and the big turbo is moving some serious air. At this point the electric supercharger is no longer needed and shuts down. This runs on a “48v” power system and actually works quite well. Unfortunately the reliability of the first gen 48v system was pretty bad for the first several years until the horrendous software and hardware issues were worked out. Fortunately the 2nd gen 48v system was much better and most of the electric superchargers were on the 2nd gen system. They just released an even newer system that deletes the electric supercharger altogether and moved to an electrified turbo charger. This means in low speed high load applications there’s a still 48v electric bolted to the turbo which can spin the turbo to high boost speeds even though the engine isn’t yet moving enough air. It works about as seamlessly as the electric supercharger, so it’s quite good. They claim that it can also function as an energy recovery system to recharge the 48v battery in certain applications. Love your technical videos, keep up the great work Greg!

My Dad 2-15-1921 to 3-7-2019 spent most of his time in WWII as a C47 Hump Pilot, often mentioned B17s, B29s, P38s, "Zeros" vs P47s, F2G-1 "Super" Corsair, German Tanks, Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4. He was glade the Germans ran outta Gas and of course We watched Baa Baa Black Sheep a lot on what was then called TV. P47 is our favorite too :) ...Thank you for this!

All love to the Jug. Indeed an aircraft made for warfare not for showrooms and posters.

Turbosuperchaging... how nice to hear what something is REALLY called

Stunningly informative as always. I have learned new things from this video, the details regarding Turbo's advantages over Superchargers is very illuminating in particular. As well as the pre-war swing back to Inline engines, I always thought aerodynamics were the primary culprit (although probably partial). I look forward to the next Aeroplane video.

Just the perfect level of detail - and hardly any stupid ads - thankyou

Wow Greg, thank you so much for this educational video! I've been wondering for years now what people like my grandfather and father was talking all about around the dinner table at night! Growing up, all I ever heard was the wonderful 2 and 3 stage superchargers of the old piston plane kicking ass in WWII. Then there was the confusion of turbochargers mixed together with superchargers all working on different levels of altitude from ground level to dog fights! I say this about cars from the 1920-30s you had to be an engineer just to go for a drive in those old things! It's amazing the amount of technology gains between the 30s into the 40s though. Shit they even have a primitive auto pilot system in the B-17s which was absolutely unheard of for those days. I understand now the importance of the explosives kept on board some aircraft to prevent them from falling into enemy hands intact. Especially parts like the Nordon bomb sight, with the description in the hand book of how to destroy it with your .45 cal side arm. But really I thank you so very much for doing this video! It maybe a little dry for some to endure, but I found it very very fascinating. I can't wait to go through your other videos, we need this history preserved being the Greatest Generation is now all but dying off and with them the loss of so much knowledge of these aircraft and engines!

The best in depth WWII aircraft channel! The fact that you like performance automobiles is just gravy. I think that’s how a lot of us got into one or the other because of so much of automobile performance is just trickle down aircraft tech anyway. Great channel!

Jesus, Greg, this is amazing work you've put up. I salute you, sir!

I am often at a complete loss for words when it comes to the rapid advancement in performance technology in such a short period of time..just amazing!

Hey, Greg! Just wanted to tell you how much I love your videos... thanks for all your efforts.

I loved your analysis of forced induction aero engines. My Dad was a pre and post WW11 aero engineer and I was an Airforce pilot flying Supercharged radials. For the first time with your video I have found a realistic analysis of aircraft without emotion (apart from the usual aviator enthusiasm) and without pushing a particular POV.Many thanks.You, as a Yank, have an american view but that is fine. I will look for your video on the P51 (esp the Packard Merlin version). Aerodynamics (innovations) in my opinion also have a great role in aeroplane design. I note that the Spitfire wing, being so thin had by accident a very high mach number although a very expensive 'plane to make compared with the Hurricane. Still, I am only an ex pilot, not an engineer but I respect engineers. I also comment that the carbed Spit had limited inverted (negative g) performance compared with the injected 109s. (having flown a carbed ww11 aeroplane I can attest to the limited negative G issue, not that negative g is pleasant having done one neg G loop)

Der Unterschied zwischen den beiden Formen der Anlage wird von diesem ausgezeichneten Video völlig und verständlich erklärt. Echt super!

Great channel. Thank you. There are several hybrid electric/exhaust turbine driven turbochargers under development by major manufacturers including BMW. Benefits include reducing turbo lag by driving the compressor stage electrically to compensate.

You had me liking this video the moment you said "turbo-supercharger." It still amazes me how many don't understand that the term "supercharge" means what it says: to increase the charge in the cylinder beyond what could normally be attained. Everything else references the means of powering the compressor, whether it be a turbo/turbine, toothed belt, gear drive, direct drive, etc. - even if they aren't always stated in vernacular usage. (And yep, that means electric turbochargers can't exist - it's just an electric motor that could theoretically be attached to any style of supercharger, whether it be Rootes, centrifugal, etc.) Great video. Love the details for all us enginerds. :-)

The turbo developers would be proud to see today’s automobiles! Sweet running and powerful little motors

The jugs are always a favorite of mine, a clear example of how you can afford to have less than ideal aerodynamics if you have a monstrous engine.

Wow! I built all these aircraft as models as a kid in the '70's. I went on to maintain Tomcats and Hornets in the Navy. But I never really considered them from a performance perspective. All I cared about was ease of maintenance or cool factor. Very informative. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

Having just watched #7 Firepower and still in lock down this seems like a good day to rewatch the entire playlist. Good job on discussing numerous design tradeoff aspects. Even if not building a plane the way designs trade getting this but losing that is just as relevant today.

Your channel remains outstanding, Greg. I thoroughly enjoyed this longer format presentation. Yours is the most satiating channel I've discovered this year, your content bears a certain fullness. It's nice to know that all of the older folk with an appreciation for hand drawn diagrams, thick charts, and ancient technical studies haven't yet bit it, especially in light of the superficial engineering channel trend. Will you consider exploring further your curiosities for the logical evolution of the turbocharger; deleting the piston nonsense entirely and locating the combustion chamber between the compressor and turbine? I spent the formative years of my early career with the J79 and Allison 250, both items I'd love to see technical documents for again.

Youre an engine god

The diesel engine in the Junkers 86 was also a two stroke in an inline configuration with opposing pistons and two crankshafts, a concept rarely used but still being refined and used today in specific applications often military. The plane was also used as a high altitude bomber until the allies adapted fighters for high altitude to be able to attack them.

These are great videos, thank you. I’ve always wondered about just this issue. If my vote counts, I’d love to see a P-47 video.

Excellent video! You covered a lot of information and evolution of turbochargers and superchargers without getting deeply mired down too in specifics. Keep up the efforts and I'm glad I found your channel!

Finally a clear explanation of this supercharging thing, thanks.

I still.don't believe that videos like that exist Very sharp knowledge

For a future video could you discuss the armaments of fighters. Why the British stuck to .30 then jumped to 20 mm canon while the US stayed with .50 during the war and even in the F-86. I am learning a lot from you.

Love the technical details I never heard anywhere else. And you have a cool name.

This is one of the most informative videos I've ever seen posted.

I was looking for this sort of information for a long long time.. Thank you very much for your effort.

Great detail on an interesting topic. The turbo's advantage of not linking the vane's speed to the engine's crankshaft speed, is primarily realized because the vane speed is essentially governed by the back-pressure of the air it has compressed. So, if the ambient air pressure is low, the vanes spin at a faster speed until sufficient back-pressure imposes its limit.

Yes! I saw the thumbnail and went nuts 👌

I always wondered why the Jug was so damn big! Now I know ~The Radial Fighter that went farther, rocked a Turbo Charger~ What a plane :)

Keep it coming Greg. Analog technology is very neat - you can even understand it. And hats off to the people that created better planes and cars through say 1960. I wouldn't dismiss the great improvements in efficiency and safety in the last sixty years (and certainly not the power of "smart weapons") - but in a functional sense, how much better is a Boeing Dreamliner than a 707? The 707 flew nearly 60 years ago - sixty years before the 707 there weren't airplanes. Think about something like the Ford Cobra or the mid-60s Ferraris - how much neater is a modern super car? How much more practical is a 2018 Civic over a 1963 Dodge Dart? I spend the summer in St. Paul. Every June there's a "Back to the 50s" festival where auto enthusiasts bring their cherry stock or elaborately modified rides from the 50s & 60s. (Some MGAs and Austin Healys show up too - my old honeys.) Guys of my generation (and even a lot of the gals that were touched by the car culture) can spend an hour or two identifying year and make. (I've got Chevys down pat: some of the mid-50s Fords fool me.) Can you imagine that happening two generations from now? "Look grandpa - a 2014 Civic!"

Another excellent video! I had not realized that the Corsair and the Jug shared basic engines, with different ways to boost them. That made for a great comparison of boosting types. Thanks again, and keep the videos coming!!

And so ended Cutiss attempts to build a turbocharged fighter. Love the picture by the way. Very subtle, I even got that one.

Looking forward to that hour hour long video on the P-38 and P-47. :)

One of the best deep dives I've run across!! Excellent data driven presentation!

The Brits had the superchargers removed from their P-38s, which I always thought was somewhat stupid, but maybe you've supplied an answer as to why. However, I think the real answer is that it really was pretty stupid and indicative of British arms procurement. The P-51 and some Spits used the Meredith effect through their radiators, which as far as I'm aware was never successfully applied to a radial engine, although attempted. Nothing to do with supercharging, but I'd thought I'd throw that in as an example of how attempts to use physics to best advantage, were made.

You have some great videos. It's amazing that something so common in the German engineering of superchargers isn't documented, specifically, the 89 degree off set of superchargers,

What an amazing channel. So much information. Subbed,

Great topic Greg! I've always wondered about the difference between these two. There's a wonderful article back in the now defunct "Wings" magazine, from around the year 2000 titled "The Art of Supercharging" that is very good too.

Favorite channel! Keep going!

Recently discovered this channel and really enjoy/appreciate all the information taught here. I'm busy going back and catching up

You provide some of the best esoteric aircraft info on the internet

Great info here. You sir did a lot of research for these videos. I just happened to stumble across your channel and now I’m hooked!

It would be great if you would do a video about the Jumo 205 or diesel aircraft engines in general. Btw nice video, keep it up :D.

True Confession: I have been a WWII warbird fanatic since the late 1950s. It occurred to me, in 2020, that there is less oxygen at high altitude so how do the airplanes compensate? and I asked Greg who, I imagine, in the middle of a turbosupercharging video saw my question, rolled his eyes and said the obvious, without sarcasm. Learning!

Greg, Could you shed some light on the both the Ventura and Hudson medium bombers of WW2? They look like an American B25 or similar so I think they were renamed American planes. They were apparently very effective in the right conditions but still could not outpace German fighters. Devastating low level rockets and small arms attacks were among their strong suits it seems but you don't hear much about them. Great site!

Recent add to your channel, appreciate the in-depth assessments. Can't wait till you give the -38 the same treatment you gave -47. Thanks for the effort!

For those that are really into supercharging and turbocharging, I highly recommend the books "Supercharged! Design Testing and Installation of Supercharger Systems" and "Maximum Boost Designing Testing and Installing Turbocharger Systems" - both by Corky Bell. These are geared toward cars but also do a great job of explaining the concepts of how these systems work. I spent a lot of years in the modified GM 3800 community, mostly with supercharged (or turbocharged) versions of the L67 and L32. Fun "engineering" sidebar, I was the first to come up with the idea to drill into the lower part of the side of supercharger to run a line over to the valve cover, maintaining positive crankcase ventilation with an intercooler installed. Prior to that (and even now) most people just ran valve cover breathers, which is less than ideal. Also Eaton's TVS line of roots superchargers are very impressive with efficiency - but the drawbacks on aviation applications you mention would still clearly apply.

Great video, just great bro love it from start to end. Cant wheit for new one 👍✌️🤘

Very informative! I've always known the differences between turbos vs supercharging in cars and even some aviation, but You break it down and answer the "whys" and "hows" from a technical standpoint and give many examples which explaines it all to me. In autos, though supercharging, the power is instantaneous whereas turbos have that lag in boost initially. The supercharges lose (they say) approximately 50% of its power because the crankshaft (gear or pulley) that drive the supercharges, so for cars, the application dictates their usage. With a supercharger, you can under drive, drive or overdrive them through gearing whereas a turbo just runs off the exhaust gas speed. A waste gate typically divert extra gases out of the compressor to prevent overcharging. That's just my take on these two marvels of engineering.

One of the only channels I can watch a long vid with out clicking off

Excellent vid. Info I've never come across, and I appreciate you exposing, sharing and exploring all of it. Since the 47 is my favorite, I can't wait to view your next production. Thanks!

Another great video!

Thanks Greg, thoroughly enjoyed all of your videos thus far. Please post more. I am and have been for some time a great fan of the P47, a truly unsung hero of WW2 !!

Nice picture of the Curtiss P-6 Hawk, a beautiful craft. A deep-dive into it would be pretty amazing.

Rolls Royce somehow managed to create a very efficient supercharger. Probably a lot of trial and error but they had some excellent engineers who were allowed to play around. The Merlin 61 two stage blower was that good it made it into the early turbo jets.

Love radial engines and thank you for your P-47 series my favorite WW II fighter.

Nice work, Greg. I’ll be rewatching this one several times to bake it all in.

This really hit home for me. Your explanation was very interesting and informative. Keep up the great work

I read today that the P38 had both turbochargers AND superchargers, I was never aware they had both. I came to watch this video to see if I could find further information on this issue and would really appreciate confirmation on this fact. Great videos BTW...

That poem at the end is awesome!

Brilliant Greg ! Well researched and presented. Makes me want my SAAB 900 Turbo back lol

This channel is awesome. P-47 is biggest and best. Now I have the info to argue with people on the internet. I think I found my first patreon.

Something to consider, the exhaust of a turbo is depleted of pressure. The supercharged engine exhaust has spare pressure and if directed to the rear provides significant thrust. At higher speed this is equivalent to a substantial amount of engine power. Look up "Lovesey Merlin" for the details as to why the Merlin wasn't turbocharged.

Love your channel, your research is very extensive and thorough. You must do a lot of time consuming searching for documents etc.

Turbo supercharger developments eased the development of the turbojet.

Electric driven turbo-compressors are used to pressurize the cabin of the Boeing 787, unfortunately scaling down the massive generator and amp load for GA aircraft or automotive applications is still in the future.

Great explanation! I can't wait for your P-47 video.

Thanks for some good videos, Greg. One thing I would add, though: supercharging, though less efficient due to pumping losses and blower drive drag losses, did allow some energy recovery from exhaust gas thrust. I do not think think it was a large contribution, but it was measurable.

As a Thermodynamics/Mechanical Engineer, I have always saw the pure luxury of the radials as the durable ground strike tool. The radials being air-cooled could be shot up & keep on fighting/getting the pilot back to a friendly base. I recently read Robert Johnson's description of being shot to pieces in a thunderbolt while still an FNG & trying to bailout but his canopy had no glass left but was frozen in the closed position. He could not get out with his parachute on thru the metal canopy frame which his early model P-47 had. So he just point the plane W & prayed he would at least get to the channel. An ME-109 come up while he was over on Belgium/Holland, flew at his wing a little while then went back & shot the 47 up with .30 cal mg. He then come up several times, indicated his shock @ the 47 still flying & shot it up some more. Robert later concluded that the 109 was winchester on 20mm cannon & only had the .30 cal mg left. The 109 kept shooting him up till they were ~1/2 way over the channel & left since 109 was going to get jumped by England Air cover. He finally got to a RAF base & made a perfect landing Then he climb the metal opening in canopy & passed out. He had three mg bullets in his legs & multiple shrapnel wounds. For the only time, he had forget his googles since they were broken & the new pair was not in proper kit. Therefore his eyes were in terrible shape from leaking hydraulic fluid & >200 mph wind stream. I believe he ended up #2 in ETO kills just behind Gabby who had 26 ¹/². Gabby was supposed to be getting on a boat for the states & he got impatient so he went back to his squadron. Being he commanded the squadron, he signed out a different P-47 with the new wide/longer paddle props. He went on a one man "rodeo" as they called it trolling for Abbeville(sp) FW-190 yellow nose boys to come up & play. Nobody came up so he went down & strafed an airfield but he broke the cardinal rule. "Don't make a 2nd pass". In the 2nd pass the flak was thick & he tried to get lower for 2 reasons. He was trying to flame up a 111 bomber plus get under the tower flak traverse angle but he hit the longer props therefore vibrating his plane to pieces. He crashed @ end of runway & ended up in a Luftwaffe POW camp as the allied commander. I believe he was LtCol or Col therefore was highest ranking allied prisoner. All these words with my main point being the liquid cooled engines could take a hit in coolant system & the plane is history in short order.

Ya should've read the poem. Good stuff my man

Great video! It really helps explain the comparative advantage between different aircraft and the aircraft different nations. Thank you.

I only recently encountered your outstanding series. Your in-depth and detailed data take-always are fascinating. I am a military history degree candidate with an automotive racing background, heavily experienced with Porsche turbo cars. That said, auto and aviation turbo tech are apples and oranges. Within this, to paraphrase the late Smokey Unick: "The physics don't change. Just find another way to skin the cat". I believe more could be explored with regard to the uses of water-alcohol injection as well as nitrous- oxide (an installment maybe?). I am in the midst of a turbo project that will explore the outer limits of water-alcohol injection using WW2 data. Racers have hardly skimmed the surface... Again your series has been eye opener. Thank you!

The jug was a min-max fighter designed only with boom and zoom tactics. It cant dogfight in a turning battle, but anything that is in it's sight will be destroyed.

Well that wuz frog frik,'n great! Thanks Greg!

Superb commentary, thank you. I'm learning so much.

the b17 and b 24 led to the b29. that program cost 4 billion $ in 1940s money.the atomic bomb project cost 1 billion and produced 2 different systems . a uranium device and a plutonium device .. both were useless without a delivery system. the b29. but most miss the point . the us of the 1940s didnt make a atomic bomb. it made two

Thanks for explaining that supercharging is both turbo and blower types, I've tried to explain that to people over the years only to have them argue about it, seems over the years the car mindset has kinda high jacked the "super" charging term for blowers and don't want to include turbo's as part of it, I read once that when Pratt&Whitney wanted to test a General Electric turbosupercharger on an engine they couldn't find a plane that was aerodynamically capable of flying high enough to test it so they drug one to the top of Pikes Peak for the test, the first high altitude test I suppose, and it got there by horse!!! You mentioned the Indianapolis speedway, there was another track in those days in my hometown in Pennsylvania that was the main rival of Indianapolis, it was a board track that was built by the owner of the newly formed Universal Studio's in Hollywood, it was a very prestigious race, the first championship race won there was won by no other than Louis Chevrolet himself, rich people and royalty used to attend the races there, sometime around 1919 a car (they used to race motorcycles there to) got away from someone and got into the stands resulting in the deadliest race accident in this country for some years, after the accident the track was closed and the racing crowd pretty much went to Indianapolis after that, try Googling Uniontown Speedway, I think Wikipedia has a page on it, I grew up about a mile from where it was, turned into a golf ball driving range by the time I grew up in the 70's, the truly ironic thing is before he built the track there he used to have a hill climb race, a half mile further up the road is the base of Mt Summit (a 3 mile assent that averages about 7%), every year for a few years he had races from the bottom to the top of the mountain, but I guess the county fathers said it was unsafe and forbid it after the last year they had it, then he built the track up the road, so it was almost the Uniontown hill climb (as opposed to Pikes Peak), then it was almost the Uniontown 500 (as opposed to the Indianapolis 500), man talk about bad luck.

Interesting stuff, i never really considered the problems of putting turbo's on planes, although I had heard that the Germans were short of metals to make high temperature alloys which was probably why they didn't develop turbo's further and that turbo charging has some advantage at high altitude because the exhaust wants to come out faster in lower pressure.

Great video. Excellent work on addressing the differences between mechanically driven superchargers and exhaust-driven turbosuperchargers. It would be great to see a follow-up video discussing how the German solution of driving a centrifugal compressor hydraulically compares to the mechanical and exhaust-driven compressors. As far as I understand, the hydraulic coupling allowed the compressor RPM to be infinitely variable (up to critical altitude), but the hydraulic power transmission was a bit less efficient than a direct gear drive? Would be interesting to see some numbers on exactly what were the advantages and disadvantages of each system. Speaking of Germans, they certainly tried to produce turbocharged fighters. To my knowledge, none of these attempts resulted in any kind of production beyond prototypes numbered on the fingers of one hand. The Focke-Wulf company tried to build high altitude variants of their Fw 190 fighter. The Fw 190 B was an attempt to turbocharge the original BMW 801 engine, while the Fw 190 C was supposed to use a turbocharged version of the Daimler-Benz DB 603 engine. Additionally, there was the Blohm & Voss Bv 155, a high altitude interceptor which was also supposed to use the DB 603 engine with a turbocharger. The Fw 190 B mostly had similar difficulties with the turbocharger installation as the Curtiss P-37 and the Bell P-39 attempts did, and they basically gave up on the concept after two prototypes. Instead continued developing the Fw 190 A-series by improving the supercharged BMW 801 engine's performance. The work on the Fw 190 C-model was more promising, with a total of 9 prototypes built according to Wikipedia's article on Fw 190 variants. I would guess that project got into difficulties because the DB 603 engines were limited and mostly reserved for other aircraft, such as the Do 217 and the Me 410. However, the modifications required for putting an in-line engine into the Fw 190 airframe were probably integral to the development of the very famous Fw 190 D model with the Jumo 213 engine, and the later Ta 152. The Bv 155 was originally (yet another) Messerschmitt project to create a replacement for the Bf 109, in this case it would have been the Me 409 (after the failures of the 1942 Me 309 design and the 1943 Me 209), it was then re-designated as Me 155. When it became obvious to RLM that Messerschmitt had too much work, they transferred the Me 155 project to Blohm & Voss, who basically nuked the whole concept with the exception of using the turbocharged DB 603A engine. Three prototypes were built, but the war ended while they were still under testing and development.

*Nothing beats the sound of a supercharger winding up....added one to my Toyota truck....she's a sleeeeper that makes the full-sized guys cryy when they can't keep upp*

27:30 into this video, I can't wait to see an entire series on the P-38 like you have done on the P-47! Performance of the P-38K, too! PS, the state of Wisconsin hates disabled vets and is going to make me wait FIVE YEARS before they grant me the "Disabled Veterans Property Tax Exemption"!!! Five years! I never would have bought this house if I'd known that!

Nice poem at the end

Excellent video sir!!! I've always thought of superchargers, (blowers) as car/truck engine components. And turbos as being on a/c engines. The navy needed a relatively cheap a/c for fleet defence, and the airforce needed to defend from the high flying bombers. Makes since after seeing your video, and you explain very well why they went the way they did :-) Thank you for digging in the weeds for us!!! And we may still yet see some of these technologies make a return to military aviation, all forces are looking for a (relatively) cheap replacement for the A-10 (low and slow troop defence a/c), we might still see a turbo radial or V-12 in a war hopefully NOT near you...