Whifs found on deviantART

[PR19_Kit]

Wouldn't he just! That's brill. 

[ericr]

Tophe would enjoy what AI comes up with

            

[jcf]

Perhaps it doesn't have any?  Performance would suffer but they are not compulsory.

The two the RAF had did without them, but were deemed 'unsuitable' as I recall.

But maybe they were the entire turbos that were missing, I'm not 100% sure?

The three ex-Armée de l'Air P-38 lightnings received by the RAF were normally aspirated Allison C-series V-1710-33 engines (without turbochargers), and right-hand propeller rotation (not counter).

Besides, the British had the Mosquito which was more than adequate for what they needed.

They weren't ex-French, they were Model 322-61-04 (322-B) and had been ordered for the RAF without turbosupercharged and handed engines. The Anglo-French Purchasing Committee had chosen the Allison V-1710-C15 engines for logistical reasons, it was the same engine used in the Curtiss Hawk 81A aircraft they had on order and the performance at medium altitudes was considered sufficient. Another issue was the availability of the turbosuperchargers as GE was still in the  process of ramping up production and the RAF and Armée de l'Air didn't want to wait.

The French Model 322-61-03 (322-F) were to be manufactured with French equipment and controls but none were built. The order for 667 aircraft was placed in April 1940, after the Fall of France in June 1940 the British took over the entire order but changed it in July of 1941 after it became clear that better performance at higher altitude was required. The first 154 were to be delivered as ordered as the Lightning I with the V-1710-C15 engine, the remaining 523 aircraft as Model 322-60-04 Lightning II with turbosupercharged V-1710-F5L and V-1710-F5R handed engines. The three Lightning I that were delivered were exactly what the RAF had ordered and met the performance requirements agreed to in the contract. That they didn't meet the RAF's new requirements based on experience gained in the interval between order and delivery was not the fault of Lockheed or the aircraft, contrary to the beloved British myth that it was a crap aircraft.

The other hoary myth is that the US wouldn't let them order turbosupercharged engines due to nebulous reasons of secrecy is also incorrect, during the original negotiations Lockheed had recommended that they order the turbosupercharged and handed engines because the V-1710-C15 was going to hamper the performance of the aircraft at altitude. Inside Lockheed the aircraft as ordered was referred to as the "castrated Lightning".

[zenrat]

Sounds about right.
Ignore the suppliers recommendations and then blame them when it turns out they were right.