British++ Lightnings and Mustangs

[jcf]

You're definitely onto something. Considering the Mustang also began life with Allison power egg, one can only wonder if the Lightning could have been equipped with the same even in real life? Simple mechanical supercharger instead of the complex and expensive turbocharger, maybe that would have made Lightning more viable economically and operationally (to be manufactured in greater numbers, adopted earlier, staying in service later, supplied to other Allies)?

There was no Allison power-egg, every installation was different. The Brits and Germans used
the power-egg concept, the US did not.

A single stage mechanical supercharger was a standard  feature of the Allison V-1710, the only variant
that didn't have it was the airship powerplant version. 

Turbo-superchargers are no more complex than any other centrifugal supercharger, in many ways
they're simpler as, in the majority of cases - turbocomponds being the exception, there is no
mechanical connection between the turbo and the engine. No drive system, thus no gearing issues,
quill shaft failures, no engine hp being absorbed to drive the supercharger, etc.

[Tophe]

Ahem, I know that here you are damned what-ifers, stupid dreamers, so let a True Historian like me tell you The Very Truth, undoubtedly!:
The RAF, ordering the Lightning Mk.1 refused the turbocharger, arguing it is providing "not enough" bonus in performance, so was designed for them the P-38 with Very Super Charger, for a true boost at high altitude:

[jcf]

 

[Tophe]

Thanks!
And the P-51UJ should have been bought by the RAF, with its wing like "normal/swept/forward-swept" (NSFS?), but no order came, surprisingly:

[ericr]

 

[Dizzyfugu]

LOL!