McDonnell P-38a Goshawk

A blueprint of the McDonnell P-38 Goshawk

Name - McDonnell P-38a Goshawk
Class - Fighter (Tractor)
Manufacturer - McDonnell Aircraft Corporation - St. Louis, Missouri, Dixie
Engine - (2) Wright R-13505 736 h.p. each
Loaded Weight - 8,250 lbs.
Service Ceiling - 18,050 ft.
Range - 600 miles
Max. Speed - 254 mph
Max. Accel. - 65.6 feet/second
Max. Decel. - 63.9 feet/second

Wing Span - 48 ft.
Length - 32 ft. 10 in.
Height - 12 ft. 10 in.

Weapons:
    (1) Bruin Armaments 'Goliath' 70-caliber Cannon
    (2) Sperry-Browning 'Hurricane' 50-caliber Cannons
    (4) Sperry-Browning 'Zephyr' 30-caliber Machine Guns

Design History:
     The Goshawk originated from the need of a fighter that could match the Empire States Grumman Avenger and the Texan Peacemaker.  Most Dixie units are either equipped with light fighter such as the Valiant or Fury or they are equipped with heavy fighter-bombers like the Kestrel. Squadrons located near the borders of Texas and the ES were frequently either out gunned or out flew. A fighter that could bridge the gap between the light fighter and the heavy fighter was desperately needed.
    The answer came in the McDonnell P-38 Goshawk. The Goshawk is a Tri-hulled aircraft, with the port and starboard hulls containing it's twin engines and tail booms while the inner pod contains most of the weaponry and the cockpit.  The Goshawk has more acceleration and firepower and can match the Gs pulled by the Avenger, which it was built to combat.  The Goshawk carries an impressive load of firepower, with twin Sperry-Browning 'Hurricane' 50-caliber Cannons mounted in the center fuselage and four Sperry-Browning 'Zephyr' 30-caliber machine guns, two too each wing, and to top it all off the Goshawk carries a Bruin Armaments 'Goliath' 70-caliber Cannon.  The 'Goliath' is the same type used in the J2 Fury and was on stock at McDonnell from it's days as part of Curtiss-Wright, so as the stock dwindles the 'Goliath' cannon might be replaced by a more easily acquired gun.

Role:
    The Goshawk's main role is to bridge the gap in Dixie between there light fighters and that of there fighter-bombers.  In this role they have done perfectly, bring more firepower to the game than a Fury or Valiant but also have the speed and maneuverability that the fighter-bomber does not have.  The Goshawk has also been used limitedly as a bomber, and in this the craft largely failed.  Although it did perform better than a light fighter would have, it did not have the armor or bombardier that most dedicated fighter-bombers have therefore handicapping it.

Deployment:
    The Goshawk was made to combat the Empire States Grumman Avenger and to the lesser extent the Texan Peacemaker.  For this reason the largest number of Goshawks are found along the northern boards of the Outer Banks and also along the coast.  A lesser amount is located along the Texan boarder and has so far proved successful in it's role.  They are also found in numbers with some of Dixie's National air corp., so they might turn up just about anywhere, from ship-hunting off Florida to Pirate Hunging along the Hell's Heights.
    A few P-38s have started to show up in the hands of some of the pirate bands that ravage the eastern seaboard.  Most notably is a small squadron belonging to the Hell's Henchmen.  In a recent engagement with the Henchmen, they surprised a local Dixie unit by using the Goshawks as if they were one of the local squadrons coming back from patrol.

Variants:
    The most common variant of the Goshawk involves the removal of about 180 lbs. of armor, the small cargo bay and all four 'Zephyr' 30-cal machine guns and replacing them with a pair of Sperry-Browning 'Hurricane' 50-caliber Cannons.  This new configuration gives the Goshawk more close in firepower that some pilots rely on.
    In game terms this involves removal of all 30-cal guns and 60 points of armor (Bringing the nose down to 40, port and starboard trailing to 30, and the tail to 20)

Pilots and Campaigns:
    The most famous unit to use the Goshawk in battle has to be Calhoun's Cavaliers, officially known as the 5th Confederate Air Guard.  In a recent battle over Northern Virginia where a couple of squadrons of Grumman Avengers lead an surprise assault on a local airbase in response to the recent Dixie attack on Manhattan.  The Cavaliers rose to the skies in there newly acquired Goshawks and to the surprise of the Empire pilots managed to out gun them and still be able to stay with them as they pulled there best maneuvers.  In that day the Cavaliers finished victories with 3 Avengers destroyed and only the loss of one of there Goshawk, which the pilot managed to bale out of.

Cadet File