North American P-51 Mustang
The P-51 was designed (as the NA-73) in 1940 at Britain's request. An in-line engine,
the British preference, was specified as well as the British standard of eight machine
guns. The prototype was constructed within a 120-day limit. It was one of the few aircraft
types that were conceived after the start of World War II yet saw large-scale service in
the war. In permitting North American to design a fighter for a foreign buyer, the US Army
Air Corps stipulated that two examples of the production model should be supplied free of
charge for evaluation. It was the Royal Air Force that bestowed the nickname
"Mustang" on the type. The first version for the US was the
A-36 Apache dive bomber that first flew in 1942.
About 500 of these "near-Mustangs" were built and saw action in the Italian
campaign and in India. In December 1943, P-51Bs first entered combat over Europe, powered
by Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. They provided high-altitude escort to
B-17s and
B-24s,
and by war's end, P-51 pilots had destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft in the air (nearly half
of the US total destroyed) and an additional 4,131 on the ground, more than any other US
fighter in Europe. Despite this showing, none of the top four Army Air Forces aces flew
Mustangs. P-51s saw service in nearly every combat zone in the war; in the Pacific, they
escorted
B-29s to Japan from Iwo Jima.
At war's end, 5,541 Mustangs were on hand. Surplus machines were sold or given to
Australia, Canada, China, Cuba, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, France, Indonesia,
Israel, Sweden, Korea, Switzerland, and Italy. During the Korean War, F-51Ds (as they were
redesignated in 1948) were used primarily for close support of ground forces until the
type was withdrawn from combat in 1953.
Mustangs have been popular for many years on the unlimited racing circuit. In 1984, the
Piper Enforcer, a turboprop design based on the P-51, was marketed to smaller air forces
as a light attack aircraft although none was bought.
Look at "Flying in P-51D" (QuickTime
movie, 2,4 MB) - sended from Dusan Neumann, U.S.A.
| General characteristics P-51A |
| Primary function |
Long range fighter |
| Contractor |
North American Aviation Inc. |
| Power plant |
One Allison V-1710-81 engine |
| Thrust |
1,125 HP |
839 kW |
| Wingspan |
37 ft |
11.28 m |
| Length |
32.25 ft |
9.83 m |
| Height |
12.2 ft |
3.71 m |
| Wingarea |
233 sq ft |
21.65 sq m |
| Weight |
empty |
6,855 lb |
3,110 kg |
| max. |
10,610 lb |
4,812 kg |
| Speed |
390 mph |
628 km/h |
| Initial climb rate |
2,600 ft/min |
792 m/min |
| Ceiling |
30,000ft |
9,144 m |
| Range |
450 miles |
724 km |
| Crew |
One |
| Armament |
4x 12,7mm machine gun |
| First flight |
October 26, 1940 (NA-73 -also referred to as NA-73X) |
| Date deployed |
1943 |
| General characteristics P-51D |
| Primary function |
Long range fighter |
| Power plant |
One Packard V-1650-7 (license-built Rolls-Royce Merlin)
liquid-cooled V- 12 engine |
| Thrust |
1,590 HP |
1,186 kW |
| Wingspan |
37 ft |
11.28 m |
| Length |
32.25 ft |
9.83 m |
| Height |
13.65 ft |
4.16 m |
| Wingarea |
235 sq ft |
21.83 sq m |
| Weight |
empty |
7,640 lb |
3,466 kg |
| max. |
12,110 lb |
5,493 kg |
| Max. speed |
437 mph |
703 km/h |
| Initial climb rate |
3,478 ft/min |
1,060 m/min |
| Ceiling |
42,000ft |
12,800 m |
| Max. range |
2,068 miles |
3,328 km |
| Armament |
6x 12.7mm machine gun MG53-2 (270 or 400 rounds each), 2x
454kg bombs or 2x external tank. |
| Crew |
One |
| Date deployed |
1944 |
| Cost |
$50,985 |
| Number built |
15,621 (all types) |
Jirka Wagner
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