United States' North American P-51 Mustang fighter

Photos

North American P-51 Mustang fighter:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter:
North American P-51 Mustang fighter:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter:
North American P-51 Mustang fighter:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter:
North American P-51 Mustang fighter:	North American P-51 Mustang fighters, 21st FG:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter, Jim Flemming of Australia:
North American P-51 Mustang fighters, October 12, 1942:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter with the Tuskeege Airmen:	North American P-51A and P-51B Mustang fighters:
North American Mustang Mk I fighter:	North American Mustang Mk I fighter with No 2 Squadron, Sawbridgeworth, 1942:
North American P-51 Mustang fighter being manufactured:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter being manufactured:
North American P-51 Mustang fighter:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter:	North American P-51 Mustang fighter:

Design

The North American P-51 Mustang was originally designed in 1940 to meet a specification given by the British.^2,3,4,5 Originally the British Purchasing Commission wanted North American to build P-40s for the Royal Air Force (RAF).⁵ However, the president of North American, J. H. "Dutch" Kindelberger, wanted North American to produce a better plane.⁵ The British accepted the proposal under the proviso that a prototype be done within 120 days.⁵ Within 117 days North American had a prototype prepared by Raymond Rice and Edgar Schmued.⁵ It had to borrow the landing gear from an AT-6 and it didn't have an engine.⁵

Engine

The original P-51 had an Allison engine which didn't perform well at high altitudes.¹

The RAF gave Rolls-Royce four Mustangs to have the Merlin 61 engine installed in for testing.⁵ This eventually led to Packard building the Merlin under licence.⁵

Wings

Part of the reason for the Mustang's high performance was the low drag laminar flow wing.^1,4

Perfect Plane

The Mustang was declared "the most aerodynamically perfect pursuit plane in existence" by the 1944 Truman Senate War Investigating Committee.⁴

Prototype

The British placed an order and within 117⁵ / 122⁴ days the Mustang was designed, built, and test flown.^1,4 They ordered 620 Mustang Mk Is with the first being delivered to Britain in October 1941.^4,5 The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) approved the order as long as they received two test models.⁵

The NA-73 first flew in October 1940 / October 26, 1940^4,5.^2,3,4

The XP-51 first flew in May 1941.⁴ The XP-51B first flew on November 30, 1942.⁴ The XP-51D first flew on November 17, 1943.⁴ The XP-51F first flew in February 1944.⁴ The XP-51G first flew in August 1944.⁴ The XP-51J first flew in April 1945.⁴

Production

• North American NA-73: 1⁴
• North American XP-51: 2⁴
• North American XP-51F: 3⁴
• North American XP-51H: 2⁴
• North American XP-51J: 2⁴
• North American Mk I: 620⁴
• North American Mk IA: 150⁴
• North American Mustang Mk IA and North American Mustang Mk II: 620^2,3
• North American A-36A: 148 initially ordered^2,3, 500^4,5
  • Delivered between September 1942 and March 1943^4,5
• North American P-51: 148⁴
• North American P-51A: 310^2,3,5
• North American P-51A / North American Mustang Mk II: 310⁴
• North American P-51B: 1,988^2,3,4,5
  • Produced at Inglewood^2,4,5
  • Delivered in June 1943.⁴
• North American P-51C: 1,750^2,3,4,5
  • Produced at Dallas^2,3,4,5
• North American P-51D: 7,956^2,3,4,5
• North American P-51H: 555^2,3,4,5
• North American P-51K: 1,337^3,4, 1,500²
• North American P-51M: 1⁴
• Total: 15,576⁴, 15,586^1,2,3, 15,686⁵
  • Manufacturer: North American Aviation Inc.⁵

Variants

• North American NA-73X: First prototype.⁵
• North American XP-51: Prototype evaluated by the United States Air Force and was not adopted.^2,3
• North American XP-51B / North American XP-78: Had Packard V-1650-3 Merlin engine.⁴ Had ventral intercooler intake.⁴
• North American XP-51F: Prototype.⁴ Was to be light weight.⁴ Some parts were replaced by plastic.⁴ Wheels were smaller.⁴ Two of the machine guns were removed.⁴ The Fuselage fuel tank was removed.⁴ A light three blade propeller was used.⁴ Saved about 1,500 lb / 680 kg.⁴ Speed increased by 25 mph / 40 kph.⁴ Flight stability stopped further work.⁴
• North American XP-51G: Prototype.⁴ Powered by Merlin 14SM (1,910 HP).⁴
• North American XP-51J: Prototype.⁴ Powered by Allison V-1710-119 (1,700 HP).⁴
• North American Mustang X: Was Mustang Is converted to have Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.⁴ Had bulbous nose intake.⁴
• North American NA-73: Prototype.³ Had an Allison V-1710-F3F engine (1,100 HP).^2,3
• North American Mustang Mk I: Supplied to the Royal Air Force (RAF).⁴ First flew on May 1, 1941.⁵
• North American Mustang Mk IA: Supplied to the Royal Air Force (RAF).^2,4 Had cannons for armament.⁴ Originally called Apache by the United States Army Air Force.⁴
• North American Mustang Mk II: Supplied to the Royal Air Force (RAF).²
• North American A-36A: Ground attack.^2,3 Had wing bomb shackles.^2,3 Had four 20 mm cannons in the wings.³
• North American P-51A / North American Mustang Mk II: Used a Allison V-1710-81 engine (1,200 HP).² First deliveries occurred in spring 1943.⁵
• North American P-51B / North American Mustang Mk III: Additional fuselage fuel tank.⁴ Had Merlin engine (built by Packard) installed.⁵
• North American P-51C / North American Mustang Mk III:
• North American P-51D / North American Mustang Mk IV: Tear drop canopy.⁵
• North American P-51H: Top speed was 472 mph / 760 kph¹ / 487 mph / 784 kph^2,3
• North American P-51K: Used Aeroproducts propeller.³
• North American P-51L: Used direct fuel injected V-1650-11.⁴ None built.⁴
• North American P-51M: Identical to P-51H but was to be built in different factory.⁴ One delivered.⁴
• North American F-6A: Photo reconnaissance conversion.⁴ Converted from 57 Mustang Mk IAs that were diverted from British orders right after Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.⁴
• North American F-6B: Photo reconnaissance conversion.⁴ Converted from 35 P-51As.⁴ Also 91 converted from P-51B.⁴

Produced by Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (Australia):

• Mk. XX: Fighter bomber.⁴ Designed from P-51D.⁴ First flew in May 1945.⁴
• Mk. XXI: Fighter bomber.⁴
• Mk. XXII: Reconnaissance.⁴
• Mk. XXIII: Reconnaissance.⁴ Had Rolls-Royce Merlin 70 engine.⁴

Usage

In addition to the United States, eleven other Allied air forces flew the P-51.¹

• P-51, P-51A, A-36: Britain⁴, Canada⁴, United States⁴
• P-51B, P-51C: Australia⁴, Britain⁴, Canada⁴, China⁴, France⁴, South Africa⁴, Sweden⁴, United States⁴
• P-51D, P-51K: Australia⁴, Britain⁴, China⁴, Netherlands⁴, New Zealand⁴, South Africa⁴, United States⁴
• P-51H: United States⁴

United States' Initial Use

The USAAC initially ordered 50 aircraft to be used for reconnaissance.⁵ Later 500 A-36As were ordered as dive bombers.⁵

Missions

There were 213,873 missions flown in Europe by the P-51 Mustangs.⁵

Enemy Planes Destroyed

The P-51 Mustangs shot down 4,950 enemy aircraft and destroyed 4,131 on the ground.⁵

Aces

There were 281 Allied aces that flew P-51s.¹

Shot Down Jets

Lieutenant Urban L. Drew shot down two Me 262 jets in October 1944.¹

Korean War

Mustangs saw combat in the Korean War.⁵

Specifications

	North American P-51 Mustang4	North American P-51 Mk I Mustang4	North American P-51 Mk IA Mustang4	North American A-364
Type	Fighter4			Ground attack4
Crew	14			14
Engine (Type)	Allison V-1710-394
Cylinders	V 124
Cooling
HP	1,1504
Propeller blades	34
Dimensions
Span	37'4 11.28 m4
Length	32' 3"4 9.83 m4
Height	12' 2"4 3.71 m4
Wing area
Weight
Empty	6,550 lb4 2,971 kg4
Loaded	8,800 lb4 3,992 kg4
Performance
Speed @ 15,000' / 4,570 m	387 mph4 622 kph4
Cruising speed	307 mph4 494 kph4
Climb	2,600'/minute4 792 m/minute4
Service ceiling	31,350'4 9,555 m4
Range	450 miles4 724 km4
Range with drop tanks	1,250 miles4 2,010 km4
Armament
Nose		2: 0.5" MG4
Wings		2: 0.5" MG4 4: 0.3" MG4	4: 20 mm4	6: 0.5" MG4
Bombs				2: 1,000 lb4 2: 454 kg4