North-American P51 Mustang

"Chute! You're faded", a P-51D from the 339th Fighter Group.

Role: single-seat fighter
Conception: Ray Rice (Chief Engineer), Edgar Schmued (Chief of Design), Louis Wait
Production: Built by North-American in two plants: Inglewood and Dallas.
Also built under licence by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation, Australia
More than 15,500 P-51s have been built.
First flight of prototype: NA-73X: October 26th, 1940

As Great-Britain was requesting North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40s under licence, the design team instead suggested to create a better plane for Britain's needs. This new design was from the start aerodynamically pure, fitted with laminar flow wings for high-speed performance, and a radiator scoop offering a ramjet effect. One element was still lacking for the plane to be a complete success: a better high altitude engine. After switching to the British-designed Merlin engine, and with an incredible range allowing the P-51D to escort bombers from Britain to Berlin and back, the Mustang would become the most important allied fighter of World War 2.

Development

Allison-powered Mustangs

The Mustang I was armed with four 7.7mm (.30 cal) and two 12.7mm (.50 cal) wing-mounted guns, plus two nose-mounted 12.7mm (.50 cal) guns. Powered by a 1,120 hp Allison V-1710 supercharged engine, it could fly at 615 km/h (382 mph), and was used by the RAF as a ground attack and photo recon aircraft. The first Mustang-equipped RAF unit was operational in April 1942.
The P-51, armed by four wing-mounted 20 mm cannons, was the first version used by the US Army Air Corps (55 operational planes). 93 were delivered to the RAF as the Mustang IA.

"Betty Jean", a cannon-armed P-51 at Anzio (Italy) in April 1944.

The A-36 Apache, fitted with dive brakes and a 1,325 hp V-1710-87 engine improved for low level performance, was a high-speed dive-bombing version. It was armed with four wing-mounted and two nose-mounted .50 cal guns, and had one rack for a 250 kg (500 lb) bomb under each wing. 500 were ordered by the USAAC; it was operational in Spring 1943.
The P-51A fighter entered service in mid-1943. Powered by a 1,330 hp V-1710-81 with an improved supercharger, it could reach 659 km/h (409 mph) and climb to 10,360 m (34,000 ft). It was armed with four wing-mounted 12.7mm (0.50 cal) guns. With 150 gallon drop tanks, the ferry range reached an impressive 2700 miles. The RAF called it the Mustang II.

1,570 Allison-powered Mustangs have been built, of which 764 were delivered to the RAF, and 10 to USSR for evaluation.

Merlin-powered Mustangs

The P-51B was the result of the marriage between the P-51 airframe and the Rolls&Royce-designed Packard-built Merlin engine. Performance at high altitude was greatly improved by the Merlin's excellent supercharger. The P-51C is strictly identical to the P-51B, but was built in North American's Dallas factory, when the P-51B (like previous Mustangs/Apaches) was built in Los Angeles. During production of the P-51B/C were introduced the uprated V-1650-7 engine, and an additional fuel cell behind the pilot seat. The first operational mission for the P-51B occured in December 1943. 3,738 P-51B/C were built, 944 being delivered as the Mustang III to the RAF, who improved the plane with the 'Malcom Hood', a bubble-shaped plexiglass canopy.

North American P-51B Mustang
Engine	Packard Merlin V-1650-3 liquid-cooled V12	1,380 hp (WEP: 1,600 hp)
Weight	at take-off: 4,082 kg (9,000 lb) clean.
Armament	Four 12.7 mm (.50 cal) wing-mounted machine guns
Performance	Max speed: 708 km/h (440 mph)	Ceiling: 12,800 m (42,000 ft)

The P-51D is the most famous and numerous (with 9,603 planes built) version of the Mustang. The P-51D had two more guns, more ammunition, a modified supercharger for better low altitude performance, strengthened wing pylons for 165 gallon drop tanks or 450 kg (1000 lb) bombs. The new 'bubble' canopy offered a clearer view in every direction. At the end of World War 2, all but a few USAAF squadrons were equipped with the P-51D. It was called Mustang IV by the RAF.

North American P-51D Mustang
Engine	Packard Merlin V-1650-7 liquid-cooled V12	1,490 hp (WEP: 1,720 hp)
Weight	at take-off: 4,286 kg (9,450 lb) clean.
Armament	Six 12.7 mm (.50 cal) wing-mounted machine guns
Performance	Max speed: 703 km/h (437 mph)	Ceiling: 12,800 m (42,000 ft)

The P-51K was a Dallas-built P-51D with a modified canopy and a different propeller.
The XP-51F, XP-51G and XP-51J were prototypes, built as attempts from North American to design a lighter Mustang.
The P-51H was the result of these studies for a lightweight Mustang. However it was too late for the P-51H to see action in World War 2; as it was phased out of the US Air Force before the start of the Korea War, this Mustang never had to fight.

Stof's notes about this plane in iMOL's WarBirds

The opinions expressed below are only my own, and nothing more...

It's the perfect plane for Boom & Zoom tactics: diving at high speed on your opponent, firing with all your guns, then using the speed to quickly climb out of reach of the enemy plane... then back again until your opponent is out of the sky. Very efficient against slow and fragile planes like the Zero.

Strong points:

It's one of the fastest WB planes, and the control remains excellent at high speed.
The bubble canopy of the P-51D provides an excellent view around.

Weak points:

Accelerations and climb rate are not the best for a late war plane.
Because of the laminar flow wing, the plane is not much at ease at low speed.

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Send comments/suggestions to Christophe.Arribat@wanadoo.fr