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P-51 Mustang still going strong
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P-51 Mustang
The legendary North American P-51 Mustang single engined piston fighter of ww2 started life as a British requirement for a high performance fighter aircraft in 1940.
The aircraft was designed and the first prototype manufactured in under 4 months. An amazing accomplishment for such an advanced aircraft.
The early Mustangs were powered by Allison in-line aero engines producing around 1,100 hp.
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First delivery of the Mustang was made in 1942 to British RAF squadrons. The machine lacked the performance required due to the Allison engine originally fitted.
To overcome this lack of performance the aircraft was experimentally re-engined by the British with the excellent Roll-Royce Merlin engine which had proven itself in the Spitfire and Hurricane.
The plane was transformed into the superb machine that would become the legend.
Back in America the P-51 was redesigned to accomodate the Merlin and production examples from then on used Packard built Merlins.
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P-51D Mustang on flyby
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P-51D Mustang
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Merlin powered P-51B and P-51C Mustangs were issued to both RAF and USAAF squadrons.
The finest of the Mustangs was however the P-51D powered by a Packard built V12 Merlin which produced nearly 1,700 hp. This machine could do about 440 mph in level flight, carried six heavy machine guns in the laminer-flow wing and could be fitted with rockets or 2,000lbs of ordnance for ground attack missions.
This machine when fitted with drop tanks could escort the US heavy bomber formations all the way to the targets and back, a feat no other single engined fighter could adequately manage. The Mustang was also a supremely capable dog-fighter which could take on any fighter aircraft put up to intercept the formations until the appearance of ME262 jets and to some extent the rocket propelled ME163 aircraft (the later being easy meat when it's fuel ran out).
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| North American P-51D Mustang |
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| Engine | Packard built V12 Merlin
Nearly 1,700hp |
Top Speed | 439mph |
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| Weight | approx. 9,800lb |
Wingspan | approx. 37ft |
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| Length | 32.25ft |
Weapons | 6x Browning half inch machine guns in the wings of the aircraft.
2,000lb external ordnance including rocket capability. |
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| Country | USA |
Crew | one |
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