P-51 Mustang

The P-51 Mustang was an American single-seat fighter aircraft which began service in the middle years of Second World War. The P-51 was flown during the war as a bomber escort in raids over Germany. It gave the Allied forces air superiority over the Germans from early 1944, but it saw limited action in the Pacific Theater. The P-51 Mustang was also used in the Korean War for ground attacks until it was superseded by jet fighters early in the conflict. The Mustang was a fast, well-made, and highly durable aircraft.

The P-51 Mustang was designed and manufactured by North American Aviation. Its first flight took place in October 1940 and was introduced in 1942. The British government ordered 300 units of these aircraft. The first P-51 fighters were powered by an Allison V-1710 engine, but their performance was not good enough at high altitudes with this engine. So, upon suggestion of British pilot Ronald Harker, the Allison V-1710 engine was replaced by a Rolls Royce Merlin 60-series engine. Soon the Americans also began replacing the Allison engines. The first P-51 Mustang equipped with the Rolls Royce Merlin engine was flown in November 1942 and was designated P-51B. The British engine considerable improved the performance of the Mustang, specially at high altitudes. At 30,000 feet, the new Mustang reached 440 MPH, many times faster than the Allison-equipped Mustang at the same altitude.

The American improved P-51 Mustang could reach a maximum speed of 440 mph at 30,000 ft. It had a range of 1,650 miles (2,755 km). It was powered by a V-1650 Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, which was built in the USA under license by Packard. The P-51 had a wingspan of 37 ft (11.28 m). It was armed with 6 12.7mm machine guns (tree on each wing), 10 127mm rockets, and could carry up to 907 kg of bombs.

In the winter of 1943-44, the 8th and 9th Air Forces were provided with the P-51 Mustangs. When the Pointblank offensive resumed in early 1944, the P-51 proved perfect for the task of escorting bombers all the way to the deepest targets, thus complementing the more numerous P-47 Thunderbolts until sufficient Mustangs became available. The Eighth Air Force immediately began to switch its fighter groups to the Mustang, first exchanging arriving P-47 groups for those of the 9th Air Force using P-51s, then gradually converted its Thunderbolt and Lightning groups until, by the end of the year, 14 of its 15 groups flew the Mustang.