The first experimental version of the P-51 was flown on August 25, 1940 by famous test pilot, Vance Breese. The XP-51 reached a top speed of 382 mph. It was powered by a 1,100 Allison V-1710-39 (F3R) engine, but was later replaced with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.
The P-51s armament consisted of four .50 caliber machine guns and an external bomb load of 2,000 pounds. The 105 gallon fuel tank gave it a range of 950 miles at 362 mph. In all, eight versions of the P-51 were produced with improvements in each successive model, such as a more powerful engine along with two additional machine guns.
P-51 Mustangs in Europe
The planes first went to Europe, where it was used extensively by the British after the fall of France against the Luftwaffe. The P-51 Mustang excelled at attacking Axis ground defenses before the Allied invasion of Italy. It was used also to attack trains and ships, but its primary role was that of long range fighter escort.
The P-51 Mustang was the first single engine plane based in England to reach Germany and replaced the P-47 Thunderbolt, a plane that could barely reach the German border even with drop tanks.
The P-51 was brought into existence to help with the struggling Allied bombing campaign against Germany and greatly improved the odds in the favor of the Allies. Success of the bombing raids greatly improved as the P-51 escorted the B-17 over German airspace, saving the life of many B-17 crewmen.
P-51 Mustangs in American Service
It wasn’t until 1942 that the P-51 was ordered by the Unites States Air Force, and the Army soon followed with an order for 2,200. The P-51 became the highest scoring US fighter used in Europe by downing 4,950 enemy aircraft.
The Mustang saw limited action in the Pacific theater, as it was used primarily in Europe. However, the P-51 did see action flying long-range B-29 escort support against targets in Japan based out of Iwo Jima.
Other versions of the aircraft were used as dive-bombers and ground attackers. The Mustang saw action in the Korean War and was even used as a high performance racer after its war service.
P-51 Mustangs after World War 2
Because of its superior abilities, the P-51 Mustang was used in the Air Force’s of 25 different countries and saw action for 35 years. There are 280 Mustangs still in existence today with about half of them still airworthy.
Sources:
<Aviation History> Retrieved on 11/25/08.
<Mustang History> Retrieved on 11/25/08.
<Boeing History> Retrieved on 11/25/08.
