P-51
The Mustang was among the best and most
well-known fighters used by the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.
Possessing excellent range and maneuverability, the P-51 operated primarily as
a long-range escort fighter and also as a ground attack fighter-bomber. The
Mustang served in nearly every combat zone during WWII, and later fought in the
Korean War.
In 1940 the British approached North American Aviation to license-build Curtiss
P-40 fighters for the Royal Air Force. North American offered to design a
better fighter, which flew as the NA-73X in October 1940. Production of the
aircraft -- named Mustang I by the British -- began the following year.
In the summer of 1941, the USAAF received two Mustang Is under the designation
XP-51. Although flight tests of the new fighter showed promise, the USAAF did
not immediately order the Mustang. After the personal intervention of Gen. Hap
Arnold, however, the USAAF retained 55 Mustangs from a British order. Most of
these became F-6A photo-reconnaissance aircraft, which equipped the first USAAF
Mustang units, the 154th and 111th Observation Squadrons in North Africa in the
spring of 1943.
In March 1942 the USAAF accepted the first production P-51A fighters. Although
excellent at lower levels, the P-51A's Allison engines severely limited
performance at high altitude. The USAAF employed P-51As in the
China-Burma-India theater, where most combat took place at low altitude.
In April 1942 the USAAF ordered an attack version equipped with dive brakes and
bomb racks, the A-36 Apache. A-36s entered combat in June 1943 and served in
North Africa, Italy and India.
In the fall of 1942, Mustangs in the United States and Great Britain were
experimentally fitted with British Merlin engines. One in the United States
flew a remarkable 441 mph at 29,800 feet -- about 100 mph faster than the P-51A
at that altitude. Mass production of the Merlin-powered P-51B and P-51C soon
followed (nearly identical, North American produced the "B" in
Inglewood, Calif., and the "C" in Dallas, Texas).
In December 1943 the first P-51B/C Mustangs entered combat in Europe with the
354th Fighter Group "Pioneers." By the time of the first U.S. heavy
bomber strike against Berlin in March 1944, the USAAF fielded about 175 P-51B/C
Mustangs. Along with P-38 Lightnings, these P-51s provided sorely needed
long-range, high-altitude escort for the U.S. bombing campaign against
Germany.
The P-51D incorporated several improvements, and it became the most numerous
variant with nearly 8,000 being built. The most obvious change was a new
"bubble-top" canopy that greatly improved the pilot's vision. The
P-51D also received the new K-14 gunsight, an increase from four to six .50-cal
machine guns, and a simplified ammunition feed system that considerably reduced
gun jams.
The P-51D arrived in quantity in Europe in the spring of 1944, becoming the
USAAF's primary long range escort fighter. The versatile Mustang also served as
a fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. Few Luftwaffe aircraft
could match the P-51D -- by the end of the war, Mustangs had destroyed 4,950
enemy aircraft in the air, more than any other USAAF fighter in Europe.
P-51Ds arrived in the Pacific and CBI theaters by the end of 1944. In the
spring of 1945, Iwo Jima-based P-51Ds started flying long-range B-29 escort and
low-level fighter-bomber missions against ground targets in Japan.
North American eventually developed a considerably lightened Mustang, which
became the P-51H. With a remarkable top speed of 487 mph, it was 50 mph faster
than the P-51D. Although it was in production before the war ended, the P-51H
did not reach frontline units in time to see combat.
With the last of 555 P-51Hs completed in 1946, the production run of the
Mustang ended with over 15,000 of all types built.
Although Mustangs continued in service with the newly-formed U.S. Air Force and
many other nations after the war, more advanced jet fighters relegated them to
secondary status. Many of the USAF's Mustangs (redesignated the F-51) were
surplused or transferred to the Reserve and the Air National Guard (ANG).
At the start of the Korean War, however, the Mustang once again proved its
usefulness. After the initial invasion, USAF units were forced to fly from
bases in Japan, and F-51Ds could hit targets in Korea that short-ranged F-80
jet fighters could not. Mustangs continued flying with USAF, South Korean Air
Force (ROKAF), South African Air Force (SAAF) and Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF) fighter-bomber units on close support and interdiction missions in Korea
until they were largely replaced by F-86F jet fighter-bombers in 1953. American
Mustangs shot down 12 North Korean propeller driven aircraft and they even
defended themselves against MiG-15s. Mustang pilots scored many hits on the
MiGs but did not get any confirmed kills.
Print has a single mat and measures 8X10 inches. It will fit into most 8X10 ready made frames.