“TALL IN THE SADDLE” P-51D MUSTANG PUT ON A GREAT SHOW AT THE FESTIVAL OF FLIGHT,
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Role – Fighter
National origin – United States
Manufacturer – North American Aviation
First flight – 26 October 1940
Introduction – January 1942 (RAF)[1]
Status – Retired from military service 1984 (Dominican Air Force)[2]
Primary users – United States Army Air Forces
Royal Air Force
Chinese Nationalist Air Force
numerous others (see below)
Number built – More than 15,000[3]
Unit cost – US$50,985 in 1945[4]
Variants –
North American A-36 Apache
Rolls-Royce Mustang Mk.X
Cavalier Mustang
Developed into – North American F-82 Twin Mustang
Piper PA-48 Enforcer
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts.
The Mustang was designed in 1940 by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission. The Purchasing Commission approached North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Rather than build an old design from another company, North American Aviation proposed the design and production of a more modern fighter. The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed, and first flew on 26 October.
The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which, in its earlier variants, had limited high-altitude performance. It was first flown operationally by the RAF as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the P-51B/C model transformed the Mustang’s performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, allowing the aircraft to compete with the Luftwaffe’s fighters.
The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 66 two-stage two-speed supercharged engine, and was armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2/AN Browning machine guns.
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