P-51 Mustang

The North American P-51 Mustang was a successful long range fighter aircraft which entered service in the middle years of World War II. The definitive version of the single-seat fighter was powered by a single two-stage supercharged V-12 Merlin engine and armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 machine guns.

Version History

The initial prototype was designated the NA-73X by the manufacturer, North American Aviation. The first production contract was awarded by the British for 320 NA-73 fighters. This aircraft was named Mustang I by the British. Two aircraft of this lot delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps were designated XP-51. A second British contract for 300 more Mustang Is was assigned a model number of NA-83 by North American.

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In September 1940, 150 aircraft designated NA-91 by North American were ordered under the Lend/Lease program. These were designated by the Army Air Force as P-51 and initially named the Apache although this name was dropped early-on for Mustang. The British designated this model Mustang IA. A number of aircraft from this lot were fitted out by the A.A.F. as photo reconnaissance aircraft and designated F-6A. Also, two aircraft of this lot were fitted with the Packard built Merlin engine and were designated by North American as model NA-101 and by the A.A.F. initially as the XP-78, but re-designated quickly to XP-51B.

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In early 1942, the A.A.F. ordered a lot of 500 aircraft modified as dive bombers that were designated A-36A. North American assigned the aircraft the model number NA-97. This model became the first A.A.F. Mustang to see combat.

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Following the A-36A order the A.A.F. ordered 310 model NA-99 fighters that were designated P-51A by the A.A.F. and Mustang II by the R.A.F. A number of this lot of aircraft were equipped with K-24 cameras and designated F-6B. All these models of the Mustang were equipped with Allison V-1710 engines except the prototype XP-51B.

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Beginning with the model NA-102 Mustang the Packard built Merlin V-1650 engine replaced the Allison. In the summer of 1943 Mustang production was begun at a new plant in Dallas, Texas as well as the existing facility in Inglewood, California. The model NA-102 was produced as the P-51B in Inglewood while the NA-103 as the P-51C was produced at Dallas. The R.A.F. named these models Mustang III. Again, a number of the P-51B and P-51C aircraft were fitted for photo Reconnaissance and designated F-6C.

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The prototypes of the bubble canopy change were designated model NA-106 by North American and P-51D by the A.A.F. The production version, while retaining the P-51D designation, was assigned a model number NA-109 by North American. The ?D? became the most widely produced variant of the Mustang. A variation of the P-51D equipped with a Aeroproducts propeller in place of the Hamilton Standard propeller was designated the P-51K. The photo versions of the P-51D and P-51K were designated F-6D and F-6K respectfully. The R.A.F. assigned the name Mustang IV to both the ?D? and ?K? variants.

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The Australian Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) assembled Mustangs shipped in kit form, for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). From 1944, CAC produced some 200 P-51Ds, which the RAAF designated CA-17. They came in a number of marks: Mk.21 was the basic fighter, Mk.22 was fitted with F.24 cameras, Mk.23 had newer model Merlin engines. By the end of the war, the RAAF had received or ordered about 500 Mustangs, although most of these orders were cancelled following the end of hostilities.

Related Topics:
Australia - Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation - Royal Australian Air Force

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As the A.A.F. specifications required airframe design to a higher load factor than that used by British for their fighters, consideration was given to re-designing the Mustang to the lower British requirements in order to reduce the weight of the aircraft and thus improve performance. In 1943, North American submitted a proposal to do the re-design as model NA-105, which was accepted by the A.A.F. The designation XP-51F was assigned for prototypes powered with V-1650 engines and XP-51G to those with reverse lend/lease Merlin 145M engines. A third prototype was added to the development that was powered by an Allison V-1710 engine. This aircraft was designated XP-51J. As the engine was insufficiently developed the XP-51J was loaned to Allison for engine development.

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The final production Mustang, the P-51H embodied the experience gained in the development of the lightweight XP-51F and XP-51G aircraft. This aircraft, model NA-126, came too late to participate in World War II, but it brought the development of the Mustang to a peak which was probably the fastest production piston engine fighter to see service. With the cut back in production the variants of the ?H? with different versions of the Merlin engine were produced in either limited numbers or terminated. These included the P-51L and its Dallas version, the P-51M.

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Specifications (P-51D)

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Length:32 ft 3 in (9.83 m )
• Wingspan: 37 ft (11.28 m)
• Height: 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)
• Wing area: 233 ft² (21.65 m²)
• Empty: 7,125 lb (3,232 kg)
• Loaded: 12,100 lb (5,488 kg)
• Maximum takeoff: 12,100 lb (5,488 kg)
• Powerplant: 1x Packard Merlin V-1650-7 V-12 piston engine, 1,695 hp (1,264-kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 437 mph (703 km/h)
• Range: 2,080 miles (3,347 km)
• Service ceiling: 41,900 ft (12,770 m)
• Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² ( kg/m²)
• Power/mass: