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The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was a long-range single-seat World War II fighter
aircraft. Designed, built and airborne in just 117 days, the Mustang first flew in RAF service as a
fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft before conversion to a bomber escort, employed in
raids over Germany, helping ensure Allied air superiority from early 1944. The P-51 was in service
with Allied air forces in Europe and also saw limited service against the Japanese in the Pacific
War. The Mustang began the Korean War as the United Nations' main fighter, but was relegated to
a ground attack role when superseded by jet fighters early in the conflict. Nevertheless, it remained
in service with some air forces until the early 1980s.
As well as being economical to produce, the Mustang was a fast, well-made, and highly durable
aircraft. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650, a two-stage two-
speed supercharged version of the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, and was armed with six .
50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns.
After World War II and the Korean War, many Mustangs were converted for civilian use, especially
air racing. The Mustang's reputation was such that, in the mid-1960s, Ford Motor Company's
Designer John Najjar proposed the name for a new youth-oriented coupe automobile after the
fighter.
Merlin-engined Mustangs
P-51B and P-51C
In April 1942, the RAF's Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU) tested the Mustang and found its
performance inadequate at higher altitudes. As such, it was to be used to replace the Tomahawk
in Army Cooperation Command squadrons, but the commanding officer was so impressed with
its maneuverability and low-altitude speeds that he invited Ronnie Harker from Rolls-Royce's
Flight Test establishment to fly it. Rolls-Royce engineers rapidly realized that equipping the
Mustang with a Merlin 61 engine with its two-speed two-stage supercharger would substantially
improve performance and started converting five aircraft as the Mustang Mk X. Apart from the
engine installation, which utilised custom-built engine bearers designed by Rolls-Royce and a
standard 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) diameter, four-bladed Rotol propeller from a Spitfire Mk IX [15], the
Mustang Mk X was a straightforward adaptation of the Mustang Mk I airframe, keeping the same
radiator duct design. The Vice-Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sir Wilfrid R. Freeman, lobbied
vociferously for Merlin-powered Mustangs, insisting two of the five experimental Mustang Mk Xs be
handed over to Carl Spaatz for trials and evaluation by the U.S. 8th Air Force in Britain.
The high-altitude performance improvement was astonishing: the Mustang Mk X (serial number
AM208) reached 433 mph (697 km/h) at 22,000 ft (6,700 m), and AL975 tested at an absolute
ceiling of 40,600 ft (12,400 m).
The XP-51B prototypes were a more thorough adaptation of the airframe, with a tailor-made engine
installation and a complete redesign of the radiator duct. The airframe itself was strengthened,
with the fuselage and engine mount area receiving more formers because of the greater weight of
the Packard V-1650-3, 1,690 lb (770 kg), compared with the Allison V-1710's 1,335 lb (606 kg). The
engine cowling was completely redesigned to house the Packard Merlin, which, because of the
intercooler radiator mounted on the supercharger casing, was 5 in (130 mm) taller and used an
updraught induction system, rather than the downdraught carburetor of the Allison. The new
engine drove a four-bladed 11 ft 2 in (3.40 m) diameter Hamilton Standard propeller that featured
cuffs of hard molded rubber. A new radiator, supercharger intercooler and oil radiator installation in
a new fuselage duct was designed to cater for the increased cooling requirements of the Merlin.
Also, because of the choice of a four-bladed propeller, the fuselage-mounted synchronized
machine-gun armament was permanently deleted, due to the near impossibility of avoiding hits to
the propeller blades.
It was decided that the armament of the new P-51B (NA 102) would be the four .50 in (12.7 mm)
M2/AN Browning machine guns (with 350 rpg for the inboard guns and 280 rpg for the outboard) of
the P-51A, and the bomb rack/external drop tank installation (adapted from the A-36) would also be
used; the racks were rated to be able to carry up to 500 lb (230 kg) of ordnance and were also
capable of carrying drop tanks. The weapons were aimed using an N-3B optical gunsight fitted
with an A-1 head assembly which allowed it to be used as a gun or bomb sight through varying the
angle of the reflector glass.
Pilots were also given the option of having ring and bead sights mounted on the top engine
cowling formers. This option was discontinued with the later Ds.
The first XP-51Bs started test flying in December 1942. After sustained lobbying at the highest
level, American production was started in early 1943 with the B (NA-102) being manufactured at
Inglewood, California, and the C (NA-103) at a new plant in Dallas, Texas, which was in operation
by summer 1943. The RAF named these models Mustang Mk III. In performance tests, the P-51B
reached 441 mph/709.70 km/h (exactly ⅔ supersonic speed, or Mach 0.67) at 25,000 ft (7.600 m),
and the subsequent extended range made possible by the use of drop tanks enabled the Merlin-
powered Mustang to be introduced as a bomber escort.
The range would be further increased with the introduction of an 85 gal (322 l) self-sealing fuel
tank aft of the pilot's seat, starting with the B-5-NA series. When this tank was full, the center of
gravity of the Mustang was moved dangerously close to the aft limit, as a result of which
maneuvers were restricted until the tank was down to about 25 gal (95 l) and the external tanks
had been dropped. Problems with high-speed "porpoising" of the P-51Bs and Cs with the
fuselage tanks would lead to the replacement of the fabric-covered elevators with metal-covered
surfaces and a reduction of the tailplane incidence.
P-51Bs and Cs started to arrive in England in August and October 1943. The P-51B/C versions
were sent to 15 fighter groups that were part of the 8th and 9th Air Forces in England and the 12th
and 15th in Italy (the southern part of Italy was under Allied control by late 1943). Other
deployments included the China Burma India Theater (CBI).
Allied strategists quickly exploited the long-range fighter as a bomber escort. It was largely due to
the P-51 that daylight bombing raids deep into German territory became possible without
prohibitive bomber losses in late 1943.
course of their official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the media is in the public
domain.
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was a long-range single-seat World War II fighter
aircraft. Designed, built and airborne in just 117 days, the Mustang first flew in RAF service as a
fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft before conversion to a bomber escort, employed in
raids over Germany, helping ensure Allied air superiority from early 1944. The P-51 was in service
with Allied air forces in Europe and also saw limited service against the Japanese in the Pacific
War. The Mustang began the Korean War as the United Nations' main fighter, but was relegated to
a ground attack role when superseded by jet fighters early in the conflict. Nevertheless, it remained
in service with some air forces until the early 1980s.
As well as being economical to produce, the Mustang was a fast, well-made, and highly durable
aircraft. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650, a two-stage two-
speed supercharged version of the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, and was armed with six .
50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns.
After World War II and the Korean War, many Mustangs were converted for civilian use, especially
air racing. The Mustang's reputation was such that, in the mid-1960s, Ford Motor Company's
Designer John Najjar proposed the name for a new youth-oriented coupe automobile after the
fighter.
Merlin-engined Mustangs
P-51B and P-51C
In April 1942, the RAF's Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU) tested the Mustang and found its
performance inadequate at higher altitudes. As such, it was to be used to replace the Tomahawk
in Army Cooperation Command squadrons, but the commanding officer was so impressed with
its maneuverability and low-altitude speeds that he invited Ronnie Harker from Rolls-Royce's
Flight Test establishment to fly it. Rolls-Royce engineers rapidly realized that equipping the
Mustang with a Merlin 61 engine with its two-speed two-stage supercharger would substantially
improve performance and started converting five aircraft as the Mustang Mk X. Apart from the
engine installation, which utilised custom-built engine bearers designed by Rolls-Royce and a
standard 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) diameter, four-bladed Rotol propeller from a Spitfire Mk IX [15], the
Mustang Mk X was a straightforward adaptation of the Mustang Mk I airframe, keeping the same
radiator duct design. The Vice-Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sir Wilfrid R. Freeman, lobbied
vociferously for Merlin-powered Mustangs, insisting two of the five experimental Mustang Mk Xs be
handed over to Carl Spaatz for trials and evaluation by the U.S. 8th Air Force in Britain.
The high-altitude performance improvement was astonishing: the Mustang Mk X (serial number
AM208) reached 433 mph (697 km/h) at 22,000 ft (6,700 m), and AL975 tested at an absolute
ceiling of 40,600 ft (12,400 m).
The XP-51B prototypes were a more thorough adaptation of the airframe, with a tailor-made engine
installation and a complete redesign of the radiator duct. The airframe itself was strengthened,
with the fuselage and engine mount area receiving more formers because of the greater weight of
the Packard V-1650-3, 1,690 lb (770 kg), compared with the Allison V-1710's 1,335 lb (606 kg). The
engine cowling was completely redesigned to house the Packard Merlin, which, because of the
intercooler radiator mounted on the supercharger casing, was 5 in (130 mm) taller and used an
updraught induction system, rather than the downdraught carburetor of the Allison. The new
engine drove a four-bladed 11 ft 2 in (3.40 m) diameter Hamilton Standard propeller that featured
cuffs of hard molded rubber. A new radiator, supercharger intercooler and oil radiator installation in
a new fuselage duct was designed to cater for the increased cooling requirements of the Merlin.
Also, because of the choice of a four-bladed propeller, the fuselage-mounted synchronized
machine-gun armament was permanently deleted, due to the near impossibility of avoiding hits to
the propeller blades.
It was decided that the armament of the new P-51B (NA 102) would be the four .50 in (12.7 mm)
M2/AN Browning machine guns (with 350 rpg for the inboard guns and 280 rpg for the outboard) of
the P-51A, and the bomb rack/external drop tank installation (adapted from the A-36) would also be
used; the racks were rated to be able to carry up to 500 lb (230 kg) of ordnance and were also
capable of carrying drop tanks. The weapons were aimed using an N-3B optical gunsight fitted
with an A-1 head assembly which allowed it to be used as a gun or bomb sight through varying the
angle of the reflector glass.
Pilots were also given the option of having ring and bead sights mounted on the top engine
cowling formers. This option was discontinued with the later Ds.
The first XP-51Bs started test flying in December 1942. After sustained lobbying at the highest
level, American production was started in early 1943 with the B (NA-102) being manufactured at
Inglewood, California, and the C (NA-103) at a new plant in Dallas, Texas, which was in operation
by summer 1943. The RAF named these models Mustang Mk III. In performance tests, the P-51B
reached 441 mph/709.70 km/h (exactly ⅔ supersonic speed, or Mach 0.67) at 25,000 ft (7.600 m),
and the subsequent extended range made possible by the use of drop tanks enabled the Merlin-
powered Mustang to be introduced as a bomber escort.
The range would be further increased with the introduction of an 85 gal (322 l) self-sealing fuel
tank aft of the pilot's seat, starting with the B-5-NA series. When this tank was full, the center of
gravity of the Mustang was moved dangerously close to the aft limit, as a result of which
maneuvers were restricted until the tank was down to about 25 gal (95 l) and the external tanks
had been dropped. Problems with high-speed "porpoising" of the P-51Bs and Cs with the
fuselage tanks would lead to the replacement of the fabric-covered elevators with metal-covered
surfaces and a reduction of the tailplane incidence.
P-51Bs and Cs started to arrive in England in August and October 1943. The P-51B/C versions
were sent to 15 fighter groups that were part of the 8th and 9th Air Forces in England and the 12th
and 15th in Italy (the southern part of Italy was under Allied control by late 1943). Other
deployments included the China Burma India Theater (CBI).
Allied strategists quickly exploited the long-range fighter as a bomber escort. It was largely due to
the P-51 that daylight bombing raids deep into German territory became possible without
prohibitive bomber losses in late 1943.
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