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84-528: The North American P-51 Mustang is an American World War II fighter aircraft. P51 or P-51 may also refer to: North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War , among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kindelberger of North American Aviation (NAA) in response to

168-661: A better aircraft with the same Allison V-1710 engine in the air sooner than establishing a production line for the P-40. John Attwood of NAA spent much time from January to April 1940 at the British Purchasing Commission's offices in New York discussing the British specifications of the proposed aircraft with British engineers. The discussions consisted of free-hand conceptual drawings of an aircraft with

252-556: A little tricky. It could not by any means out-turn a Spitfire. No way. It had a good rate-of-roll, better than the Spitfire, so I would say the plusses to the Spitfire and the Mustang just about equate. If I were in a dogfight, I'd prefer to be flying the Spitfire. The problem was I wouldn't like to be in a dogfight near Berlin, because I could never get home to Britain in a Spitfire! The U.S. Air Forces, Flight Test Engineering, assessed

336-586: A requirement of the British Purchasing Commission . The commission approached NAA to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Rather than build an old design from another company, NAA proposed the design and production of a more modern fighter. The prototype NA-73X airframe was completed on 9 September 1940, 102 days after contract signing, achieving its first flight on 26 October. The Mustang

420-456: A result of the crippling of the Luftwaffe fighter arm. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring , commander of the Luftwaffe during the war, was quoted as saying, "When I saw Mustangs over Berlin, I knew the jig was up." On 15 April 1944, VIII Fighter Command began "Operation Jackpot", attacks on Luftwaffe fighter airfields. As the efficacy of these missions increased, the number of fighters at

504-545: A series of independent ground-attack missions against targets in the home islands. The first of these operations took place on 16 April, when 57 P-51s strafed Kanoya Air Field in Kyushu. In operations conducted between 26 April and 22 June, the American fighter pilots claimed the destruction of 64 Japanese aircraft and damage to another 180 on the ground, as well as a further 10 shot down in flight; these claims were lower than

588-564: A slight amount of jet thrust . Because NAA lacked a suitable wind tunnel to test this feature, it used the GALCIT 3.0 m (10 ft) wind tunnel at the California Institute of Technology . This led to some controversy over whether the Mustang's cooling system aerodynamics were developed by NAA's engineer Schmued or by Curtiss, as NAA had purchased the complete set of P-40 wind tunnel data and flight test reports. The NA-73X

672-607: A specialized fighter-bomber. Despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After the Korean War, Mustangs became popular civilian warbirds and air racing aircraft. In 1938, the British government established a purchasing commission in the United States, headed by Sir Henry Self . Self was given overall responsibility for RAF production, research, and development, and also served with Sir Wilfrid Freeman ,

756-803: A superior design to the Warhawk and bring it to production in a shorter time than setting a production line of the Curtiss design. This led to the North American Mustang which entered service with the RAF in 1941. It entered service with the USAAF being named the P-51 under U.S. Service. Post war, Self became Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, replacing Sir William Hildred . He

840-564: A test pilot for Rolls-Royce , suggested fitting a Merlin 61 , as fitted to the Spitfire Mk IX . The Merlin 61 had a two-speed, two-stage, intercooled supercharger, designed by Stanley Hooker of Rolls-Royce. Both the Merlin 61 and V-1710-39 were capable of about 1,570 horsepower (1,170 kW) war emergency power at relatively low altitudes, but the Merlin developed 1,390 horsepower (1,040 kW) at 23,500 feet (7,200 m) versus

924-426: A variable-speed auxiliary supercharger and developed 1,150 horsepower (860 kW) at 22,400 feet (6,800 m). In November 1941, NAA studied the possibility of using it, but fitting its excessive length in the Mustang would require extensive airframe modifications and cause long production delays. In May 1942, following positive reports from the RAF on the Mustang I's performance below 15,000 ft, Ronald Harker,

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1008-691: The 55th Fighter Group surprised an entire Staffel of Me 262As at takeoff and destroyed six jets. The Mustang also proved useful against the V-1s launched toward London. P-51B/Cs, using 150-octane fuel, were fast enough to catch the V-1 and operated in concert with shorter-range aircraft such as advanced marks of the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Tempest . By 8 May 1945, the 8th , 9th , and 15th Air Force 's P-51 groups claimed some 4,950 aircraft shot down (about half of all USAAF claims in

1092-730: The Combined Chiefs of Staff issued the Pointblank Directive to destroy the Luftwaffe's capacity before the planned invasion of Europe, putting the CBO into full implementation. German daytime fighter efforts were, at that time, focused on the Eastern Front and several other distant locations. Initial efforts by the 8th met limited and unorganized resistance, but with every mission, the Luftwaffe moved more aircraft to

1176-507: The Medal of Honor during World War II: Chief Naval Test Pilot and C.O. Captured Enemy Aircraft Flight Capt. Eric Brown , RN , tested the Mustang at RAE Farnborough in March 1944 and noted: The Mustang was a good fighter and the best escort due to its incredible range, make no mistake about it. It was also the best American dogfighter. But the laminar-flow wing fitted to the Mustang could be

1260-698: The Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate against it. The P-51 was a relative latecomer to the Pacific theater, due largely to the need for the aircraft in Europe, although the P-38's twin-engined design was considered a safety advantage for long, over-water flights. The first P-51s were deployed in the Far East later in 1944, operating in close-support and escort missions, as well as tactical photoreconnaissance. As

1344-638: The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51B be considered for the roles of smaller escort fighters, and in July, a report stated that the P-51B was "the most promising plane" with an endurance of 4 hours 45 minutes with the standard internal fuel of 184 gallons plus 150 gallons carried externally. In August, a P-51B was fitted with an extra internal 85-gallon tank, but problems with longitudinal stability occurred, so some compromises in performance with

1428-403: The 357th Fighter Group of the 8th Air Force with 565 air-to-air combat victories and the 9th Air Force's 354th Fighter Group with 664, which made it one of the top-scoring fighter groups. The top Mustang ace was the USAAF's George Preddy , whose final tally stood at 26.83 victories (a number that includes shared one half- and one third victory credits), 23 of which were scored with the P-51. Preddy

1512-656: The Air Member for Development and Production. Self also sat on the British Air Council Subcommittee on Supply (or "Supply Committee"), and one of his tasks was to organize the manufacturing and supply of American fighter aircraft for the RAF. At the time, the choice was very limited, as no U.S. aircraft then in production or flying met European standards, with only the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk coming close. The Curtiss-Wright plant

1596-514: The Allison engine with a Rolls-Royce Merlin 65 two-stage inter-cooled supercharged engine. During testing at Rolls-Royce's airfield at Hucknall in England , it was clear the engine dramatically improved the aircraft's performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft (4,600 m) without sacrificing range. Following receipt of the test results and after further flights by a number of USAAF pilots,

1680-406: The Allison's 1,150 horsepower (860 kW) at 11,800 feet (3,600 m), delivering an increase in top speed from 390 mph (340 kn; 630 km/h) at ~15,000 feet (4,600 m) to an estimated 440 mph (380 kn; 710 km/h) at 28,100 feet (8,600 m). In the end the Merlin 61 was never fitted to the Mustang X, (or any other Mustang). The 65 series (a medium altitude engine)

1764-419: The American planners had expected, however, and the raids were considered unsuccessful. USAAF losses were 11 P-51s to enemy action and seven to other causes. Due to the lack of Japanese air opposition to the American bomber raids, VII Fighter Command was solely tasked with ground-attack missions from July. These raids were frequently made against airfields to destroy aircraft being held in reserve to attack

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1848-511: The Americans did not suffer any losses. Osaka was bombed for the fourth time that month, on 15 June, when 444 B-29s destroyed 1.9 square miles (4.9 km ) of the city and another 0.59 square miles (1.5 km ) of nearby Amagasaki ; 300,000 houses were destroyed in Osaka. This attack marked the end of the first phase of XXI Bomber Command's attack on Japan's cities. During May and June,

1932-896: The Army Air Corps to appreciate and push its good points. It does not fully satisfy good people on both sides of the Atlantic who seem more interested in pointing with pride to the development of a 100% national product..." Nevertheless, during the British service development program of the Mustang I at Rolls-Royce's airfield at Hucknall , a close relationship was developed between NAA, the RAF Air Fighting Development Unit and Rolls Royce Rolls-Royce Flight Test Establishment at Hucknall. Following extensive communication between Hitchcock (based in England), Rolls Royce engineers and Phillip Legarra at NAA regarding

2016-720: The BPC and NAA, and did not involve the US Army or Wright Field in any way. In September 1940, a further 300 NA-73s were ordered by the MAP. To ensure uninterrupted delivery, Colonel Oliver P. Echols arranged with the Anglo-French Purchasing Commission to deliver the aircraft and NAA gave two examples (41-038 and 41-039) to the USAAC for evaluation. It is important to note that the Mustang I (NA-73 and NA-83) and

2100-806: The British Aircraft Purchasing Commission signed its first contract for the North American NA-73 on 24 April 1940, before Lend-Lease was in effect. Thus, the initial order for the P-51 Mustang (as it was later known) was placed by the British under the " cash and carry " program, as required by the US Neutrality Acts of the 1930s. After the arrival of the initial aircraft in the UK in October 1941,

2184-403: The British officials. Self was concerned that NAA had not ever designed a fighter, insisting they obtain the drawings and study the wind-tunnel test results for the P-40, before presenting them with detailed design drawings based on the agreed concept. NAA purchased the drawings and data from Curtiss for £56,000, confirming the purchase with the British Purchasing Commission. The commission approved

2268-497: The European theater, the most claimed by any Allied fighter in air-to-air combat) and 4,131 destroyed on the ground. Losses were about 2,520 aircraft. The 8th Air Force's 4th Fighter Group was the top-scoring fighter group in Europe, with 1,016 enemy aircraft claimed destroyed. This included 550 claimed in aerial combat and 466 on the ground. In air combat, the top-scoring P-51 units (both of which exclusively flew Mustangs) were

2352-518: The German airbases fell to the point where they were no longer considered worthwhile targets. On 21 May, targets were expanded to include railways, locomotives, and other rolling stock used by the Germans to transport materiel and troops, in missions dubbed "Chattanooga". The P-51 excelled at this mission, although losses were much higher on strafing missions than in air-to-air combat, partially because

2436-530: The Ia (NA-91), produced for the British, were not equivalent to the P-51A which was a later model (NA-99). Two British Mustang Is were held back by the USAAF and given the provisional model number XP-51. The USAAF held back 57 Mustang Ia aircraft armed with 4 x 20mm Hispano cannon, from the third British order, converting most of them to tactical reconnaissance aircraft and designating them P-51-2/F6A. North American retained

2520-502: The Luftwaffe than to the Allies and was never a serious threat. The Me 262A was a serious threat, but attacks on their airfields neutralized them. The pioneering Junkers Jumo 004 axial-flow jet engines of the Me 262As needed careful nursing by their pilots, and these aircraft were particularly vulnerable during takeoff and landing. Lt. Chuck Yeager of the 357th Fighter Group was one of

2604-513: The Luftwaffe wherever it could be found. The aim was to achieve air supremacy . Mustang groups were sent far ahead of the bombers in a "fighter sweep" to intercept German fighters. Bomber crews complained, but by June, supremacy was achieved. The Luftwaffe answered with the Gefechtsverband ("battle formation"). This consisted of a Sturmgruppe of heavily armed and armored Fw 190As escorted by two Begleitgruppen of Bf 109s, whose task

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2688-442: The Merlin, enabling long flights over water at 50 ft (15 m) altitude before approaching the enemy coastline. Over land, these flights followed a zig-zag course, turning every six minutes to foil enemy attempts at plotting an interception. During the first 18 months of Rhubarb raids, RAF Mustang Mk.Is and Mk.Ias destroyed or heavily damaged 200 locomotives, over 200 canal barges, and an unknown number of enemy aircraft parked on

2772-715: The Mustang B on 24 April 1944 thus: Henry Self The son of Samuel Adolphus Theodore Self, a tram conductor, Henry Self was born in Fulham , London , and educated at Bancroft's School , Woodford Green. Prior to his civil service career, he was employed as a dishwasher on the Fulham Road . During the Second World War, he was part of the British Air Commission in America. Initially he

2856-560: The Mustang's liquid-cooled engine (particularly its liquid coolant system) was vulnerable to small-arms fire, unlike the air-cooled R-2800 radials of its Republic P-47 Thunderbolt stablemates based in England, regularly tasked with ground-strafing missions. Given the overwhelming Allied air superiority , the Luftwaffe put its effort into the development of aircraft of such high performance that they could operate with impunity, but which also made bomber attack much more difficult, merely from

2940-647: The USAAF had become so interested in the Merlin Mustang project that an initial contract for 400 aircraft was placed three months beforehand in August. The conversion led to production of the P-51B beginning at NAA's Inglewood, California, plant in June 1943, and P-51s started to become available to the 8th and 9th air forces in the winter of 1943–1944. Conversion to the two-stage supercharged and intercooled Merlin 60 series, over 350 lb (160 kg) heavier than

3024-532: The V-1710-39. The RAF later operated 308 P-51Bs and 636 P-51Cs, which were known in RAF service as Mustang Mk IIIs; the first units converted to the type in late 1943 and early 1944. Mustang Mk III units were operational until the end of World War II, though many units had already converted to the Mustang Mk IV (P-51D) and Mk IVa (P-51K) (828 in total, comprising 282 Mk IV and 600 Mk IVa). As all except

3108-788: The XP-51B. Based on the Packard V-1650-3 duplicating the Merlin 61's performance, NAA estimated for the XP-78 a top speed of 445 mph (387 kn; 716 km/h) at 28,000 feet (8,500 m), and a service ceiling of 42,000 feet (13,000 m). Initial flights of what was known to Rolls-Royce as the Mustang X were completed at Hucknall in October 1942. The first flight of the US version, designated XP-51B took place in November 1942, but

3192-654: The amphibious Dieppe Raid on the French coast (19 August 1942), four British and Canadian Mustang squadrons, including 26 Squadron, saw action covering the assault on the ground. By 1943–1944, British Mustangs were used extensively to seek out V-1 flying bomb sites. The last RAF Mustang Mk I and Mustang Mk II aircraft were struck off charge in 1945. Army Co-operation Command used the Mustang's superior speed and long range to conduct low-altitude " Rhubarb " raids over continental Europe, sometimes penetrating German airspace. The V-1710 engine ran smoothly at 1,100 rpm, versus 1,600 for

3276-463: The attacks in May destroyed 94 square miles (240 km ) of buildings, which was equivalent to one-seventh of Japan's total urban area. The minister of home affairs , Iwao Yamazaki , concluded after these raids that Japan's civil defense arrangements were "considered to be futile". On the first day of June, 521 B-29s escorted by 148 P-51s were dispatched in a daylight raid against Osaka. While en route to

3360-523: The bombers from England to Germany and back. By the time the Pointblank offensive resumed in early 1944, matters had changed. Bomber escort defenses were initially layered, using the shorter-range P-38s and P-47s to escort the bombers during the initial stages of the raid before handing over to the P-51s when they were forced to turn for home. This provided continuous coverage during the raid. The Mustang

3444-413: The bombers had destroyed much of the country's six largest cities, killing between 112,000 and 126,762 people and rendering millions homeless. The widespread destruction and high number of casualties from these raids caused many Japanese to realize that their country's military was no longer able to defend the home islands. American losses were low compared to Japanese casualties; 136 B-29s were downed during

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3528-602: The bombers proved to be easy prey for the Mustangs, and had to be quickly withdrawn from combat. The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A, already suffering from poor high-altitude performance, was outperformed by the Mustang at the B-17's altitude, and when laden with heavy bomber-hunting weapons as a replacement for the more vulnerable twin-engined Zerstörer heavy fighters, it suffered heavy losses. The Messerschmitt Bf 109 had comparable performance at high altitudes, but its lightweight airframe

3612-532: The campaign. In Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Yokohama, Kobe, and Kawasaki, "over 126,762 people were killed ... and a million and a half dwellings and over 105 square miles (270 km ) of urban space were destroyed." In Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, "the areas leveled (almost 100 square miles (260 km )) exceeded the areas destroyed in all German cities by both the American and British air forces (about 79 square miles (200 km ))." P-51s also conducted

3696-535: The city, the Mustangs flew through thick clouds, and 27 of the fighters were destroyed in collisions. Nevertheless, 458 heavy bombers and 27 P-51s reached the city, and the bombardment killed 3,960 Japanese and destroyed 3.15 square miles (8.2 km ) of buildings. On 5 June, 473 B-29s struck Kobe by day and destroyed 4.35 square miles (11.3 km ) of buildings for the loss of 11 bombers. A force of 409 B-29s attacked Osaka again on 7 June; during this attack, 2.21 square miles (5.7 km ) of buildings were burnt out and

3780-580: The earliest aircraft were obtained under Lend-Lease, all Mustang aircraft still on RAF charge at the end of the war were either returned to the USAAF "on paper" or retained by the RAF for scrapping. The last RAF Mustangs were retired from service in 1947. Prewar doctrine was based on the idea " the bomber will always get through ". Despite RAF and Luftwaffe experience with daylight bombing, the USAAF still incorrectly believed in 1942 that tightly packed formations of bombers would have so much firepower that they could fend off fighters on their own. Fighter escort

3864-408: The escorts, the threat of mass attacks and later the "company front" (eight abreast) assaults by armored Sturmgruppe Fw 190As brought an urgency to attacking the Luftwaffe wherever it could be found, either in the air or on the ground. Beginning in late February 1944 , 8th Air Force fighter units began systematic strafing attacks on German airfields with increasing frequency and intensity throughout

3948-568: The expected Allied invasion fleet. While the P-51 pilots only occasionally encountered Japanese fighters in the air, the airfields were protected by antiaircraft batteries and barrage balloons . By the end of the war, VII Fighter Command had conducted 51 ground-attack raids, of which 41 were considered successful. The fighter pilots claimed to have destroyed or damaged 1,062 aircraft and 254 ships, along with large numbers of buildings and railway rolling stock. American losses were 91 pilots killed and 157 Mustangs destroyed. Two P-51 pilots received

4032-536: The first American pilots to shoot down an Me 262, which he caught during its landing approach. On 7 October 1944, Lt. Urban L. Drew of the 361st Fighter Group shot down two Me 262s that were taking off, while on the same day, Lt. Col. Hubert Zemke , who had transferred to the Mustang-equipped 479th Fighter Group , shot down what he thought was a Bf 109, only to have his gun camera film reveal that it may have been an Me 262. On 25 February 1945, Mustangs of

4116-507: The first production aircraft by January 1941. In March 1940, 320 aircraft were ordered by Freeman, who had become the executive head of the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP) and the contract was promulgated on 24 April. The NA-73X , which was designed by a team led by lead engineer Edgar Schmued , followed the best conventional practice of the era, designed for ease of mass manufacturing. The design included several new features. One

4200-536: The first squadron of Mustang Mk Is entered service in January 1942, the first being No. 26 Squadron RAF . Due to poor high-altitude performance, the Mustangs were used by Army Co-operation Command , rather than Fighter Command, and were used for tactical reconnaissance and ground-attack duties. On 10 May 1942, Mustangs first flew over France, near Berck-sur-Mer . On 27 July 1942, 16 RAF Mustangs undertook their first long-range reconnaissance mission over Germany. During

4284-409: The flight velocities they achieved. Foremost among these were the Messerschmitt Me 163 B point-defense rocket interceptors, which started their operations with JG 400 near the end of July 1944, and the longer-endurance Messerschmitt Me 262 A jet fighter, first flying with the Gruppe -strength Kommando Nowotny unit by the end of September 1944. In action, the Me 163 proved to be more dangerous to

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4368-412: The full tank were made. Since the fuel from the fuselage tank was used during the initial stages of a mission, the fuel tank would be fitted in all Mustangs destined for VIII Fighter Command . The P-51 Mustang was a solution to the need for an effective bomber escort. It used a common, reliable engine and had internal space for a larger-than-average fuel load. With external fuel tanks, it could accompany

4452-412: The fuselage behind the pilot, greatly increasing the aircraft's range over that of the earlier P-51A. NAA incorporated the tank in the production of the P-51B-10, and supplied kits to retrofit it to all existing P-51Bs. The Mustang was initially developed for the RAF, which was its first user. As the first Mustangs were built to British requirements, these aircraft used factory numbers and were not P-51s;

4536-428: The ground, for a loss of eight Mustangs. At sea level, the Mustangs were able to outrun all enemy aircraft encountered. The RAF gained a significant performance enhancement at low altitude by removing or resetting the engine's manifold pressure regulator to allow overboosting, raising output as high as 1,780 horsepower at 70 in Hg. In December 1942, Allison approved only 1,570 horsepower at 60 in Hg manifold pressure for

4620-422: The limited scale of operations, no conclusive evidence showed American doctrine was failing. In the 26 operations flown to the end of 1942, the loss rate had been under 2%. In January 1943, at the Casablanca Conference , the Allies formulated the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) plan for "round-the-clock" bombing – USAAF daytime operations complementing the RAF nighttime raids on industrial centers. In June 1943,

4704-417: The order comprised 320 NA-73s, followed by 300 NA-83s, all of which were designated Mustang Mark I by the RAF. The first RAF Mustangs supplied under Lend-Lease were 93 Mk Ia designated as P-51s by the USAAF, followed by 50 P-51As used as Mustang Mk IIs. Aircraft supplied to Britain under Lend-Lease were required for accounting purposes to be on the USAAC's books before they could be supplied to Britain, but

4788-459: The order had been placed; it first flew on 26 October 1940, 149 days into the contract, an uncommonly short development period even during the war. With test pilot Vance Breese at the controls, the prototype handled well and accommodated an impressive fuel load. The aircraft's three-section, semi-monocoque fuselage was constructed entirely of aluminum to save weight. It was armed with four .30 caliber (7.62 mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns in

4872-422: The promising outlook of a Merlin Mustang, along with the subsequent work in progress by Rolls Royce on the Mustang X, NAA representatives including Mustang designer Schmued visited the UK to examine and discuss the project in detail. The promising calculations and modification progress by Rolls Royce led in July 1942 to a contract being let for two NAA Merlin prototypes, briefly designated XP-78, but soon to become

4956-441: The resulting detailed design drawings, signing the commencement of the Mustang project on 4 May 1940, and firmly ordering 320 on 29 May 1940. Prior to this, NAA only had a letter of intent for an order of 320 aircraft. Curtiss engineers accused NAA of plagiarism. The British Purchasing Commission stipulated armament of four .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns (as used on the Tomahawk), a unit cost of no more than $ 40,000, and delivery of

5040-402: The results were so positive that North American began work on converting several aircraft developing into the P-51B/C (Mustang Mk III) model, which became the first long range fighter to be able 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 two-speed, two-stage- supercharged Merlin 66 , and

5124-410: The second aircraft of this batch to help develop the P-51A. The Allison engine in the Mustang I had a single-stage supercharger that caused power to drop off rapidly above 15,000 feet (4,600 m). This made it unsuitable for use at the altitudes where combat was taking place in Europe. Allison's attempts at developing a high-altitude engine were underfunded, but produced the V-1710-45, which featured

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5208-431: The single-stage Allison, driving a four-bladed Hamilton Standard propeller, required moving the wing slightly forward to correct the aircraft's center of gravity . After the USAAF, in July 1943, directed fighter aircraft manufacturers to maximize internal fuel capacity, NAA calculated the P-51B's center of gravity to be forward enough to include an additional 85 US gal (320 L; 71 imp gal) fuel tank in

5292-420: The spring, with the objective of gaining air supremacy over the Normandy battlefield. In general, these were conducted by units returning from escort missions, but beginning in March, many groups also were assigned airfield attacks instead of bomber support. The P-51, particularly with the advent of the K-14 gyro gunsight and the development of "Clobber Colleges" for the training of fighter pilots in fall 1944,

5376-411: The superiority of the wing designed with the NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils . The other feature was a new cooling arrangement positioned aft (single ducted water and oil radiators assembly) that reduced the fuselage drag and effects on the wing. Later, after much development, they discovered that the cooling assembly could take advantage of the Meredith effect , in which heated air exited the radiator with

5460-469: The war in Europe wound down, the P-51 became more common. With the capture of Iwo Jima , USAAF P-51 Mustang fighters of the VII Fighter Command were stationed on that island starting in March 1945, being initially tasked with escorting Boeing B-29 Superfortress missions against the Japanese homeland . The command's last major raid of May was a daylight incendiary attack on Yokohama on 29 May conducted by 517 B-29s escorted by 101 P-51s. This force

5544-414: The west and quickly improved their battle direction. In fall 1943, the 8th Air Force's heavy bombers conducted a series of deep-penetration raids into Germany, beyond the range of escort fighters. The Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission in August lost 60 B-17s of a force of 376, the 14 October attack lost 77 of a force of 291—26% of the attacking force. For the US, the very concept of self-defending bombers

5628-408: The wings and two .50 caliber (12.7 mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns mounted under the engine and firing through the propeller arc using a gun-synchronizing gear . While the USAAC could block any sales it considered detrimental to the interests of the US, the NA-73 was considered to be a special case because it had been designed at the behest of the British and all dealings were directly between

5712-459: Was a decisive element in Allied countermeasures against the Jagdverbände . The numerical superiority of the USAAF fighters, superb flying characteristics of the P-51, and pilot proficiency helped cripple the Luftwaffe ' s fighter force. As a result, the fighter threat to the US, and later British, bombers was greatly diminished by July 1944. The RAF, long proponents of night bombing for protection, were able to reopen daylight bombing in 1944 as

5796-467: Was a low priority, but when the concept was discussed in 1941, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning was considered to be most appropriate, as it had the speed and range. Another school of thought favored a heavily up-armed "gunship" conversion of a strategic bomber . A single-engined, high-speed fighter with the range of a bomber was thought to be an engineering impossibility. The 8th Air Force started operations from Britain in August 1942. At first, because of

5880-468: Was a wing designed using laminar flow airfoils, which were developed co-operatively by NAA and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). These airfoils generated low drag at high speeds. During the development of the NA-73X, a wind-tunnel test of two wings, one using NACA five-digit airfoils and the other using the new NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils, was performed in the University of Washington Kirsten Wind Tunnel. The results of this test showed

5964-415: Was also one of the first aircraft to have a fuselage lofted mathematically using conic sections ; this resulted in smooth, low-drag surfaces. To aid production, the airframe was divided into five main sections—forward, center, rear fuselage, and two wing halves— all of which were fitted with wiring and piping before being joined. The prototype NA-73X was rolled out in September 1940, just 102 days after

6048-483: Was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean , Italian , and Pacific theaters. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft. At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang, by then redesignated F-51 , was the main fighter of the United States until jet fighters , including North American's F-86 Sabre , took over this role; the Mustang then became

6132-586: Was armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns . From late 1943, P-51Bs and P-51Cs (supplemented by P-51Ds from mid-1944) were used by the USAAF's Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany , while the RAF's Second Tactical Air Force and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force used the Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, roles in which the Mustang helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944. The P-51

6216-542: Was called into question, but instead of abandoning daylight raids and turning to night bombing, as the RAF suggested, they chose other paths; at first, bombers converted to gunships (the Boeing YB-40 ) were believed to be able to escort the bomber formations, but when the concept proved to be unsuccessful, thoughts then turned to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. In early 1943, the USAAF also decided that

6300-543: Was designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine without an export-sensitive turbosupercharger or a multi-stage supercharger, resulting in limited high-altitude performance. The aircraft was first flown operationally and very successfully by the RAF and as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). In mid 1942, a development project known as the Rolls-Royce Mustang X , replaced

6384-401: Was even more greatly affected by increases in armament. The Mustang's much lighter armament, tuned for antifighter combat, allowed it to overcome these single-engined opponents. At the start of 1944, Major General James Doolittle , the new commander of the 8th Air Force, released most fighters from the requirement of flying in close formation with the bombers, allowing them free rein to attack

6468-479: Was fitted to all Mustang X prototypes. Initially, the Mustang's steadfast champion, USAAC/F Assistant Air Attaché Major Thomas Hitchcock, was concerned that the USAAF had little or no interest in the potential of the P-51A and its development with the Merlin engine. He wrote: "Its development in this theatre has suffered for various reasons. Sired by the English out of an American mother, the Mustang has no parent in

6552-410: Was intercepted by 150 A6M Zero fighters, sparking an intense air battle in which five B-29s were shot down and another 175 damaged. In return, the P-51 pilots claimed 26 "kills" and 23 "probables" for the loss of three fighters. The 454 B-29s that reached Yokohama struck the city's main business district and destroyed 6.9 square miles (18 km ) of buildings; over 1000 Japanese were killed. Overall,

6636-455: Was married to Audrey, daughter of Sir John Otter, at one time Mayor of Brighton, and granddaughter of the founder of, amongst others, Lancing College , Hurstpierpoint College and Ardingly College , Nathaniel Woodard . Henry Self had two sons: Peter Self (1919–1999), whose sons are Will Self and Jonathan Self , and Michael Self QC (1921–1998), who married Penny, daughter of the playwright John Drinkwater ) and had two daughters. Already

6720-535: Was running at capacity, so P-40s were in short supply. North American Aviation (NAA) was already supplying its T-6 Texan (known in British service as the "Harvard") trainer to the RAF, but was otherwise underused. NAA President "Dutch" Kindelberger approached Self to sell a new medium bomber , the North American B-25 Mitchell . Instead, Self asked if NAA could manufacture P-40s under license from Curtiss. Kindelberger said NAA could have

6804-751: Was shot down and killed by friendly fire on Christmas Day 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge . In early 1945, P-51C, D, and K variants also joined the Chinese Nationalist Air Force . These Mustangs were provided to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Fighter Groups and used to attack Japanese targets in occupied areas of China. The P-51 became the most capable fighter in China, while the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force used

6888-443: Was so clearly superior to earlier US designs that the 8th Air Force began to steadily switch its fighter groups to the Mustang, first swapping arriving P-47 groups to the 9th Air Force in exchange for those that were using P-51s, then gradually converting its Thunderbolt and Lightning groups. By the end of 1944, 14 of its 15 groups flew Mustangs. The Luftwaffe's twin-engined Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters brought up to deal with

6972-530: Was the air representative to the British Purchasing Commission which was purchasing all kinds of armaments and war materiel in the US. Aircraft production in the UK was nearly at maximum capacity, but additional aeroplanes could be purchased outside of the country. Turning to the United States, which was not yet at war, Self asked if North American Aviation could produce the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk under licence. North American offered to draw up

7056-589: Was to keep the Mustangs away from the Fw 190s as they attacked the bombers. This strategy proved to be problematic, as the large German formation took a long time to assemble and was difficult to maneuver. It was often intercepted by the P-51 "fighter sweeps" before it could attack the bombers. However, German attacks against bombers could be effective when they did occur; the bomber-destroyer Fw 190As swept in from astern and often pressed their attacks to within 90 m (100 yd). While not always able to avoid contact with

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