The P-51 MUSTANG

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range piston-engined fighter aircraft used in World War II , the Korean War , and other conflicts. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have shot down 4,950 enemy aircraft, second only to the Grumman F6F Hellcat among Allied fighters . [ 2 ]

The Mustang was designed, engineered and built by North American Aviation (NAA), in response to a specification from Great Britain . The NA-73X prototype first flew on October 26, 1940. [ 3 ] The fighter was originally designed to use the low-altitude certified Allison V-1710 engine and first flew operationally with the Royal Air Force ( British RAF, in aerial reconnaissance and ground attack missions . The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-produced version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin, and armed with six M2 Browning 12.7 mm machine guns .

From late 1943, P-51Bs (and also P-51Ds from mid-1944) were used by the USAAF Eighth Air Force to escort heavy bombers on missions over Germany . The RAF and USAAF Ninth Air Force used Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, helping to consolidate Allied air superiority in 1944. The P-51 was also used on other Allied fronts, such as North Africa, the Mediterranean, and Italy, as well as in limited service against Japan in the Pacific War .

At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang was the primary fighter aircraft used by the United Nations , until jet fighters, including the F-86 , took its place, with the Mustang being used as a fighter-bomber for ground attack. Despite the emergence of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After World War II and the Korean War, many Mustangs were converted to civilian use, particularly for air racing