North American Mustang P-51: Long Range Fighter

By Dave Windle and Martin W. Bowman

The Mustang was born from a British WW2 specification to North American during 1940. The prototype was completed within 117 days but the RAF was not happy with the aircraft's performance and suggested replacing the V-12 Allison with the more powerful RR Merlin. The result was a superbly fast and maneuverable aircraft that had the range to escort Allied bomber forces on raids deep into occupied Europe. A total of 15,469 of the type were built and used in combat until the Korean War.This book contains the world famous color profiles created by Dave Windle of the type in different operational modes, configurations and color schemes. Martin Bowman has written detailed descriptions and photographs to create the perfect enthusiasts' reference.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Dec 13, 2011
• ISBN: 9781783461158

Dave Windle

Dave Windle has gained the reputation of being Britain’s most skilful creator of aircraft profiles. He draws upon his service with the RAF to maintain complete accuracy. Lives near Aberdeen. Martin Bowman is one of Britain’s foremost aviation historians and has written many books and articles. He lives in Norwich.

Book preview

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First published in Great Britain in 2011 by

PEN & SWORD AVIATION

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

47 Church Street

Barnsley

South Yorkshire

S70 2AS

Copyright © Dave Windle & Martin W. Bowman, 2011

9781783461158

The right of Dave Windle & Martin W. Bowman to be identified as Authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

NORTH AMERICAN P-51 MUSTANG

PROFILES OF FLIGHT - P-51 MUSTANG P-51A, P-51B, P-51C, TP-51B, P-51D, TF-51D, P-51K

NORTH AMERICAN P-51 MUSTANG

The Mustang story begins in April 1940 when British Direct Purchasing Commission officials visiting America sought a new long-range fighter to supplement the Spitfire and Hurricane. A number of US aircraft manufacturers were called to a conference in New York on 5 April and the delegates included James H ‘Dutch’ Kindelberger, president of North American Aviation Incorporated, who was accompanied by the company’s executive vice-president, J. Leland Attwood. When Curtiss-Wright Corporation offered to supply the Curtiss H-87 (P-40D), which was already in production, it was suggested that North American could ease the supply problem by assisting in production of the aircraft. Then Kindelberger offered to design and build a new and infinitely superior fighter specifically developed to meet the British requirement using the same 1,150-hp Allison V-1710-39 engine. The British Purchasing Commission accepted their proposal but the contract also called for various types of other fittings and armament to be provided by the British, who specified that the cost of each aircraft should not exceed $40,000. North American’s only previous experience in fighter design and construction was limited to the NA-50A, which had been designed in 1939 for Siam (now Thailand). However, Kindelberger had studied accounts of air combat in Europe and he had already conceived the broad outlines of a new combat-worthy fighter, designated NA-73. Also, much useful technical data was obtained from the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. The first prototype was not built from production drawings, but rather from design layouts so that a faster rate could be achieved. All told, 3,500 original drawings were required, in addition to a wind-tunnel test programme and a structural test programme, which had to be virtually completed prior to the first flight. The design and production team worked sixteen hours each day, six days a week, finishing at 1800 hours.

Mustang Is of 168 Squadron RAF at Odiham in 1942. (via Harry Holmes)

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Kindelberger and Attwood called a meeting of the design team at North American, including: Raymond H. Rice (chief engineer); chief design engineer, German-born Edgar Schmued, who had previously worked for Fokker and Messerschmitt; E. J. Horkey (aerodynamicist); and Ken Bowen (project engineer). Arthur G. Patch and John F. Steppe were to oversee wing and fuselage design respectively. Rice ordered a low-drag, high-lift wing, while Horkey submitted what were then considered radical ideas for an aerofoil section. Rice and Schmued planned the NA-73 for mass production with a low, square-cut wing, whose laminar-flow aerofoil had its maximum thickness well aft, similar to aerofoils introduced by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), giving it the lowest drag of any fighter yet built. A radiator scoop was streamlined into the underside of the fuselage underside behind the pilot, while keeping the fuselage cross-section to the smallest depth possible. The low-drag wing was perfect for high-speed flights over long distances but it meant the aircraft would have a high landing speed so flap design was of vital importance. North American engineers were worried that all of these advanced features would cause long delays when the aircraft went into production but, in the event, their fears proved groundless. Even before the first flight took place, design for production had already started and Ken Bowen was given the job of chief production project engineer.

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An Australian pilot, Flying Officer D. W. Samson, with his very early Mustang I (AG431), one of the first to arrive in Britain for the RAF.