THE GREAT PLANES North American P-51 Mustang

Dayton
Daily
News A series of special pages focusing on the significant machines, events and people of powered flight’s first 100 years

Compared to the four guns in earlier versions, the P-51D Pilots’ favorite improvement The paint scheme on the P-51D model shown below is similar CENTURY OF FLIGHT
featured a total of six .50-caliber machine guns (three to the P-51D: the bubble to that of the 380th Fighter Squadron based in France
in each wing). They could also be equipped with up to canopy that allowed a 360- during Aug. 1944. (Identification numbers
two 1,000-pound bombs and ten 5-inch rockets. degree view. and letters are fictitious) The model also
features the dorsal fillet added to late 1903 ~ 2003
model P-51Ds to increase lateral stability.
P-51D Specs & Stats
Manufacturer: North American
Number Produced: 7,956
Span: 37 ft. 0 in.
North American P-51A in flight. Length: 32 ft. 3 in.
Height: 13 ft. 8 in.
One of the best fighter Weight: 12,100 lbs. max.
Armament: Six .50-caliber machine guns and ten
designs of World War II 5-inch rockets or 2,000 pounds of bombs.
Engine: Packard-built Rolls-Royce "Merlin" V-
“We sensed it was special, even 1650 of 1,695 hp.
before we measured it against what Cost: $54,000
the enemy pilots were flying.” PERFORMANCE:
Continued Sources: National Aviation Hall of Fame; P-51Mustang Maximum speed: 437 mph.
~from “To Fly and Fight, Memoirs of a Triple improvements
In Detail& Scale by Bert Kinzey (Squadron/Signal Cruising speed: 275 mph.
Ace,” by Clarence 'Bud' Anderson (1990). Publications, 1997); P-51Mustang by Larry Davis
to P-51s throughout the (Squadron/Signal Publications, 1995); 354th Fighter Range: Normal:1,000 miles, with drop tanks: 1,850
The Allison engines in the first Mustangs war included moving the Group by William N. Hess (Osprey Publishing, miles.
Originally developed by request of the had limited high-altitude performance. carburetor scoop from the top 2002); To Fly andFight by Col. Clarence E. Anderson Service Ceiling: 41,900 ft.
Royal Air Force to replenish losses suffered In 1943, the Allison was replaced with of the nose to a point under the
(St. Martin’s Press, 1990);
in the Battle of Britain, then embraced by the supercharged Rolls-Royce Merlin spinner and increasing the size Web sites: www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/air_power/ap9.htm (specs-info);
the United States Army Air Force, the first (above) and the P-51 became the of the leading edge of both Redtail Angels, The Tuskegee Airmen, www.world-wide-net.com/tuskegeeairmen/;
P-51s debuted in combat in May, 1942. Mustangs featured either 75-gallon A Tribute to my Father, www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/1350/;
dominant Allied long-range bomber wings at the root. teardrop-shaped external fuel tanks Lonely Eagles, http://www.af.mil/news/airman/0299/tusk.htm;
Constant retooling resulted in the P-51A escort and fighter. www.mustangsmustangs.com; www.352ndFG.com; www.354th.com.
(Mustang II), with a top speed of 409 mph or 110-galllon tanks made partially of
at 10,000 feet. compressed paper (shown here) to add
Efforts to improve the performance of where they escorted B-29s to Japan to the planes’ range.
the P-51s led to the installation of the from Iwo Jima, Mustangs served in
Rolls-Royce V-1650 Merlin engine, which nearly every combat zone. The Right Stuff
in turn led to much P-51s contin-
By World War II's end, P-51s had destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft
THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN
improved speed ued to serve long
after many of their in the air, more than any other fighter in Europe. The plane has On Jul. 19, 1941, after pressure from the secret." The 332nd ended World War II as
and altitude been called everything from one of the best fighters ever developed
numbers (430 mph WWII-era peers, courts, national civil rights leaders and some the only fighter group never tp lose a bomber
at 25,000 feet). In performing Don Gentile of Piqua to “the plane that won the war.” But as noted military airpower
Maj.
Maj. George
George Preddy,
Preddy, the
the top
top Mustang
Mustang aceace of
of WWII,
WWII, on
on Aug.
Aug. 6,
6, members of Congress, the United States to enemy fighters.

This page designed and written by TED PITTS/DAYTON DAILY NEWS. For more information contact tpitts@coxohio.com
admirably in the expert Bert Kinzey has written, “ The war was won by people.” Pilots Army Air Force began a program in Alabama By the end of the war, the Tuskegee
December, 1943, Maj. Dominic S. Gentile of Piqua was a like Bud Anderson Jr. and Chuck Yeager of the 357th Fighter Group 1944,
1944, after
after he
he downed
downed sixsix German
German Me-109s.
Me-109s.
these Merlin- Korean War as the decorated pilot with the legendary Royal to train black Americans as military pilots Airmen had downed 111 enemy fighters,
leading fighter- epitomized the aptitude and attitude that the air war demanded. Yeager, after being shot down behind enemy lines, eluding at the Tuskegee Institute, the famed school including three of eight Messerschmitt ME-
powered P-51Bs Air Force Eagle Squadron No. 133 In his book To Fly and Fight, Anderson wrote, “I didn't wonder if capture and returning to England with the aid of the French resistance
first entered bombers in the until1942, when he transferred to the founded by Booker T. Washington. The first 262 jets shot down by the Allies
“jet war” until I'd just made a new bride a widow, or if he might have had kids. . . – thus earning an automatic ticket home – protested all the way to class of Tuskegee fighter pilots formed the during the war, in addition
combat over United States Army Air Force 336th Fighter I may have given some thought to how many of my friends he had Gen. Eisenhower that he didn’t want to leave a job unfinished.
Europe as withdrawn from Squadron, Fourth Fighter Group of the 99th Fighter Squadron and began combat to destroying
Two .50-caliber guns in each combat in 1953. killed, or might have killed in the future, or how many bombers he Yeager’s persistence convinced the Allied commander that he should duty in North Africa. Under the comand of numerous targets
excellent high- Eighth Air Force. Flying “Shangri-La,” a P- might have shot down had he lived. . . From what I could tell, he be allowed to return to combat, where he later shot down five
altitude escorts to wing of early P-51s were Whether or not 51B Mustang, he became one of the war's hadn't been overly concerned about me.” German fighters in a single day.
Col. Benjamin O. Davis, the 99th then joined on ground
B-17 and B-24 mounted parallel to the ground the Mustang was most famous fighter aces. On April 5, 1944, with Tuskegee pilots of the 100th, 301st and attack missions.
bombers The P- and tended to jam when the “best” fighter at age 23, Gentile broke World War I ace WWII P-51 TRIPLE ACES (15 victories) 302nd Fighter Squadrons to form the 322d Collectively,
51D remedied two maneuvering. The P-51D ever built, most Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker’s record of 26 WWII P-51 “ACES-IN-A-DAY” Name Group P-51 air Total air Fighter Group and flew combat missions the Tuskegee
nagging problems of featured three guns in each wing aviation historians “Big Jim” Howard and the 354th Fighter Group enemy aircraft downed in combat. He Name Unit Date Shot down victories victories from bases in Italy. Airmen earned 150
the early versions. mounted parallel to the plane of agree that its range, The 354th Fighter Group, (356th, 355th China. On Jan. 11, 1944, he found himself finished his tour with more than 30 air William H. Allen 55 09-05-44 5 Heinkel 111 George E. Preddy, Jr. 352 23.83 26.83 Originally equipped with P-40 Warhawks Distinguished Flying
In P-51Bs the 4, .50- the wing to solve the jamming maneuverabilty and and 353rd Fighter Squadrons) was known the only fighter between a group of B-17s and ground victories. His decorations Ernest E. Bankey 364 12-27-44 4 FW190, 1.5 Me109 John C. Meyer 352 21 24 and P-47 Thunderbolts, the group eventually Crosses, nine Purple
caliber guns in the problem and add firepower. endurance at the very
as the “Pioneer Mustang Group” because it of the 401st Bomber Group and a large included the Distinguished Service Cross, William R. Beyer 361 09-27-44 5 FW190 Don S. Gentile 4 16.5 21.8 wound up flying P-51s. Davis later said of Hearts, 14 Bronze Stars,
wings did not least helped turn the tide the Silver Star, and the Distinguished Flying the Mustang: "You ask anyone who has flown 744 Air Medals and
was the first to fly the improved Rolls Royce formation of enemy fighters. Howard dove Wayne K. Blickenstaff 353 03-24-45 3 FW190, 2 Me109 Ray S. Wetmore 359 17 21.25
provide enough firepower and often of the air war in Europe in WWII. Cross, among numerous others. From one . . . and you realize that it was THE clusters, three
Merlin engine-equipped P-51B fighters as again and again into the enemy ranks, Donald S. Bryan 352 01-02-44 5 FW190 John J. Voll 31 21 21
jammed. The D version added another long-range bomber escort. The new planes scattering planes and, according to 1944 through 1946, Gentile worked as a Bruce W. Carr 354 04-02-45 3 FW190, 2 Me109 Leonard K. Carson 357 18.5 18.5 superior fighter built in our country." distinguished unit
gun to each wing and positioned the guns had the range and altitude capabilities to observers, shooting down at least six test pilot at Wright Field in Dayton. Gentile Leonard K. Carson 357 11-27-44 5 FW190 Glenn T. Eagleston 354 18.5 18.5 The "Red Tails" of the 332nd Fighter citations, Legions of
parallel to the plane of the wings rather effectively engage German fighters deep in fighters. The CO of the 401st described died in a jet trainer J.S. Daniel 339 11-26-44 5 FW190 John C. Herbst 23 14 18 Group (so-named because of the distinctively Merit and the Red
than parallel to the ground as in earlier enemy territory. By war’s end the 354th’s Howard’s heroism: “Your unprecedented crash in 1951 and Robert A. Elder 353 03-24-45 4 FW190, 1 Me109 John B. England 357 17.5 17.5 painted vertical stabilizers on their aircraft) Star of
versions. accomplishments included: the top scoring action in flying your P-51 alone and was inducted William J. Hovde 355 12-05-44 4.5 FW190, 1 Me109 John F. Thornell, Jr. 352 11 17.25 soon became “Red Tail Angels” to the Yugoslavia.
in the early P51s were addressed with fighter unit (the 353rd FS had more aerial unaided into a swarm of (fighters) into the William H. Lewis 55 09-05-44 5 trainers James S. Varnell, Jr. 52 17 17 bomber crews they escorted into combat Sixty-six
the introduction of the distinctive bubble victories than any other fighter squadron in estimated between 30 and 40. . . is a National Carl J. Luksic 352 05-08-44 4 FW190, 1 Me109 John T. Godfrey 4 13.83 16.33 over Europe. As one bomber pilot noted, Tuskegee
canopy of the P-51D, giving pilots a full any theater during the war), a total of 44 feat deserving of the highest Aviation Hall Edward O. McComas 23 12-23-44 5 Oscar Clarence E. Anderson, Jr. 357 16.25 16.25 "The P-38s always stayed too far out. Some Airmen
360-degree view. aces, including the only fighter pilot, Maj. commendation and praise. The fact of Fame in Gordon H. McDaniel 325 04-14-44 5 FW190 Richard A. Peterson 357 15.5 15.5 of the Mustang groups stayed in too close. . . gave their
By war's end, P-51s had destroyed James H. Howard, to be awarded the Medal that the odds were overwhelmimgly 1995. George E. Preddy 352 08-06-44 6 Me109 William T. Whisner 352 14.5 15.5 Other groups, we got the feeling that they lives in
4,950 enemy aircraft in the air, more of Honor in Northern Europe. against you and that you had no hope William A. Shomo 82 TRS 01-11-45 6 Tony, 1 Betty Samuel J. Brown 31 15.5 15.5 just wanted to go and shoot down 109s. . . combat.
than any other fighter in Europe. Between Howard, the 356th’s CO, had seen ex- of receiving assistance. . . did not deter William T. Whisner 352 11-21-44 5 FW190 Jack T. Bradley 354 15 15 The Red Tails were always out there where
1941-5, the USAAF ordered 14,855 tensive combat with the American Volunteer you in your determination to engage the Sidney S. Woods 4 03-22-45 5 FW190 Ralph K. Hofer 4 13 15 we wanted them to be. . . We had no idea
Mustangs, of which 7,956 were P-51Ds. The cockpit of a WWII-era P-51. Group against the Japanese over Burma and enemy.” Charles E. Yeager 357 10-22-44 5 Me109 Bruce W. Carr 363, 354 15 15 they were black; it was the Army's best kept
From North Africa to Europe to the Pacific,