The P-51 Mustang is an American flown plane that soon became the best US fighter during World War II (Joris Nieuwint).
The P-51 Mustang was built in factories located in Inglewood, California and Dallas, Texas at a cost of $55,000 per plane (Joris Nieuwint). They were made by the North American Aviation (NAA) in 1940, taking 102 days to build the prototype (Joris Nieuwint). The prototype was named the NA-73X and first flew on October 26, 1940 (Joris Nieuwint). “The first Mustangs were the P-51As” containing “Allison V-1710 single stage V-12 engines” (Joris Nieuwint).
“No other combat aircraft of the war could go as far and fly as high as the Mustang” (P-51 Mustang). The P-51 Mustang surpassed all other German and Japanese aircrafts, except for the Messerschmidt 262, but many were shot down by P-51 bomber pilots (P-51 Mustang). “The ‘P’ in P-51 stands for ‘Pursuit'” and “was changed in 1948 to ‘F’ for ‘Fighter’ (Joris Nieuwint).
“The P-51 is certainly one of the greatest United States’ technical achievements of the Second World War and one of the best piston engine fighter aircraft ever designed” (P-51 Mustang). The first organization to use the P-51 aircraft was the RAF in January of 1942 (Joris Nieuwint). “This aircraft was known as the aircraft that permitted the Allied Forces to infiltrate far into the German skies without being attacked by many of the enemy fighter aircrafts (P-51 Mustang). This fighter aircraft was able to go 437 miles per hour, go as high as 41900 feet in the air, and can go 1,000 miles (P-51 Mustang). It weighs 7,000 pounds, has a wingspan of 37 feet, has a length of 32 feet, and a height of 13 feet (P-51 Mustang).
“The P-51D, had six .50 caliber Browning machine guns holding 1,880 rounds (400 rounds in each gun and 270 rounds in each outboard)” (Joris Nieuwint). “They also carried 10 “zero rail” rockets under each wing and were equipped with bomb racks.
Each plane could carry 1000 pounds of bombs” (Joris Nieuwint). These bombers were used in the Pacific and the European areas and was especially used to bomb Germany (Joris Nieuwint). The P-51 Mustang had a great contribution with its massive weight and size.The Mustang’s destruction of enemies helped out the Allied Nations throughout the war.
“The Mustang was the first single-engine fighter in Britain with enough range to escort bombers to the heart of Germany and back” (Joris Nieuwint). “Mustang pilots shot down a total of 4,950 enemy aircraft during World War II” (Joris Nieuwint). A quote from Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring about the bombing was, “When I saw Mustangs over Berlin, I knew the jig was up” (Joris Nieuwint).
After the war, “the Mustang was the primary fighter plane of the United Nations at the beginning of the Korean War” but were later replaced by F-86 planes (Joris Nieuwint). “The last Mustang was retired from service in the US Air Force in 1978” and later the Mustang was retired from foreign services in 1984 by the Dominican Republic Air Force (Joris Nieuwint). After the wars, Mustangs were mostly used for civilians (Joris Nieuwint). “They were used in air racing and, increasingly, preserved as historic warplanes flown at air shows” (Joris Nieuwint).
The P-51 Mustangs’ contribution to World War II and eventually the Korean War were overwhelmingly amazing. Works Cited Joris Nieuwint. “20 Facts About The P-51 Mustang – The Best US Fighter of WWII.” War History Online, 6 November 2015, https://www.
warhistoryonline.com/military-vehicle-news/20-facts-about-the-p-51-mustang-the-best-us-fighter-of-ww2.html. Accessed 18 January 2018.
“P-51 Mustang.” World-War-2-Planes.com, http://www.world-war-2-planes.com/p-51-mustang.
html. Accessed 18 January 2018.
