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North American P-51 Mustang |
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One of the truly great fighters of thewar, the North American P-51 Mustangwas originally designed in 1940 to aBritish requirement. The prototypeNA-73 was first flown in October thatyear with a 820-kW (1,100-hp) AllisonV-1710-F3F but, although two early aircraftwere evaluated by the USAAF asXP-51 aircraft, the type was notadopted by that air force. Most of theearly aircraft were supplied to the RAF(620 aircraft as Mustang Mk IA andMustang Mk II). Their outstanding lowlevelspeed and range resulted in theirassignment to the ground support(army co-operation) role. After theUSA's entry into the war the USAAFadopted the aircraft, ordering 148 P-51s which had four 20-mm cannon (insteadof four 0.5-in and four 0.3-in) wingbomb shackles in the attack categoryas the A-36A, The British in the meantimehad re-engmed four Mustangswith Rolls-Royce Merlins, and this expedienttransformed the aircraft. InAmerica the armament was reducedto four 12.7-mm (0.5-in) guns, all in thewings, and an 895-kW (1,200-hp) AllisonV-1710-81 was used in the P-51 A,310 being ordered in 1942. So spectacularwere the benefits of the Merlinthat a Packard-built Merlin (as the V-1650) was used in the P-51B, of which1,988 were produced at Inglewood;1,750 of the similar P-51C were built atDallas, Texas. Later aircraft had thearmament restored to six guns, whileincreased fuel capacity extended therange to a maximum of 3347 km (2,080miles), enabling Mustangs to escortAmerican bombers to Berlin. The P-5ID featured a cut-down rear fuselageand 'tear-drop' canopy. The Merlin P-51 joined the RAF as the Mustang MkHI (P-5 IB and P-51C) and Mustang MkIV (P-5ID). Fastest of all versions wasthe lightened P-5 IH with a top speed of784 km/h (487 mph), 555 being builtduring the war. Total production of theP-51 was 15,586, including 7,956 P-5IDs and 1,337 generally similar P-51Kfighters with an Aeroproducts propeller.SpecificationNorth American P-5 ID (MustangMkW)Type: single-seat long-range fighterPowerplant: one 1112-kW ( 1,490-hp)Packard Rolls-Royce Merlin V-1650-7V-12 piston enginePerformance: maximum speed704 km/h (437 mph) at 7620 m(25,000 ft); climb to 9145 m (30,000 ft) in13.0 minutes; service ceiling 12770 m(41,900 ft); maximum range 3347 km(2,080 miles)Weights: empty 3232 kg (7,125 lb);maximum take-off 5262 kg ( 11,600 lb)Dimensions: span 11,28 m (37 ft 0% in);length 9.85 m (32 ft 3% in); height3.71 m(.12ft2in);wingarea21,65m2(233.2 sq ft)Armament: six 12.7-mm (0.5-in)machine-guns in the wings, plusprovision for up to two 454-kg ( 1,000-Ib) bombs or six 127-mm (5-in) rocketprojectiles
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