![]() ![]() ![]() The Mustang’s top speed leapt to well over 400 miles per hour, and it no longer suffered from performance drop-off at higher altitudes. In the fall of 1942, the Americans and British experimented with Mustangs by adding British Rolls-Royce Merlin engines to the air-frame. While the American-built Allison engine was fine at lower altitudes, it suffered a drastic drop-off in performance at higher ones. The British accepted the plane into service, and gave it its famous “Mustang” nickname. It was an astonishing accomplishment for North American: they had delivered a brand new, prototype aircraft in a mere 102 days and flew it weeks later. The P-51 prototype was ready on September 9, 1940, and it first flew October 26, 1940. Instead of P-40s, North American offered to design a new fighter which became the P-51 Mustang. ![]() So, why was the P-51 such a game changer? Where did this world-class aircraft come from? In early 1940, the British asked North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 Warhawks because they desperately needed planes as the Germans were rampaging across Europe. Post-P-51, the Allies established complete control of the air, and drove the Germans from the skies of Europe. ![]() Pre-P-51, the Allies were losing-and losing badly. One of the most important operations of the war, the strategic bombing campaign against Germany, can be broken down into two phases: pre-P-51 and post-P-51. While the Mustang was in Europe and the Pacific, its impact on the strategic situation in Europe cannot be understated. The North American P-51 Mustang is the gold standard for WWII fighters. Gift In memory of Isaac "Ike" Bethel Utley, 2012.019.243 Top Image: P-51 Mustang fighters on the way to their base on the recently captured Japanese island of Iwo Jima, 1945. ![]()
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