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Jett Trappett's superb Mustang today thrills air show crowds right across Australia and brings to life the markings of the RAAF's first Mustang units so long ago. Rebuilding a P-51 today (assuming you can get one) is as good as buying gold bullion as the market value of mint condition aircraft of this genre appreciates in line with their vintage. (Defence PR)
Profile – North American P-51 Mustang
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The First of a Two Part Series Describing One of the Classic Aircraft of World War II and According to Its Many Devotees, the Best Fighter of Its Era. In This First Installment, the Mustang’s Design and Development During Wwii Is Described
North American P-51 Mustang Part 1
Whether or not the 1944 Truman Senate War Investigating Committee’s description of the Mustang as “the most aerodynamically perfect pursuit plane in existence” is entirely accurate or not (its maximum Mach number was less than the Spitfire’s, for example) the fact remains that the aircraft was a remarkable one and one which resulted from an equally remarkable set of circumstances. Lacking in altitude performance in its early models, the Mustang was transformed by the mating of its advanced airframe with the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine in 1942, the combination resulting in a long-range high altitude escort fighter of the highest calibre capable of ranging from Britain to Berlin and beyond while simultaneously ‘mixing it’ with the best fighters the Luftwaffe could offer.
Despite British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s ‘peace in our time’ utterings in 1938, there were those within the British Government who considered a war with Germany to be inevitable. As a result, a British Purchasing Committee led by Sir Henry Self visited the USA in 1938 with the intention of obtaining US-built aircraft for the Royal Air Force. The United States was observing a policy of strict neutrality at the time, although provided a country intending the purchase of US equipment was not actually at war, the US Government had no objection to foreign sales.
Self and his Commission visited several US aircraft manufacturers during the visit and placed orders for 200 Lockheed Hudson reconnaissance bombers and a similar number of T-6 Texan (called ‘Harvard’ in RAF service) advanced trainers with North American Aviation of Inglewood, California. The first Harvard was delivered to the RAF just four months after the contract was signed.
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