Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine

If ever it can be said that an engine steered the course of war, it would be the Rolls-Royce Merlin that would be mentioned as the one having done it. The Merlin was the heart of some of the most effective combat aircraft of World War II including the Supermarine Spitfire, de Havilland Mosquito, Hawker Hurricane, Avro Lancaster and, of course, the P51 Mustang.

Mustang I and IA for the RAF

by Joe Baugher

The P-51 Mustang was perhaps the most famous fighter of World War II, and, many would say, the best all-round piston-engined fighter produced by any of the combatants during that conflict. Total production of all Mustangs amounted to 15,575 in the USA and 100 in Australia, ranking only behind the P-47 Thunderbolt in being the fighter manufactured in greatest numbers for the USAAF. Mustangs accounted for 4950 of the 10,720 air combat victories claimed by the USAAF in Europe, and 4131 of the 8160 ground strafing claims made in the same theatre, accounting for 48.9 percent of total losses inflicted on the enemy. They shot down more than 230 V-1 "buzz bombs", and they even managed to score some kills against Luftwaffe jet fighters.

In 1934, James H. "Dutch" Kindelberger became president of North American Aviation, Inc. Not only was Kindelberger an excellent businessman, he was also a capable aeronautical engineer. As early as 1938, Kindelberger had made numerous trips to Europe seeking orders for his company, and he had the opportunity to see up close some of the airplanes that would be in combat in the war that almost everyone believed would shortly be coming. After hostilities broke out, Kindelberger eagerly sought out combat reports from both sides and developed some ideas of his own. Although Kindelberger had no experience with fighters, he collaborated with his friend and colleague J. Leland Atwood to formulate an outline for a fighter project. A project team was formed at North American, made up of such people as Raymond H. Rice, Edgar Schmued, Larry Waite and E. H. Horkey. A sort of urban legend has grown up about Edgar Schmued, which claims that he had once worked for Willy Messerschmitt and that the Mustang was heavily influenced by the Bf 109.

In April of 1940, Kindelberger was summoned by the British Air Purchasing Commision and asked to manufacture the Curtiss Hawk 87 (P-40D) under license for the RAF. Kindelberger countered that NAA could do better than that airplane and that they could design a real fighter in the same time that it would take to put the P-40 into production. The British commission felt that they could take Kindelberger at his word, and on April 10, 1940 they accepted his proposal on the condition that the first prototype be ready in 120 days. The design was assigned the company project name of Model NA-73.

North American P-51 Mustang History Part III - P-51 in Combat

The first Mustangs to see combat in World War II were RAF Mk Is. The first combat missions were recon/ground attack which soon became known as reconaissance and destroy missions. The RAF soon expanded the role of the Mk Is to include anti-shipping escort duties and low-altitude interception. The appearance of the Mustangs gave the British an aircraft at least the equal of the highly capable German Focke Wulf 190 which had proved superior to British Spitfires.

North American P-51 Mustang History Part II - Variants

Mustang MkI
The first production Mustang aircraft delivered to the RAF. Two of this type were delivered to the USAAF as XP-51s. Most of this type was powered by the 1150 hp Allison engine and was armed with four .50 cal and four .30 cal machine guns.

A36

The dive bomber version of the Mustang, the A36 was powered by the Allison engine and entered service in 1942. It was armed with six .50 cal machine guns or four 20mm cannons, had provisions to carry two 500-lb bombs and was equipped with dive brakes, though many of this variant had the dive brakes disabled due to stress problems. Confusion surrounds the name designation of this aircraft. Some sources refer to it as the "Apache", "Invader" or both before it adopted the name "Mustang".

North American P-51 Mustang History Part I

Introduction

The P-51 Mustang is arguably the greatest fighter of all time. With its long range, superior speed, lethal weaponry and outstanding maneuverability the Mustang proved to be unequalled as an escort fighter. It was also an outstanding interceptor and ground attacker as well as reconnaisance aircraft. The fact that the Mustang remained in service with various air forces around the world into the 1970s is a testament to its abilities.