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.

Design

What's even more amazing than the superior characteristics and longevity of the Mustang are the facts that it was designed by North American, a company that had never before designed a fighter aircraft, and that it made it from conception to prototype in an unprecedented 102 days.
The P51 began its career as a result of the British considering North American as a potential supplier of the Curtiss P40. Rather than build someone else's airplane, North American's Raymond Rice and Edgar Schmued wanted instead to create their own. The British agreed to let the company try provided it could produce a prototype within 120 days. North American made the deadline and the prototype, called the NA-73, made its maiden flight on Oct. 26, 1940.

The Mustang was a very advanced design. It employed an laminar flow wing and other innovative features such as a centrally located radiator scoop and exhaust ducting which combined to make it highly effective in many regimes. Initial flights exposed some minor problems primarily related to engine overheating, but it did not take long for the designers to confirm what they expected: The NA-73X was a highly advanced fighter and represented a major breakthrough in fighter design.

The British didn't need to wait until October to realize the potential of this new fighter. In late May they ordered 320 of the unproven and unfinished design. Under this contract, two of the new fighters were to be given to the USAAF for testing. The designation of these American aircraft was XP-51.

Surprisingly, while the British anxiously awaited delivery of their new fighter, the USAAF all but ignored it while focusing on the P-38 Lightning and P-47 Thunderbolt. Meanwhile the British, while happy with the low altitude performance of the aircraft, were less than thrilled with the performance as the Allison powered Mustang passed 17,000 feet. In an effort to remedy this they attempted a marriage of a Mustang body with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. The result astonished test pilots and they knew they had a truly advanced fighter on their hands. This Rolls-Royce powered Mustang became the P-51 as we know it.