 North American P-51D Mustang |
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| USA | |
| Single-seat | |
| Fighter/attacker | |
| 12,100 lbs. | |
| Wing span 37' Length 32'3" Height 12'2" |
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| 249 gallons | |
| Package 1 4) 50 cal M2 270 rpg 2) 50 cal M2 400 rpg Package 2 Optional |
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For me on this day, I was alone and there were five Me 109s. But only the leader and I were one-on-one. The other four were covering. Probably ordered to. For what seemed an eternity it was a stand-off. Each of us struggled and jockeyed for position to close the circle. What's going on? I wondered. I knew I was just an average pilot. But, I'm thinking, unlike that German, I am in a P-51! What's the problem? I'm wondering. Has he given up? Is he tired? Low on fuel? The game has changed, I'm thinking. His cover has joined the fight. They have coordinated their passes from different headings. They are doing all the shooting. There is a cloud cover below with the tops around 10,000 feet. I do what I did on my check-out: Chopped throttle, full rudder, stick back. Snap! I'm spinning. Not flying. When I hit the overcast, I let go of the controls. The spinning stopped. I rolled my P-51 level and broke out in the clear after 15 min on instruments. Back at bomber altitude I joined up with other friends and returned to base. Tomorrow will be another day, I thought. Major Thomas L. Hayes Jr., Commander 364th FS, 357th FG- 8.5 aerial victories |
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History The P-51D has become an icon of American airpower in WWII despite the fact that it only participated in the last year of the war in Europe. While renowned for its beautiful lines, it's equally famous for its excellent performance and long range. It truly excelled as a long-range escort, able to fly great distances and take the fight to the enemy. The P-51D was a further improvement of the P-51B. The desire for better all-around visibility led to the cutting down of the fuselage and installation of a bubble canopy. The wings were strengthened to accommodate heavier loads and the armament was increased to six .50 caliber machine-guns in an upright position from four in a troublesome canted position in the P-51B. Despite the drastic change in appearance, the P-51D was not all that different from the late model P-51B. They both shared the same license-built Packard Merlin V-1650-7 and had the same fuel capacity. Performance suffered little compared to the late model P-51B despite the increased armament and bubble canopy. The laminar flow wing and clean lines of the P-51 gave it a very low drag coefficient. Over 8000 P-51Ds were built in six major production blocks. These different blocks introduced further refinements such as a tail fillet to offset instability caused by the cut-down fuselage, a K-14 gunsight, and zero length rocket rails for mounting High Velocity Aerial Rockets (HVARs). The P-51K was a Dallas built version of the P-51D. The only other difference between the two was the use of an Aeroproducts propeller on the P-51K. The P-51D stayed in service after WWII and went on to fight again in the Korean War, this time mainly in the air-to-ground role. By then, the P designation was no longer used and it had been redesignated F-51D. The last operator of the P-51D was the Dominican Republic who did not retire it from service until 1984 - 40 years after its operational debut. The final combat operation took place in 1983 when a Cuban intelligence ship refused to leave Dominican waters and the Mustangs strafed it. In retaliation, Cuba sent MiG-21s to attack the Dominican airfield. Knowing the better part of valor, the Mustang pilots did not try to fight off the MiGs. As one Dominican pilot recalled, "We went inside and hid until they went away." |
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The P-51D in Aces High The two greatest assets of the P-51D are its high speed and long range. The P-51D is best utilized as a high-speed energy fighter. While it can dogfight competently in the hands of an experienced pilot, such tactics may play away from its strengths. When the Mustang is kept fast, it is a very difficult plane to encounter. Its speed often gives it the capability to dictate the terms of the fight. Although the P-51 is a sturdy aircraft that can carry a lot of ordnance, its use in the ground attack mode is more hazardous because of the susceptibility of its liquid-cooled engine to ground fire. It only takes a bullet through the radiator to mortally wound the aircraft. The P-51D has a plain flap that is designed to also aid maneuvering at the 10 degree setting. This setting will provide an enhancement to the plane's turning capabilities at a low cost in additional drag. If you get caught in a turning fight, use of the maneuver setting is highly recommended. The maneuver flap setting can be used up to speeds of 400 MPH. For takeoff, 20 degrees of flaps is the recommended setting. Maximum flap deflection is 50 degrees. The fuel system consists of two 92-gallon wing tanks and an 85-gallon fuselage tank. Loading fuel in the fuselage tank hampers the stability of the P-51 by shifting the CG aft. For this reason, the tank was to be used first- even before the drop tanks so that the CG would shift back to a more optimal position. In Aces High, no fuel is loaded into the fuselage tank until the wing tanks are full. If you take a large fuel load, you should follow the same strategy and use the fuel in the fuselage tank first. The P-51D normally carries an armament of six .50 caliber machine-guns with 400 rpg in the inner pair and 270 rpg for the middle and outer pairs. The primary trigger fires the inboard pair of machine guns. The secondary trigger fires the middle and outer pairs of machine guns. As an alternate loadout, the middle pair of guns can be deleted and the ammunition load for the outer pair increased to 500 rpg. Two wing points can carry drop tanks or bombs of up to 1000lbs. Six rockets can also be mounted separately. |
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Markings The P-51D in Aces High carries the markings of Major George Preddy, Commanding Officer of the 328th Fighter Squadron. Major Preddy was the highest scoring Mustang ace with 26.83 air victories, including 6 Bf 109s in a single mission. On Christmas Day 1944, Major Preddy flew his last mission, shooting down two more 109s. He then encountered a Fw 190 and along with two other P-51s, gave chase at tree top level. An M-16 of the 12th Anti-Aircraft Group was defending the area but did not receive word of the P-51s operating in the area. As the P-51s crossed a treeline while pursuing the Focke Wulf, they came under American anti-aircraft fire. Major Preddy was hit by two rounds. He managed to crash-land his plane, but he had been mortally wounded and was found dead in his cockpit by the crew that shot him down. His wingman also took a bullet through the cockpit but escaped injury. The other P-51 was hit so badly that its pilot was forced to bail out. Thus was the tragic ending to the life of one of America's greatest fighter aces. |
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Operating Instructions Max Permitted Airspeed- 505 MPH Max Airspeed Gear Extended- 170 MPH Max G Loading- +8/-4 @ minimum weight Max Airspeed 10° Flaps- 400 MPH Packard Merlin V-1650-7 |
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Performance
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