| North American Aviation P-51 Mustang Contributor(s): Jackson, Robert (Author) |
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ISBN: 152675990X ISBN-13: 9781526759900 Publisher: Air World OUR PRICE: $24.26 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: November 2020 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Military - Aviation - History | United States - General - History | Military - United States |
| Physical Information: 0.3" H x 8.1" W x 11.6" (1.10 lbs) 96 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Features lots of illustrations and model-making content, for both general fans of the type and modelers. The North American P-51 Mustang was one of the most successful and effective fighter aircraft of all time. It was initially produced in response to a 1940 RAF requirement for a fast, heavily-armed fighter able to operate effectively at altitudes in excess of 20,000ft. North America built the prototype in 117 days, and the aircraft, designated NA-73X, flew on 26 October 1940. The first of 320 production Mustang Is for the RAF flew on 1 May 1941, powered by a 1,100hp Allison V-1710-39 engine. RAF test pilots soon found that with this powerplant the aircraft did not perform well at high altitude, but that its low-level performance was excellent. It was when the Mustang airframe was married to a Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin engine that the aircraft's true excellence became apparent. Possessing a greater combat radius than any other Allied single-engine fighter, it became synonymous with the Allied victory in the air. During the last eighteen months of the war in Europe, escorting bomber formations, it hounded the Luftwaffe to destruction in the very heart of Germany. In the Pacific, operating from advance bases, it ranged over the Japanese Home Islands, joining carrier-borne fighters such as the Grumman Hellcat to bring the Allies massive air superiority. Yet the Mustang came about almost by accident, a product of the Royal Air Force's urgent need for new combat aircraft in the dark days of 1940, when Britain, fighting for survival, turned to the United States for help in the island nation's darkest hour. |
Contributor Bio(s): Jackson, Robert: - Robert Jackson is the author of over eighty books on military, aviation, naval and scientific subjects. He was defense and science correspondent for a major British newspaper publishing group. |
