Information and trivia about the greatest propeller fighter of all time -- the P-51 Mustang! 
Information and trivia about the greatest propeller fighter of all time -- the P-51 Mustang!
Please email if a variant is missing.
pictures of forward-swept P-51
North American designed a P-51 with forward-swept wings and a secondary jet engine.
Only a wind-tunnel model was built.
The initial sweep angle was too great (wings would've bent off at high speed and AoA) and was reduced to 15 degrees.
The dihedral angle was great (to compensate for the forward sweep, AFAIK).
Boeing's "Sweeping Changes": "In the quest for increased maneuverability, the top post-World War II U.S. fighter, the P-51 Mustang, was selected for the new wing. Boeing predecessor company North American Aviation designed an FSW P-51 concept. However, during wind tunnel tests the rigid aluminum wings twisted asymmetrically, indicating potential loss of control. Further testing determined the wings had to be limited to 15-degrees forward sweep. Increased speed and high g-force turns would lead to structural divergence, or wing separation. The FSW P-51 was never built."
(I plan to create a 3D model of the FSW P-51 for an upcoming flight-sim I'm developing.)
[ref: North American P-51 Mustang by Frederick Johnsen]
[ref: Boeing's "Sweeping Changes"]
North American designed a Mustang with forward-swept wings and piston/jet engines.
The swept-wing F-86 Sabre was an evolution of the Mustang.
The Sabre's "older sister", the FJ-1 Fury (designed in 1944), was obviously a Mustang with a jet engine.
Tthe racer "Miss Ashley", a replica P-51, was built with swept-back wings (from a Learjet IIRC).
photo may look fake but it's real
P-51 with wing-tip ram-jets
P-51 with under-wing ram-jets
Two P-51s were fitted with jet engines of different types.
One had pulse jets under the wings (based on German design?).
(Haven't found information about speed boost nor when it was made.)
Another had US Marquardt ram jets on the wing-tips.
Speed was boosted by 50 MPH and was made after WWII in 1946.
YouTube video of P-80 with ram-jets
(I plan to create a 3D model of the ram-jet P-51 for an upcoming flight-sim I'm developing.)
[ref: Marquardt (wikipedia)]
During WW2, NAA fitted a rocket engine to a P-51D near the radiator exhaust.
Speed was boosted to 513 MPH for about 1 minute.
But developing a rocket-fuel tank large enough to be useful added drag,
the plane became unbalanced, and 500 MPH could be reached in a dive or by a light-weight P-51H.
Ultimately, NAA and USAAF considered the the modification too dangerous and ineffective.
[ref: Mustang Designer by Ray Wagner]
British engineers at Rolls-Royce built a Mustang prototype with a powerful Griffon V-12 engine mounted in the middle with contra-rotating propellers. This could have been the best handling and most maneuverable Mustang of all. Named the "Mustang FTB" (Flying Test Bed). Development stopped because the British decided to focus on jet fighters. AFAIK the prototype was never finished and never flew.
[ref: "Rolls-Royce and the Mustang" by David Birch]
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XP-51F was equivalent to P-51D weighing 1600 lbs less. 3-blade propeller. Top speed 466 MPH. |
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XP-51G had a 2,200 HP Rolls-Royce Merlin with a 5-blade propeller. Top speed 495 MPH. |
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XP-51J had an elongated canopy, an Allison engine, and the carburetor scoop was eliminated (integrated into the radiator scoop), resulted in the most streamlined Mustang ever. Top speed unknown because of engine problems. |
North American experimented with 4 light-weight prototypes: XP-51F/G/H/J.
Ultimately, the production light-weight Mustang was based on the XP-51H.
Improvements in the P-51H:
Relative to a P-51D, a P-51H looks more angular. Test pilots comparing the D and H noticed the greater maneuverability, acceleration, and climb rate. In normal power settings, the speed difference was marginal.
No P-51H Mustangs ever engaged in combat [ref: David McLaren], but NACA literature documents a few were (or were going to be) deployed to escort B-29s [ref: NACA, Reeder]. The prototype was being flight-tested in April 1945 when WWII Europe ended.
When the Korean War started, the USAF choose to use P-51Ds and keep P-51Hs at home. In an odd reversal from its hand-me-downs policy, the USAF actually gave newer/faster P-51Hs to ANG units in exchange for older/slower P-51Ds. One reason probably was reliability — the P-51H gained speed by having a weaker frame, and its tail-wheel was prone to collapsing. The USAF may have wanted to keep the limited number of faster-but-fragile P-51Hs in reserve for homeland defense, since during the early 50s, the only fighter with long range was still the Mustang.
Only 6 of the P-51H models still survive [ref: p51h.home.comcast.net]. At least 2 are airworthy.
The P-51H proved fragile. Tail-wheel was prone to collapsing, often the ANG flew with tail-wheel locked down.
Some had weak wing spars, ANG pilots were restricted to 2 Gs.
[ref: North American P-51H Mustang by David McLaren]
[ref: NACA, Reeder]
[ref: p51h.home.comcast.net]
Nearly all fighters of WWII had the same basic puller-propeller monoplane design that first appeared in the mid 1930s, the first of which was the Me-109. The Mustang design was refined rather than radical, but it had important innovations from which it excelled. Its higher speed and range resulted from its laminar-flow wings, its radiator inlet/outlet provided net thrust, and its streamlined airframe had extremely low drag. Its one disadvantage -- its climb rate wasn't good -- was solved in the light-weight P-51H.
There's no doubt the Germans were the most advanced in aeronautical design.
The Horten Ho-229 has all the features of US stealth drones (flying wing, anti-radar material, shrouded exhausts).
Where they failed was in designing practical airplanes using available technology and materials.
The main difference was size: the Spitfire small, the Mustang large. The Spitfire had the same engine, but despite being smaller, was slower than the Mustang. The Spitfire was lighter, climbed faster, and more maneuverable at lower speeds. Its elliptical wings made the Spitfire beautiful and turn more tightly. A Mustang trying the trick of dropping flaps still couldn't quite turn with a Spitfire. Early Spitfire had superb maneuverability and graceful handling. But at 400+ MPH, a Spitfire's controls stiffened and its maneuverability decreased, while the laminar-winged Mustang was designed to fly optimally at 400+ MPH. So in a turning contest, the Spitfire would win, but at high-speeds or high-altitude, the Mustang would win. Should be noted that the Spitfire developed into a different airplane (the Spiteful), as later marks became much faster but handling worsened.
The P-47 had one colossal advantage -- sturdiness -- it could keep flying after suffering damage that would've destroyed any other fighter. It was the Tiger tank of the air. Many German pilots were astounded to fire all their ammunition at a P-47 yet it continued flying. The P-47 helped keep rookie pilots alive and contributed to the extermination of the Luftwaffe. Not sure why the P-47 didn't have a propeller cone like a FW-190 or Sea Fury to reduce frontal drag, which wasted its engine's nearly 1,000 HP advantage.
Although innovative in 1935, by 1943, the Me-109 was out-classed.
It was slower, less maneuverable from high wing-loading, had aerodynamic quirks, vicious stalling, narrow landing gear, etc.
Only veteran or lucky German pilots could survive in a Me-109.
The nemesis of the P-51 wasn't the jet Me-262 -- it was the radial engine FW-190.
The FW-190 had an engine as powerful as the P-47 but was sleeker and smaller.
An innovation it had was electrically-operated control surfaces.
At low-altitude, the P-51 and FW-190 were evenly matched.
At high-altitude, the FW-190 became vulnerable as it lost performance and maneuverability.
The Zero could out-turn the P-51 (and everything else).
But it was very slow and fragile.
P-51 pilots were advised to attack it at high speeds and then climb away.
In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador had a brief air war fought between Mustangs and Corsairs.
One Honduras Corsair shot down an El Salvadoran Mustang and another Corsair (both nations had Corsairs).
Lockheed's Kelly Johnson was a genuis, but in a contest to design for a twin-engine fighter, North American Aviation's Edgar Schmued won, hands down.
The P-38 Lightning had far greater drag with stub fuselage for the cockpit.
The F-82 Twin Mustang was 70...80 MPH faster, almost as maneuverable as the P-51, and with a range equal to a B-29 Superfortress.
A design is a team effort. But in this case, Schmued deserves much of the credit. Schmued drew the original blueprint and was awarded a patent for the F-82's twin-fuselage design.
The P-38 had two engines, suited to flying over the Pacific,
and its turbo-superchargers muffled the engine, making it a quiet comfortable plane.
The F-82 Twin Mustang had advantages in range, speed, and probably maneuverability.
A false rumor persists that the Twin Mustang was based on the Me-609, a Me-109 with two fuselages, but they were independent designs. Schmued had the idea on the shelf in 1940 before the Me-609 prototype was built in 1941.
© Len Krenzler (actionart.ca)
(unknown artist)
real photo of P-51 with ram-jets (but in 1946 after WWII)
(First, actual top speed depends on altitude and other factors.)
Many believe the P-51 was totally outclassed and much slower than the Me-262 jet. The Me-262's top speed was reported as 515 MPH or 540 MPH [ref: Ziegler for 515 MPH, see note]. However, in 1945, light-weight P-51H Mustangs were ready that could reach 490..500 MPH. [ref: Wagner, McLaren]. Both the Me-262 and P-51H could only sustain their top speed for no more than 10 minutes without damaging their engines [ref: Ziegler, McLaren]. Prior to engagement, Me-262s were climbing at ~350 MPH up to the US bombers's altitude, while Mustangs were idling at ~200 MPH while escorting slow bombers.
Many P-51 pilots shot down Me-262s by doing a Split-S maneuver [ref: Roscoe Brown, Candelaria], as within seconds, a P-51 would reach 500+ MPH [ref: P-51 flight manual]. Trials of the P-51 proved it kept its speed built in a dive because of its low drag [ref: Caygill]. German Me-262 pilots reported they could not outrun a P-51 in a dive (Nowotny apparently was shot down after failing to outdive Mustangs) [ref: Ziegler].
P-51 and other prop fighters could easily outmaneuver the Me-262. If a Me-262 ever slowed down, it was vulnerable, because its jet engines provided far less acceleration than a propeller (pushing the throttle on a Merlin engine shoved pilots back into their seats). Me-262 pilots were supposed to limit themselves to hit-and-run tactics on American bombers, never circling back if they missed, maintaining their speed to stay away from the pouncing Mustangs. Forcing them to stay away, ironically, was the goal of the escorting Mustangs.
The faster light-weight P-51H might have been the equal of the Me-262 in a straight-line race, but before it could be deployed in Europe, the slower P-51D had succeeded in vanquishing them.
Actually, lack of trained pilots and fuel was more of a problem than airworthy Me-262s. Ziegler's book describes how in 1945 the remaining German pilots continued to fight even though they knew they would be completely outnumbered and ultimately overwhelmed by multitudes of attacking Mustangs.
In the movie Red Tails, a P-51 firing head-on against a Me-262 was contrived by Lucas for drama, but in reality, would've been stupid. The Me-262's nose was packed with large cannons and machine guns for destroying bombers, so the Mustang would've been blown to bits! The somersault-while-firing trick was actually done by Richard Candelaria of another USAAF squadron [ref: History Channel's "Dogfights"].
[ref: Hitlers Jet Plane by Mano Ziegler]
[ref: Fighting Hitlers Jets by Robert Dorr]
[ref: North American P-51H Mustang by David McLaren]
[ref: Flying to the Limit by Peter Caygill]
[ref: Pilot Training Manual for the P-51 Mustang]
[ref: History Channel's "Dogfights", interview of Roscoe Brown and Richard Candelaria]
The top speed of the Me-163 was 600 MPH. Its climb rate was phenomenal, twice as much as a P-51H or F-82, and wasn't surpassed until the advent of jet fighters like the F-86 and MiG-15. Unlike the heavy Me-262, the Me-163 was very agile.
While it had rocket fuel, a Me-163 was untouchable.
But after it used its fuel, it was defenseless.
A Me-163 descended thru a group of B-17 bombers and picked a straggler. A P-51 of the 359th FG (Lt. Col. Murphy) was barely able to pursue it and hit it from 1,000 yards. Whether the Me-163 pilot had slowed before attacking, or if it had run out of rocket fuel, remains a mystery.
[ref: 359th Fighter Group by Jack H. Smith]
[ref: video: "Eighth Air Force Fighter Combat vs ME-163 Rocket-Propelled and ME-162 Jet-Propelled Aircraft"]
The P-51 and F-80 jet were definitely outclassed by the near-supersonic MiG-15.
Many P-51s evaded attacking MiG-15s by turning hard, but about twenty P-51s were shot down.
Did a P-51 shoot down a MiG-15?
Books I've read, whose authors researched the combat records,
say no type of Mustang ever scored a MiG-15 kill in Korea.
But Mustang pilots Maj. John Yingling and Col. Joseph Rogers claim they shot down MiG-15s.
In the Air Force's Airman publication, Yingling claims his MiG-15 kill was confirmed,
and he was awarded a medal, but this was kept off official records since the MiG-15 pilot seemed to be Russian.
US Air Force (af.mil): "Mr. Yingling is a World War II veteran of the Navy and began his Air Force Service in 1950 at the onset of the Korean Conflict. He is the only P-51 Mustang fighter pilot to shoot down a MiG 15."
LA Times: "He [Col. Joseph Rogers] more than made up for his lack of combat in the Korean War -- flying 170 missions in a P-51 Mustang, a piston-engine plane in which he shot down a Soviet MIG jet."
f-106deltadart.com: "On November 8, 1950, the then Capt. Rogers achieved a rare MiG-15 jet kill while flying in his piston-engine F-51D Mustang named Buckeye Blitz VI. 'This was unusual because of the speed differences between the two planes,' said Jim Cook, master crew chief at the Pacific Coast Air Museum in Santa Rosa and an old friend of Col. Rogers. 'He was doing around 350 mph, and the jet was doing 450. There were four MiGs, and they were so much faster. They came over the top of Joe, and he took a lucky shot at them.'"
On the Internet, a reference to the book "P-51 Mustang: From 1940 to 1980" claims P-51s shot down MiG-15s in South Korea, but the reverse seems more likely, or the Mustangs really shot down early MiG-3 propeller fighters (?).
US F-51 pilots trained against US jets and mentioned that scoring a hit on a MiG-15 would be very difficult:
koreanwar.org: "Although our propeller-driven F-51 Mustangs were no match for the fast jets in air-to-air battles, we knew from our simulated 'dogfights' between our F-80 jets and the Mustangs, that the '51 could survive a jet confrontation ...but only if strict, disciplined defensive tactics were applied, with very precise timing of each defensive maneuver. For example: the great speed advantage of the jets could be somewhat offset by the much tighter turning radius of the Mustang. So, when attacked by jets, the '51 pilot would have to keep a close eye on the attacking enemy fighter and make an abrupt, tight turn into the attacker at just the precise moment before the jet came into firing range. In that way the Mustang would have equal opportunity to fire at the jet in a head-on pass... trading gun for gun and for the moment, eliminating the enemy's advantage of speed."
[ref: Flying to the Limit by Peter Caygill]
[ref: P-51 shot down MiG-15 ?? (Air Force af.mil)]
[ref: P-51 shot down MiG-15 ?? (LA Times)]
[ref: P-51 shot down MiG-15 ?? (arlingtoncemetry.net)]
[ref: P-51 shot down MiG-15 ?? (conservapedia.com)]
[ref: P-51 shot down MiG-15 ?? (f-106deltadart.com)]
[ref: koreanwar.org]
[ref: Air Force Airman Winter 2007]
[ref: History Channel's "Dogfights"]
[ref: "P-51 Mustang: From 1940 to 1980" book]
Although the Twin was a strange-looking airplane, its flight characteristics were normal. Compared to a P-51D, the F-82 had better climb but heavier wing loading.
Rolling felt normal and natural. The Twin didn't make either co-pilot dizzy. When the Twin rolled (like any airplane), the rolling motion is a cork-screw, with the pivot being a point above the airplane.
Rolling quickly back-and-forth was a prohibited maneuver since its tails would wobble. Its other prohibited manuever was snap-roll.
A Twin Mustang doesn't look like it has a fast roll rate. However, a pilot said it would roll fast and was "aerobatic", mentioning the ailerons were the full width of the wings.
Top speed of F-82B (Merlin) was 480 MPH.
Climb rate of F-82B (Merlin) was 4,900 ft/min.
[ref: Twin Mustang by Alan Carey]
The Yak-9 was actually a very good propeller fighter, near to a Spitfire in performance. The Yak-9 had a rearward radiator like a P-51. Although not truly swept-back, its wings were angled at the front and back.
NAA proposed to build a Twin Mustang powered by turbo-props. The cockpits were moved far forward. Never built.
A sour chapter in the Mustang's history (IMO).
Cavalier began by refurbishing war-surplus Mustangs. However, when Merlin engine parts became scarce, Cavalier made conversions to turboprops ("Cavalier Turbo Mustang"). But these conversions were hack jobs. Judging from the misshapen nose, Cavalier didn't bother to redesign the nose/fuselage. (These turboprop conversions are so ugly I refuse to show pictures of them).
As late as the 1980s, the USAF evaluated the Piper Enforcer for the close-air-support role (which in Korea the Mustang proved terribly ill-suited). Based on the Cavalier turboprop, Piper streamlined the nose and fuselage properly, but its turboprop exhaust was asymmetric, which may have caused yaw instability. The Enforcer was miserably slow at ~350 MPH. The USAF chose the A-10 Warthog which was specifically designed for this role. Piper's Enforcer project made little sense. Piper had to redesign 70% of the airframe parts, yet chose to keep the P-51 layout, but it has a fundamental problem that's unacceptable in modern air forces: the P-51's forward visibility was poor.
The Mustang's design had influences on several other propeller aircraft.
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The British Martin-Baker MB5 resembled a Mustang. |
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Australia tried to develop their CAC CA-15 Kangaroo fighter which had strong resemblance. |
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The Supermarine Spiteful, although definitely a derivative of the Spitfire, evolved in the direction of a Mustang, with square laminar-flow wings and greater streamlining. |
P-51 --> F-86 --> F-16
North American's FJ-1 straight-wing and FJ-2 swept-wing Fury jets
FJ-1 Fury jet shows its evolution from the Mustang
North American developed the straight-winged FJ-1 Fury which was basically a P-51 with a jet engine. The Fury quickly developed into the F-86 Sabre which greatly resembled a P-51. Even today, many of the vestiges of the P-51 and F-86 Sabre still exist in the F-16 Viper — the bubble canopy, jet's duct and the cranked vertical stabilizer.
Like its title says, it's about Schmued and also the design of the P-51. Has info about the rocket-engined P-51.
Perhaps the finest book about the P-51.
A delightful book written for novice fighter pilots. Search for it at ebookbrowsee.net.
Details of the four light-weight Mustang versions (XP-51F/G/H/J) with lots of pictures.
Very detailed.
Contains info and drawing of forward-swept wing P-51.
New book (as of 2013).
Documents abilities and limitations of the P-51 and other aircraft, written from a British test pilot's POV.
Excellent translation, written in a narrative style (this complements Robert Dorr's book very well). Documents the top speed of the Me-262 as reported by a defector, and the disillusionment of German pilots after finding the Me-262 was dangerously unreliable and their jets were nowhere near invulnerable to escorting P-51s.
Excellent book write in a narrative style but short of technical details. Documents about 100 cases of Me-262s shot down by P-51 (and even P-47) fighters (omits kills by British Spitfires and Tempests being a book from US POV).
History Channel's Dogfights is excellent. One episode was devoted to the P-51 and a few other episodes have segments with the P-51. Note that occassional minor inaccuracies appear in Dogfights.
The CGI dogfights are awesome. Just press FWD to the dogfights (the rest of the movie is trashy).
P-51 Mustangs had to battle:
- Nazi JET and ROCKET fighters.
- Nazi FLYING SAUCERS.
- Nazi DRAGONS. 
crazyhorseap.be
Joe Baugher
456fis.org
aerofiles.com
aero-web.org
airvectors
Bud Anderson
mustangmustangs.com
spherical view inside P-51 cockpit (requires Flash) alt
video: "Flight Characteristics of the P-51 Airplane" (1944)
video: F-82 Twin Mustang
video: Kermit Weeks flying a P-51C razorback
Warbird Registry
restoration of a P-51H Mustang
restoration of the unique P-51G prototype
restoration of a F-82 Twin Mustang
picture of Yak-9