<figure class="wp-block-post-featured-image"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/%22Bottisham_Four%22_-_Four_P-51_Mustangs_fighters_in_flight_%28cropped%29.jpg/960px-%22Bottisham_Four%22_-_Four_P-51_Mustangs_fighters_in_flight_%28cropped%29.jpg" alt="What was so special about the North American P-51 Mustang fighter?" class="external-featured-image wp-post-image" style="object-fit:cover;" /></figure>


<p>The ;P-51 ;was the best ;American ;fighter of WWII.</p>



<p>The ;P-51 ;was the first allied fighter plane to attack targets in Germany in 1942. The early versions (Mustang ;Mk I, Mark II, P-51A, and A-36 Apache dive bomber) were all faster, more agile and had greater range than RAF Spitfires of the same period below 15,000 feet.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-7.png" alt="By North American Aviation - http://static.thisdayinaviation.com/wp-content/uploads/tdia/2012/10/North-American-Aviation-NA-73X-NX19998-prototype-of-P-51-Mustang.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27408561" class="wp-image-3536"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">North American NA-73X, with a short carburetor air-intake scoop and the frameless, rounded windshield: On the production Mustang Mk Is, the frameless windshield was replaced with a three-piece unit that incorporated a bullet-resistant windshield.</figcaption></figure>



<p>When the P-51B came out in 1943, It was powered by the Packard V-1650 engine, a brand new and improved ;American ;design of the famed Rolls Royce Merlin engine. With this powerplant, the ;P-51 ;gained a climb rate of 3,900 fpm, a service ceiling of 42, 000 ft and a top speed of 458 mph at War emergency power.</p>



<figure data-amp-lightbox="true" class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-13 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3537" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-8.png" alt="By Original uploader was Minorhistorian at en.wikipedia - http://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/albums/U-S-Air-Force/51D_assembly_Downey_CA_1944.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8094503" class="wp-image-3537"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">P-51D on the Inglewood assembly line</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3552" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/SpitEjectors.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-3552"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Merlin 55 ejector exhaust detail, Spitfire LF.VB, ;<em>EP120</em></figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3553" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/rolls-royce_merlin.jpg" alt="Rolls-Royce_Merlin" class="wp-image-3553"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A Rolls-Royce Merlin engine photographed at Pearce Air Force Base Western Australia.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3554" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/cavanaugh_flight_museum-2008-10-29-027_4270566340.jpg" alt="Merlin 63 " class="wp-image-3554"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Preserved Merlin 63 showing intercooler radiator, supercharger and carburettor</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3555" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/rolls_royce_factory_-merlin_engines_and_female_workers-1942_original.jpg" alt="Merlin production line in 1942" class="wp-image-3555"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Workers assembling cylinder heads on the Hillington Merlin production line in 1942</figcaption></figure>
</figure>



<p>Above 300 mph the ;P-51 ;could out-roll any axis fighter and had a tighter turn radius. Add to that an ability to take A LOT of battle damage and still get home and you get the picture.</p>



<p>As soon as the 8th Air Force got hold of the ;P-51, the groups that flew it started getting kill ratios that exceeded as much as 30 to 1 on quite a lot of missions.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-9-1024x566.png" alt="By U.S. Air Force - http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/061023-F-1234P-005.jpgUploaded to the English language Wikipedia by Signaleer (log). http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Photos.aspx?igphoto=2000539073, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=92904995" class="wp-image-3538"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">XP-51 ;<em>41-039</em> ;is one of two Mustang Mk I aircraft handed over to the USAAC for testing.</figcaption></figure>



<p>The ;P-51 ;Mustang ;is so special because of the effect it had on the allied cause of WWII. Many allied pilots like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Blakeslee" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Don Blakeslee</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Salvatore_Gentile" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Don Gentile</a>, Kit Carson, Robin Olds, and Lee Archer all became great aces flying the ;P-51 ;while units that flew the airplane scored great victories that still stir the hearts of freedom-lovers everywhere.</p>



<p>The ;P-51 ;shot down 4,950 aircraft in Europe alone and it’s victories in the Mediterranean and Asian theaters of war boost its score to over 5,300 kills.</p>



<figure data-amp-lightbox="true" class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default wp-block-gallery-14 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3539" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-10.png" alt="By USAAF, photographed for a series of U.S. 8th Air Force publicity pictures for widespread distribution (photos were taken from B-17G bombers of the 91st Bomb Group) - https://making-history.ca/2020/12/30/the-bottisham-blues/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=160368975" class="wp-image-3539"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">P-51 Mustangs of the ;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/375th_Fighter_Squadron">375th Fighter Squadron</a>, ;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighth_Air_Force">Eighth Air Force</a> ;mid-1944.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3540" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-11.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3540"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pilots of the all-Black American 332nd Fighter Group (the Tuskegee Airmen) at Ramitelli, Italy: From left, Lt. Dempsey W. Morgran, Lt. Carroll S. Woods, Lt. Robert H. Nelron, Jr., Capt. Andrew D. Turner, and Lt. Clarence D. Lester</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3546" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-17.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3546"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Miss Helen, a P-51D in its wartime markings as flown by Capt. Raymond H. Littge of the 487 FS, 352 FG, on aerial display in 2007: It is the last original 352 FG P-51 known to exist.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3545" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-16.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3545"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3544" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-15.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3544"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3543" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-14.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3543"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3542" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-13.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3542"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A USAAF armorer of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, 15th US Air Force checks ammunition belts of the .50 caliber (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns in the wings of a North American P-51B Mustang in Italy, circa September 1944</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3547" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-18.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3547"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">TP-51C &#8220;Betty Jane&#8221; dual control Warbird of the Collings Foundation appears at airshows around the United States</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3548" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-19.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3548"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">3-view drawing of P-51D Mustang</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3549" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-20.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3549"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nose of P-51 Gunfighter</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3550" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-21.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3550"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Wing with three .50 caliber machine guns</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="3551" src="https://imcarenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-22.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3551"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The restored P-51C Mustang associated with the Tuskegee Airmen now flown by Red Tail Project as described in Red Tail Reborn</figcaption></figure>
</figure>



<p></p>



<p><a href="https://imcarenthusiast.com/how-would-the-british-spitfire-fare-against-the-american-p-51-mustang/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">How would these Spitfires fare against the American P-51 Mustang?</a></p>



<p>Want to explore more about aviation? Check out the latest articles and insights ;<a href="https://imcarenthusiast.com/category/aviation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here ;</a>.</p>



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Categories: Aviation
Edge
Mechanic Gear Head, part-time Motorsport Fan, Automotive Journalist wannabe. The "four wheels" universe has been in him since forever; since then, it's been lap after lap.
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