The North American P-51 Mustang is one of the most famous fighter aircraft of all time, and possibly the best all-round fighter of World War II.
The Mustang served in over 20 Air Forces during its 34 years of military service including the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Number 25 Squadron based at Pearce in Western Australia operated Mustangs, which were a familiar sight over Perth until they were phased out in 1953. Following the invasion of South Korea by North Korean forces in 1950, the RAAF’s 77 Squadron also flew Mustangs in South Korea with great success.
While the Spitfire is credited with winning the Battle of Britain in the skies over England in the early stages of World War II, it was the Mustang, more than any other fighter, that was instrumental in helping to change the course of the war in the skies over Europe.
As the Allied Forces’ bombing campaign over Europe grew in intensity, the Eighth Air Force began to suffer unsustainable losses of its four-engine bombers which were then easy targets for the German Luftwaffe’s superb Messerschmitt and Focke-Wulf fighter-interceptors. The need for a high performance fighter aircraft to protect the Allied bombers was graphically illustrated by the Schweinfurt-Regensburg raid over Germany on 17 August 1943, during which no less than 60 out of 367 bombers were lost.
Allied bomber losses became even worse, and in a single week (8-14 October 1943) during raids on Bremmen, Marienburg, Danzig and Munster, no fewer than 148 bombers and 1,500 crew members were lost. The low point came on Black Thursday, 14 October 1943 when in one raid 60 out of 280 bombers were shot down by the Luftwaffe, almost 20% of the entire force.
The arrival in Britain of the North American Aviation Mustang towards the end of 1943 gave the Allies a tremendous boost in the aerial campaign against Hitler’s Festung Europa, or Fortress Europe. Fitted with 6 wing-mounted 0.50-inch calibre machine guns and capable of carrying rockets and light bombs, the Mustang’s combination of speed, firepower and manoeuvrability was superior to the German opposition.
With its ability to fly all the way to Berlin and back and still engage in aerial combat and ground attacks, it proved to be more than a match for the Luftwaffe, which then began to experience unsustainable losses of its fighter aircraft and pilots.
The Wyllie Aviation Mustang was delivered to the USAAF on 18 July 1945 and never saw military service. It is powered by a 1,490 hp liquid-cooled Packard-Merlin V12 engine which was built in the United States under licence from Rolls Royce. This powerful supercharged engine drives a huge 4-blade Hamilton standard constant-speed propeller.
The P-51D has a top speed of 437 mph (700 kph) and a range of 1,000 miles (1,600 km). It has a comfortable cruising speed in the order of 275 mph or 440 kph and is capable of flying up to 42,000 feet. Fuel consumption at cruise is around 50 imp gal/hr (240 Lt/hr).
The colour scheme for this aircraft is based on the design which was adopted by Major William A. Shomo who secured 7 Japanese victories on 11 January 1945 in his P-51D when assigned to the 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Mindoro Island in the Philippines. Major Shomo received the Medal of Honour for this mission.
This aircraft was sold to a private owner in 2006.