The P-51 Mustang! Comments welcome.

[Uh Clem]

Saw two P-51s over the last ten years. The first was while I stood on a balcony in Highland Beach, FL and saw one come in over the ocean to land at the Boca Raton airport. It took me a second after seeing the profile to realize what it was, and then the sound of it confirmed everything. Even on its approach, it was screaming in.

Last year I flew into Cape May with a friend, and as we landed we realized the CM Airport was having a WWII aviation day. As we taxied to our ramp, I watch a plane taxiing in front of us toward the runway. When it turned, I realized it was a P-51. After it took off it circled the field and ripped by at low level and high speed. I'd give a nut to be able to fly one.

 

[Lionfan01]

The P-51 was a great aircraft. My favorite is the P-38L Lightning. It had nose mounted guns that were good to 1000 yards, not the 200-400 yards of the wing mounted guns on aircraft like the P-51.

Plus, what other aircraft looks like this?

 

[Navion N8865H]

This was awhile ago, but Bill Clark put his P51 in the side of Pine Grove Mountain years ago. As I recall, the weather was bad and he tried to sneak over the mountain and it got him.

https://www.collegian.psu.edu/archives/article_99a44286-b9cf-5ea4-bd32-9c589131e61a.html

 

[Phoenix lion]

The P-51 was a great aircraft. My favorite is the P-38L Lightning. It had nose mounted guns that were good to 1000 yards, not the 200-400 yards of the wing mounted guns on aircraft like the P-51.

Plus, what other aircraft looks like this?

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I agree. For looks I would go:
1. P38 Lightning
2. P51 Mustang
3. F4U Corsair
4. P40 Warhawk (with Flying Tiger paint job)
Throw in bombers The B36
Vietnam era
1. SR71 Blackbird
2. F4 Phantom
3. A5 Viigilante Had an offer to fly it when I returned to active duty. My previous skipper told me to forget it. A nightmare to get on board the ship.

 

[WestSideLion]

I got curious about wartime production and looked at something that I know about- destroyers. In the late 1930s the US was designing the next class of destroyers- the Fletcher class. 2500 tons and 376 feet long, they were bigger and more heavily armed than their predecessors, and DURING the war the US built 70 of them and 58 of their successor class (the Greaves) . This on top of new carriers, battleships, cruisers, liberty ships, tankers, etc.

Add in the planes, tanks, guns, and ammunition produced in the same time period and it's really pretty staggering.

Hence all of the stories about all US factories basically ceasing domestic production and moving to war supplies. The 1940s were trying times for US consumers, even though the war economy was booming. It set the table for 1950s consumerism and crazy economic growth.

 

[bwifan]

Saw two P-51s over the last ten years. The first was while I stood on a balcony in Highland Beach, FL and saw one come in over the ocean to land at the Boca Raton airport. It took me a second after seeing the profile to realize what it was, and then the sound of it confirmed everything. Even on its approach, it was screaming in.

Last year I flew into Cape May with a friend, and as we landed we realized the CM Airport was having a WWII aviation day. As we taxied to our ramp, I watch a plane taxiing in front of us toward the runway. When it turned, I realized it was a P-51. After it took off it circled the field and ripped by at low level and high speed. I'd give a nut to be able to fly one.

They have had a P-51 at Ft Lauderdale's air show last year and the year before I believe.

Just look the lineup for this doesn't look like a P-51 but B-17 as well as Blue Angels and F-22 Raptor Demo... Should be very cool. My friend has a condo on the beach in the demo zone and throws a kick butt party all day for the air show.

http://fortlauderdaleairshow.com/

 

[Nittany_93]

Another consideration in technology is range. Those german jets may have effective as interceptors but I believe their flight time was severely limited, in a dog fight it would have been a limiting factor. What's amazing about the details of the P-51 is the range.

Speaking of WW2 technology and range, perhaps this may be new to some:
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/b...y-navy-feared-japans-long-lance-torpedo-30307

 

[PoquosonLion]

The P-51 was a great aircraft. My favorite is the P-38L Lightning. It had nose mounted guns that were good to 1000 yards, not the 200-400 yards of the wing mounted guns on aircraft like the P-51.

Plus, what other aircraft looks like this?

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Flown by the top US ace Richard Bong with 40 aerial kills

 

[lein]

It’s amazing all of the technology the Germans developed during WWII. Had they focused on a few such as the rockets and the Messerschmidt, who knows where the war would have played out?

Or focused on the basics, like trucks instead of horse drawn wagons.

 

[lein]

Those P-51 stats are interesting. As an old Navy pilot who flew in Vietnam I'll give you an interesting stat. Our leading P-51 ace had 26 kills. Erich Hartman,the German ace had 352. Also the Spitfire was better in a dogfight than the P-51.

If a P51 pilot predominantly faced B-17s, they would have many more kills, especially when they were not escorted. But instead a P-51 pilot faced German fighters rather than their bombers.

 

[PoquosonLion]

Little known fact about Chuck Yeager before he broke the sound barrier in his X-1. During WWII he flew the P-51, was shot down over France, escaped to Spain with the help of the French Resistance and returned to England. This should have ended his flying days over hostile territory for not to compromise the resistance movement, but Eisenhower with the permission of the War department granted Yeager combat flying duty. Yeager in his P-51, would go on to make “ace in a day” downing five enemy aircraft in one mission.

 

[TheGLOV]

Little known fact about Chuck Yeager before he broke the sound barrier in his X-1. During WWII he flew the P-51, was shot down over France, escaped to Spain with the help of the French Resistance and returned to England. This should have ended his flying days over hostile territory for not to compromise the resistance movement, but Eisenhower with the permission of the War department granted Yeager combat flying duty. Yeager in his P-51, would go on to make “ace in a day” downing five enemy aircraft in one mission.

"Chuck" was a Mans-man!!!

 

[Roar More]

Gotta give some love to the Hellcat. It was as impressive in the Pacific Theater as the Mustang was over Europe.

 

[Nitt1300]

Gotta give some love to the Hellcat. It was as impressive in the Pacific Theater as the Mustang was over Europe.

the Zero killer

 

[denniskembala]

While the 51 scored 262 kills in combat, they liked to take them on take off and landing when they were most vulnerable.

 

[delcoLion]

Flown by the top US ace Richard Bong with 40 aerial kills

Yes, in fact, 3 of the top 6 (1, 2, 6) US air aces of WW 2 flew the P-38 and Yamamoto was shot down by a P-38.

 

[91Joe95]

While the 51 scored 262 kills in combat, they liked to take them on take off and landing when they were most vulnerable.

That's what happens when you have a short range defensive weapon.

 

[tboyer]

Radar might be the single invention that had the biggest impact. Germans and Japanese both kind of neglected it -- more interested in offensive weapons.

The British generals were unenthusiastic too but Churchill liked the idea -- he grasped what an advantage it would be for the British pilots to have a few minutes warning of when and where the German planes were coming.

Even before the technology was really developed Churchill got the money to build a network of radar stations on the east coast of England. The other thing that was great was that the stations were slapped together out of inexpensive materials and could be quickly rebuilt. The Germans bombed them but the Brits could get them back in operation in a matter of hours.

The Brits shared the technology with the Americans who refined it. Turned to be huge in the Pacific as well -- radar (and a little bit of luck) decided Midway.

There's a nice BBC docudrama that tells the story -- "Castles in the Sky." I think you can stream it on Netflix or Amazon.

 

[kgilbert78]

I went to the "Gathering of Mustangs" here in Columbus about 10 years ago. Amazing. They were going to have over 100 in the air at one time. They did not quite make that but had well over 50 up at one time. We will likely never see that again....

 

[psu1969a]

F4U Corsair, gull wing, was built to fight Japanese Zero speed and climb ability, but had to be able to land on Carrier. Great example for project management simulation.

 

[91Joe95]

A video on why the P51 was so much faster than the BF109.

 

[GreggK]

A main factor contributing to German defeat, as well as Japanese and Italian, was lack of oil. Watch the following. Also, German production peaked in 1945 and lack of oil prevented training for pilots.

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.

I am not so sure about this video. It seems basically a list of excuses for Hitler. Including that the Germans were "stabbed in the back" from the government after WW1.
The germans were defeated even before the americans showed up. They idiotically kept going after that was clear. Their Navy even was going to go on a suicide mission in the north sea
and would have been devastated by the British if not for a German Mutiny.

 

[91Joe95]

Off topic, but a little F22 aerial refueling, including at night.

 

[TheGLOV]

Off topic, but a little F22 aerial refueling, including at night.

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Great stuff sir.

Thanks for posting.

 

[LionHoya]

Agree...but it also helped that we did this research in the USA without bombing runs and a massive drain on human resources. Have to also ad an unlimited supply of natural resources. If one really studies WW2, IMHO, the vast resources of the USA and the Soviet Union (along with the US's logistical genius, see the red ball express for example) won the war.

If you ever read the Rick Atkinson trilogy focused on the North Africa/Italy/Europe campaigns from the US perspective, you're likely to come to the same conclusion. Tactically, the German tactics were much more often superior to allied tactics. Given the same resources, including men and materials, I have my doubts that the allies would have defeated the Germans.

 

[franklinman]

Kermit Weeks, owner of Fantasy of Flight, FL owns and flies his P-51 on a regular basis on Sundays. Its loud but enjoyable when he leaves the field. If you're ever on i-4 the museum is located at the Polk City,FL exit and they have tours and i recommend it for anyone that enjoys old planes.

 

[ram511]

P-38 and this baby (P-82/F-82) are 2 of my favorites