Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>P-51>HA7703

General Background

Later in WWII the Allied bombers were flying deep into Germany but suffered tremendous losses because of the lack of range the fighter escorts had. German fighters would wait beyond the range of the Allied fighters and then attack the vulnerable bombers. Once the P-51 called Mustang by the British had the Allison engine replaced with a British Merlin it possessed the high performance that had been lacking. With drop tanks the P-51 had the range to escort bombers all the way to Berlin and back.

The Aircraft

The P-51D 44-15648 first belonged to Spurgeon Ellington who had named it “Lollipoop II”. Next the aircraft went to Tuskegee Airman 1Lt. Robert Williams of the 332nd FG who renamed it “Duchess Arlene”. Arlene was Williams’ sweetheart back in Ottumwa, Iowa. Williams flew over 50 missions and with the 100th FS in Italy he scored two victories. He was awarded the DFC, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters and Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation. After WWII he wrote the script “The Tuskegee Airmen” which was later made into a movie.

Specifications :

Tasks:	Dive-bomber, bomber-escort, ground-attack, interceptor, photo recon
Number Produced All Variants:	14,819
Dimensions
Height:	13 ft 8 in (4.16 m)
Wingspan:	37 ft (11.27 m)
Length:	32 ft 3 in (9.82 m)
Weight
Empty:	7,125 lb (3,232 kg)
Gross:	10,100 lb (4,581 kg)
Maximum Take-off:	11,600 lb (5,262 kg)
Performance
Engine:	Packard Merlin two-staged supercharged V-1650-7, 12 cylinder V engine 1,695 hp.
Maximum Speed:	437 mph (703 km/h)
Ceiling:	41,900 ft (12,771 m)
Range:	950 miles (1,529 km)
Maximum Range:	2,300 miles (3,701 km)
Armament	(6) .50 caliber MG
	Maximum External Bomb Load – 2,000 lb (907 kg)
	Or (4) .5 inch rockets