Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>P-51>HA7720A

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

P-51D Mustang 44-15310 named "DoDo" was piloted by Captain Clinton Burdick of the 361st FS, 356th FG, 8th USAAF. Captain Burdick was one of the 356th five aces when he scored 5.5 victories, all against Fw-190s. Captain Burdick's victories were achieved between November 25 1944 and January 14 1945. On February 20 1945 Captain Burdick flew the last of his 53 combat missions. Clinton was the second Burdick ace; his father Lt. Howard Burdick flew a Sopwith Camel with the 17th PS in WWI. He accumulated 8 aerial victories and was awarded the DFC and DSC.

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