Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>P-51>HA7722

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

On August 28, 1944 Pierce W. "Mac" McKennon was hit by flak and bailed out over France. The French Resistance saved him and returned him to his unit about one month later. On March 8, 1945 while attacking ground units McKennon was shot down again but this time he was rescued by his wingman Lt. George Green. Green landed his P-51, got rid of the parachute and flew McKennon back to base with McKennon sitting on his lap. By wars end McKennon flew 560 combat hours with 12 aerial victories and 9.83 ground victories. The nose art is an Arkansas Razorback boar and 2 parachutes depicting his 2 bail outs.

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