Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>P-51>HA7728

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

John England received his pilot wings and became a lieutenant in March 1943 and was assigned to the 357th FG. It was one year before he scored his first victory. The 357th FG was based at Leiston, near Yoxford so they became known as the "Yoxford Boys". In August 1944 Lt. England became the CO of the 362nd FS until April 1945. North American P-51 D 44-14789 arrived in September 1944 and became Lt. England's aircraft. At the end of WWII Lt. England was the 357th FG second highest scoring Ace with 17.5 victories, one less than Kit Carson. In 1954 John England was killed in France when he avoided hitting a building during a dead-stick landing attempt and England AFB, Louisiana was named in his honor.

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