Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>P-51>HA7737

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

3 Squadron RAAF began converting from the P-40 to the P-51 Mk.III on November 13, 1944 while in Italy, the first RAAF squadron to use Mustangs. The first P-51K/Mustang IVa KH677 CV-P arrived on November 26, 1944 and assigned to S/Ldr Murray Nash who flew it on December 2, 1944 against a rail yard in Yugoslavia. On December 12, 1944 KH716 arrived becoming S/Ldr Murray Nash’s new aircraft it now wearing CV-P. Nash left for a Fighter Leader course in March 1945 and KH-716 was lost the following month.

Specifications :

The P-51K was built in Dallas as a variant of the P-51D and equipped with an Aeroproducts propeller instead of the Hamilton Standard propeller. Combat crews routinely replaced the Aeroproducts propeller with the Hamilton Standard propeller.
Task:	Dive-bomber, bomber-escort, ground-attack, interceptor, photo recon
Number Produced:	1,500 with RAF receiving 594 they named Mustang Mk. IVa
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