Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>P-51>HA7744

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

In the summer of 1945 P-51D Mustang 44-72587 number 619 was assigned to the 462nd FS/ 506th FG stationed at Airfield 3 on Iwo Jima. The aircraft was shared by 1st Lt. William G. Ebersole and 2nd Lt. James R. Bercaw. Ebersole was the youngest member of the 462nd FS and flew twelve missions with ten of them being VLR missions. Lt. Ebersole was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Rumor has it P-51 “Hon Mistake” received the name after shooting up an outhouse while a Japanese soldier was using the facility.

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