Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>P-51>HA7746

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

The 2nd FS as the 2nd Pursuit Squadron and later renamed the 2nd FS assigned to the 52nd FG. The unit was sent to England as part of the 8th Air Force and in 1943 was equipped with Spitfires to escort bombers. Desperate for fighters in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations the 52nd FG / 2nd FS were sent to fill the need. In April 1944 the Spitfires were replaced by P-51 Mustangs. One pilot was Captain Fred Ohr credited with 6 victories, 1 in a Spitfire and 5 in his Mustang 44-13298 “Marie”.

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