What made the P-51 Mustang so special?

In 1940, Britain was fighting for its life against the Luftwaffe. British aircraft manufacturers couldn't keep up with the huge orders placed by the British Government. So they turned to American manufacturers like Curtiss and North American. Eventually, North American came forward with their own design for a brand new aeroplane.

The prototype was brought to the Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU) at what is now IWM Duxford. It had great potential with a low-drag fuselage and laminar flow wing. But the Allison V12 engine which powered the aircraft struggled above 15,000 ft. So the AFDU decided to try the aircraft with a Rolls Royce Merlin instead. That aircraft became one of the greatest fighters of the Second World War - the P-51 Mustang.

The P-51 could fly and fight with British and American bombers all the way to Berlin and back again. Its range was so large that it even began to replace British Spitfires towards the end of the war. On their way back from escort duty Mustangs would also take out targets of opportunity like enemy trucks, barges, and trains. By 1944 the Allies had air superiority over Western Europe, thanks in part to the Mustang.

[thebesttastingbleach]

I love hearing about Americans through British and vice versa, especially from this era. We are all still very much the same. The best time I had in the US Marines was hanging out with the Royal Marines. I felt less competition from them than my fellow Marines and they treated me like a brother.

[quinnjim]

Very nice presentation. I had a friend who owned a P-51 back in the 1960's. He paid $25, 000 for it. The radiator was going bad, so he acquired a new one. He sold the plane before he replaced the radiator. Twenty years later, while cleaning out his hangar he noticed the radiator still sitting in the box it came in. He sold it on Trade a Plane for $25, 000. Now the plane is worth over $3 million.

[ColinH]

My mother worked at a factory painting drop tanks. She was incredibly proud of what she did, as were we.

[zacharyprovance]

There is a man I know (S. Hawk) whose father (J. Hawk) was a P-51 pilot during the war. I don't know what his service record looked like. Some years ago, J. Hawk's family thought it would be a good idea to pool some money to rent a flight in a 2 seat, dual control P-51 for his birthday. When the day of the flight came, he was of course appreciative and excited. J. Hawk climbed into the co-pilot seat, went through all the procedures, and lifted off.

Now J. Hawk was in his late 70s at this time (I think). According to the pilot, most of the old veterans that came out to fly the Mustang usually didn't get too excited with the plane once handed control. They would make some lazy turns, climbs, descents, and so on. Nothing too extreme and understandably so as most of these veterans were getting up in age. Not J. Hawk. Apparently as soon as J. Hawk was given the stick, he immediately set the throttle wide open and went into a full climb, looped over, and put the P-51 into a hard dive. From there he performed all kinds of combat maneuvers that probably shouldn't have been performed on such an old airframe (including an inverted 350+ m.p.h. pass over the runway) with an equally old pilot. J. Hawk scared the pilot pretty bad as no other veteran before him ever flew that P-51 so hard. I don't know how long the flight lasted but it came to an end with a textbook landing.

That day, J. Hawk was a 20-year-old kid again in the skies over Europe in the seat of his shiny, new 2, 000 horsepower warbird. If that P-51 could have spoken, I imagine it would have been howling with joy, getting to fly like she was meant to one more time with some crazy American kid behind the stick.

J. Hawk has been gone for a few years now. I wish I had gotten the chance to hear his stories but sadly never did. If anyone who reads this has a family member who was in the war and they're willing to talk about it, get their story because few of the greatest generation are still here. Those men and women lived more in 3-5 years than many of us will in a lifetime and their experience ought to be heard. Hopefully I myself get to hear some of their stories in person before it's too late.

Edit: I discovered I got a couple of details wrong after talking to my father who knew these men and this story better. The story did take place exactly as described above but it was a man I'll refer to as Mr. Josie. Also, the primary pilot WAS a bit spooked at first, but he was having such a good time he told Mr. Josie (not J-Hawk) to keep going. My apologies for the errors.

Edit: I talked to my dad about the story again and he told me that Mr. Josie had a mini stroke the week prior to the flight. The man was fearless apparently.

[GlowHawk]

A very nice, honest assessment of the P-51. Appreciate that the Brits have a war museum dedicated to the US fliers who lost their lives flying from England.

[joycekoch]

Growing up I had a neighbor who flew the P-51 in the Pacific.
He told me the plane was a joy to fly and when he flew against the Japanese planes
it was like they were standing still in the air. "Their planes just fell apart with a 2 second burst"
I recall him saying. After the war he bought a surplus P-51 but couldn't afford to keep it due to
gas and maintenance so he had to let it go. He had that plane at a place called air harbor in Greensboro.
I saw it in the hanger several times and it was beautiful.

[BADALICE]

I have been fascinated by the P-51 since childhood, 50 years later it's still my favorite. One of the most beautiful planes ever built.

[jbratt]

My uncle was a engineer on the P51. He also worked on the F16 F18 and F111. My dad was younger and was a B26 pilot during WWII. After the war my dad rented a P51 and took it out on a joy ride. He had a great time with it.

[bonidle]

Took the controls of a two seat TF-51D (originally a P-51D) named “Crazy Horse” at Stallion51 in Florida in 2012. Stalled, rolled, looped it for 35 minutes. Most fun I ever had with my clothes on. But very hot and extremely noisy. That Merlin sounds a lot nicer from the ground looking up than it does in the cockpit. Cannot recommend the experience enough!

[MrEric]

The sound of that engine goes right through you.

[randyragon]

in 1972 at 8 years old, I built a Mustang airplane model. It was the only model of a plane I did, because I felt it was the ultimate plane and I didn't need to make another.

[azcop]

The young Pilots made the P51 Mustang special. Without a pilot, the P51 is just a machine.

[opathend]

Around 2010 or so a few of us went to a small air show in Fort Myers Fl, and a group of old timers came up with the money to let a WWII Mustang flier from the war take a ride. The pilot went over the Gulf and let him take the stick. Talking later with the pilot, he told us that he was amazed at what he could to with the plane and said he took some lessons from the old timer! Great story and historic great plane! Thanks!

[Cowboy]

There is nothing like the sound of a flight of P-51’s. The roar goes right through your body, igniting your soul, almost touching those brave souls who flew these in life & death.
Thank you for a beautiful video.
Thank you for the men who flew these on real world missions.

[GrondTheHammer]

I have fond memories of many of the P51 from my childhood. My grandfather was a massive fan of WW2 aircraft, and would take me to a couple of airshows every year to see some. My first time going with him, at the age of 11, I can remember hearing a distant growl. I looked at my grandfather to ask what that was and I remember him looking down at me, smiling, and saying "just you wait."

Ten seconds later a formation of four P51s flew by almost directly overhead. My God, those Merlins! I was hooked. What a wonderful representation of what can be accomplished when we work together.

[tomservo]

The UK/US alliance was perfectly showcased by the Mustang and the high level of cooperation between the two.

[LK-bzsk]

I was sitting on a beach in Northern California in the 1980s relaxing and a P-51 buzzed us low and fast and so close I could see the pilot. It gave me a sense of how terrifying it must be to have a group of them coming in on a strafing run. I was scared and in awe all at the same time.

[HappyHermitt]

I am a big fan all of the WW2 warbirds. The Allies and also Axis.
I cannot imagine the courage it took to be a crew member of the bomber squadrons. They ate the unsung heroes of WW2.
They never knew if the next mission would be the last.

[adub]

Every WW2 airplane story ends with “and then the P51 Mustang came along and surpassed it” my absolute favorite airplane of all time.

[mcm]

Duxford is a bucket-list place for me!