How the P-51 Mustang was born

#aircraft #p51mustang #mustang

[johnstirling]

Ronald Harker was the test pilot that suggested putting the Merlin 61 to the Mustang and so history was made!

[ronalddevine]

Great cooperation between Britain and the US

[fighterpilot]

The best of British and American ingenuity. Still gives me goosebumps when I hear one flying by...

[mr.krabs]

Brothers through trouble, rivals in the good times

[jamesredman]

THEN, to avoid taking engine production from the Spitfires, producing the Merlin under contract in the USA was given to Packard, who did a great job of maintaining quality.

[tomryan]

P51-D, one the most BEAUTIFUL aircraft ever.

[HBSuccess]

My father actually worked on that project. US citizen working for Curtis-Wright he was given a Captain rank in the British military and was shipped off first to the UK and then to N. Africa . He was back here by the time the time the US entered the war

[DylansPen]

The Merlin engine was ridiculously good.

[lacesout]

P51 Legend continues to this day. Best part are the allied pilots stories of how they loved this flying machine

[Slithey]

It’s amazing how quickly we were able to progress from concept to production during WW II.

[danny_the_K]

My dad was a P-51 pilot, so I learned the whole story as I was a huge fan. The story is more amazing than you’ve shared. The plane went from nothing to a flying prototype in 110 days. They would draw a part in the drafting process and a second draftsman would duplicate that drawing. Then a machinist would take the 2nd drawing and start building the part, so literally they were building the plane as fast as they were drawing it. Pretty amazing story!

[ohgary]

And, they got the P-51 from drawings to production in less time than it would have taken to build the factory to build more P-40s.

[Myrrydyn]

My father was a tool maker with Rolls Royce and was the man who built the engine cradle that held the Merlin. Also the Brits were the people who named the Mustang and the P38 Lightning. The Merlin was supercharged and inter and aftercooled. The Allison was naturally aspirated

[phildunseath]

The merlin was an engineering masterpiece.

[jackhoward]

My father started working at North American Aviation right out of High School. Days after Pearl Harbor he tried to enlist but was denied because he was needed building planes and training new employees. One of those new employees, a "Rosey the Riviter", became my mother.

[AisleEpe-ozkf]

Working together won that war. Courage and r&d to the field.

[stevenmullins]

When i was a little kid, my dad took me to a civil airfield. We stood behind a P-51 as it started up. The prop blast blew me off my feet. My dad, a former crew chief. Got a big laugh that day

[ouiroc]

British bit built a hell of an engine I can only imagine sitting in a mosquito with two of them screaming on either side

[robertaldaron]

Legendary fighter. Flown by even more legendary men.

[joemitchem]

My dad, who worked for North American, got to hammer out the engine cowling on the P51 prototype. He told me he was making cowlings for the B25, and sheet metal fab came easy for him. One day his lead man came and took him to a hanger with the plane in it, rolled out the blueprint, made it and fastened it on.