North American P-51 Mustang 1/72 Scale Model

American P-51 - This is a model of an Army long-range reconnaissance fighter that flew against Axis ground forces in Tunisia in the spring of 1943. These Allison-engined planes were the first P-51s to see combat flying for the U.S. An A-36 "Apache" dive-bomber version was also produced for the U.S. Army. The P-51 first saw combat, however, with the British. In 1940 they asked North American Aviation to build them a licensed version of the P-40. Instead, North American built them a brand new fighter. These first P-51s, dubbed Mustangs by the British, were delivered under the Lend-Lease program in late 1941. They were found to be unsuitable for high-altitude interception duty because their Allison V-1710 engines lacked turbochargers, so they were used for armed reconnaissance and ground support. They went into action with the RAF beginning in the spring of 1942. The first aerial victory by a P-51 was recorded by an RAF Mustang during the Dieppe raid in August.

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American P-51B - This is a model of an Army fighter that flew from Britain against the Luftwaffe in western Europe during the spring of 1944. The P-51B, and its identical twin the P-51C, were the result of a British experiment to improve the P-51's high altitude performance by fitting it with a Rolls Royce Merlin engine. There had been no practical way for North American to fit a turbocharger on the original P-51's Allison V-1710 engine, so it only had a simple supercharger. The Merlin's two-stage, two-speed supercharger improved the plane's high altitude performance so dramatically that production of P-51s fitted with Packard-built Merlin engines was given a high priority in 1943. In addition to the excellent high altitude performance, the plane had a long range. This combination gave it the ability to effectively escort U.S. day bombers all the way to Germany. By early 1944 bomber losses had been reduced and the P-51 began to break the back of the Luftwaffe. The P-51D, with a bubble top canopy to improve the pilot's field of vision, entered service in May. By the summer of 1944 the P-51 had achieved daytime air superiority over Germany. The Germans introduced some new fighters that challenged the Mustang in late 1944, such as the Me 262 and Fw 190D. But they were too little and too late. The P-51 saw combat again during the Korean War, mainly flying ground support missions because jets had taken over the fighter role.

More Photos: Left, Right, Top, Front, Front Angle Right, Front Angle Left, Rear Angle Right, Rear Angle Left, Rear, Above Left, Above Right