Tamiya 60749 - 1/72 North American P-51D Mustang WWII  [60749]

Concerning the North American P-51 Mustang

The us Aviation P-51 Mustang ended up being an United states long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and several other disputes. During World War II, Mustang pilots reported 4,950 enemy aircraft shot down, second only to the carrier borne Grumman F6F Hellcat among Allied aircraft.
It had been conceived, designed and built by North American Aviation (NAA), under the direction of lead engineer Edgar Schmued, in response to a specification given straight to NAA by the British buying Commission; the model NA-73X airframe had been rolled on 9 September 1940, albeit without an engine, 102 days after the contract ended up being signed and very first flew on 26 October.
The Mustang had been originally made to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had restricted high-altitude performance. It absolutely was first flown operationally by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber. The addition associated with the Rolls-Royce Merlin towards P-51B/C model changed the Mustang's performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, giving it a performance that matched or bettered a lot of the Luftwaffe's fighters at altitude.The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 show two-stage two-speed supercharged motor, and armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning device guns.
From belated 1943, P-51Bs (supplemented by P-51Ds from mid-1944) were used by the USAAF's Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany, while the RAF's 2 TAF therefore the USAAF's Ninth Air Force utilized the Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, roles in which the Mustang assisted ensure Allied atmosphere superiority in 1944. The P-51 ended up being additionally operating with Allied air forces within the North African, Mediterranean and Italian theatres, and saw limited service up against the Japanese in Pacific War.
In the beginning of Korean War, the Mustang was the key fighter for the us until jet fighters for instance the F-86 took over this role; the Mustang then became a specialized fighter-bomber. Despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang stayed operating with atmosphere forces before the very early 1980s. After World War II while the Korean War, numerous Mustangs were converted for civilian use, particularly atmosphere racing.