P 51b Mustang

During World War II, the United States Army Air Corps was led by a cadre of officers who believed implicitly that military aviation, particularly fast heavy bombers at high altitude, would be able to destroy strategic enemy targets during daylight with minimal losses. However, by 1942 the Flying Fortress was proving vulnerable to Luftwaffe fighters. This title charts the United States Army Air Force's struggle to develop a Long-Range Escort which would enable them to achieve the Combined Bomber Objectives and gain mastery of the skies over the Third Reich. The commitment of the USAAF to the Mediterranean and European theatres saw an increasingly desperate need to find a fighter escort, which reached crisis point in 1943 as losses suffered in the Tidal Wave offensive and Schweinfurt-Regensburg-Munster raids emphasised the mounting strength of the Luftwaffe. The USAAF leaders increasingly accepted the probability of bomber losses, and the deployment of the P-51B Mustang solved the problem of Germany's layered defence strategy, as Luftwaffe fighters had been avoiding the P-47 Thunderbolt and P-38 Lightening escort fighters by concentrating their attacks beyond the range of the Thunderbolt and Lightning. The P-51B duly emerged as the 'The Bastard Stepchild' that the USAAF Material Division did not want, becoming the key Long-Range Escort fighter, alongside the P-38 and P-47, that defeated the Luftwaffe prior to D-Day. As well as the P-51B's history, this title explores the technical improvements made to each of these fighters, as well as the operational leadership and technical development of the Luftwaffe they fought against.

This new volume straps the reader into the cockpit of the P-51B/C as the Mustang-equipped fighter groups of the 'Mighty Eighth' Air Force attempt to defend massed heavy bomber formations from deadly Luftwaffe fighters charged with defending the Third Reich. Luftwaffe Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring admitted that the appearance of long-range Mustangs over Berlin spelled the end of the Jagdwaffe's ability to defeat American daylight bombing. But the Mustang was far more than an escort – it was a deadly hunter that could out-perform nearly every German fighter when it was introduced into combat. Entering combat in Europe in December 1943, P-51Bs and P-51Cs had advantages over German Bf 109s and Fw 190s in respect to the altitude they could reach, their rate of climb and top speed. Initially tapped for close bomber escort, Mustangs were quickly turned loose to range ahead of the bomber stream in order to challenge German fighters before they could assemble to engage the bombers en masse. Thanks to the Mustang's superior performance, USAAF pilots effectively blunted the Luftwaffe's tried and tested tactic for destroying B-17s and B-24s. Boldness and aggression in aerial combat meant that P-51B/C pilots inflicted a rapidly mounting toll on their German counterparts in the West during the early months of 1944, contributing mightily to Allied air superiority over northern France on D-Day. This volume, packed full of first-hand accounts, expertly recreates the combat conditions and flying realities for Mustang pilots (including headline aces such as Don Blakeslee and Don Gentile, as well as lesser known aviators). It is heavily illustrated with photographs, artwork and innovative and colourful 3D ribbon diagrams, which will provide a realistic overview of the most dynamic dogfights in aviation history.

While the introduction of the Merlin engine did improve the Mustang's performance and produce the bubble-canopied fighters with which we associate the name, credit must be given to the Allison-engined variants that preceded it. From its inception in early 1940, the Mustang's development was extraordinarily rapid – such was the need for a fighter at the time, and the confidence in its design. By early January 1942, the Mustang was in service with the RAF, flying low-level armed reconnaissance operations over Northern France. Despite later Merlin variants arriving in-theatre, this remained a hunting ground for the Allison Mustangs through to D-Day and beyond – a remarkable service length. In American hands the Allison-engined Mustangs performed as dive-bombers and fighters, serving with distinction in North Africa and the Far East.

This detailed monograph covers the design and development of the P-51B/C Mustang family, the main wartime production variant of this classic fighter.The P-51B/C model introduced the definitive Packard engine and was the mount of many aces. This book contains: Comprehensive technical details of the American built P-51B/C and F-6CNumerous specially selected original NAA technical photographsProduction and service photos. A wide range of colour profiles. Rare colour photographs from W.W.II.Detailed photographs featuring modern highly accurate restorations, inside and out, and including under rebuild and servicing details.Profusely illustrated with photos, including a comprehensive walk-around section showing all aspects of the airframe, and diagrams from official manuals.This book provides all the core technical details of the P-51B/C family in one compact, economical volume. Essential reading for aviation enthusiasts & scale aeromodellers.1/48 scale plans of all versions. Colour profiles.

The P-51 Mustang holds a fascination unlike any other World War II aircraft, and countless books have been written about nearly every aspect of the Mustang's colorful history. However, the story of manufacturing the airplane itself is usually contained only in the opening chapters of these books. Now, for the first time, here is a major work devoted strictly to telling the story of how this legendary airplane was designed and built using rare original factory photographs, documents, and unique engineering information. The author uses 397 original photos culled from his personal archive of official North American and USAAF images, many of which have never before been seen in any publication whatsoever. This paperback book will provide a vital "missing link" in the saga of this famed World War II aircraft, and is sure to become a valued addition to the libraries of P-51 modelers, historians, enthusiasts, and pilots in both the United States and England.

These pilots called themselves the 'Tokyo Club'. It was a simple task to become a member. All you had to do was strap yourself into a heavily loaded P-51 Mustang, take off from Iwo Jima, fly 650 miles north over the sea – often through monsoon storms – in your single-engined aircraft to Japan, attack a heavily defended target and then turn around and fly home despite a shrinking fuel supply and perhaps battle damage as well. Do it once and you earned membership in the club. Do it 15 times and you earned a trip home. But make one mistake or have one touch of bad luck, and you had a very good chance of ending up dead. This book tells the little-known story of these brave men and their efforts to defeat the aerial forces defending Japan.

Not just another book on the P-51 Mustang, this detailed and controversial book forms an investigative analysis into the often - and little-known - troubled design and development history of America's premier piston-engined fighter aircraft. Supported by hundreds of rare photos and superb color artwork, author Paul Ludwig weaves a carefully crafted story.

Get as close as you’ll get to a World War II–era P-51 Mustang without flying one yourself with this spellbinding collection of tales from the men who actually flew the planes into war.The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang first started appearing in real numbers in 1943, at the climax of the Allied campaign in World War II. Able to fly long ranges, it was the perfect escort, keeping bombers protected all the way from Allied bases in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific to a variety of Axis industrial targets and military installations and back. The Mustang would go on to provide pivotal air support on D-Day, and by the end of the war, the P-51 would be responsible for nearly half of all enemy aircraft shot down.In The Fight in the Clouds, aviation writer and EAA Warbirds of America editor James P. Busha draws on interviews conducted with dozens of veteran P-51 pilots to trace the progress of war through the men’s exciting, chronologically organized experiences. You’ll encounter: ·Mustangs tangling with Soviet-built Yaks ·A Mustang ace shooting down an Me 262 Stormbird ·An epic long-range battle over the Pacific Ocean ·And a score of other riveting accounts underscoring the P-51’s versatility and its vital importance to the Allied victoryBolstered by Busha’s own commentary and historical analysis, along with a gallery of rare black-and-white period photographs, The Fight in the Clouds offers a cockpit-seat view of one of WWII’s most celebrated aircraft and the men who bravely flew it into harm’s way.