How the P-51 Mustang Won the War

[@jeffallen3382]

In 2007 I won a raffle from the Kalamazoo Air Zoo for a ride in the back of the Excalibur P51 Mustang. My number 1 bucket list item. I've wanted to fly in a P51 ever since I was a kid!

[@robertmorey4104]

I would love to have won that! Wow!

[@fredwerza3478]

You are one lucky SOB! Now I see why Tom Cruise has a big shit-eatin' grin every time he's in that P-51.

[@davidh6300]

Was it as fun as you hoped?

[@jeffallen3382]

@@davidh6300 oh hell yes!

[@jeffallen3382]

@@Menaceblue3 🤣🤣🤣

[@saxMD2008]

As a physician in the 1990s, I treated one of the Tuskegee Airmen. He told me what it was like flying them, including what it was like to receive rounds in the back of his seat. I will never ever forget.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

so... based on that anecdote, you're a proctologist?

[@HamidShibataBennett]

My father was Army Air Corps, and re-enlisted days after Pearl Harbor. He flew all the small prop fighters, but the P-51 was always his favorite. He told me all kinds of stories about his thirty years in the Air Force, but he would never elaborated on his dogfight. After his flying days, he was in communications and cryptology. Thanks for the informative video, Ward… you are appreciated.

[@ji3194]

My Grandfather was a ball turret gunner on a B17 with the 15th AF, he always wanted to be a fighter pilot but due to his short height was placed as a gunner. He always loved the P-51. RIP Grandpa.

[@Grim_Prospects]

My son is going to absolutely love this episode. He fell in love with the P51 in TGM, and he started watching your channel a few weeks ago. Perfect timing while he's learning it on DCS this week!

[@johnshallman508]

Ward - excellent !!! Glad to see your perspective on the greatest fighter. My dad was a 51 pilot in the Pacific in WW2 based out of Iwo. Absolutely love this aircraft.

[@EdCali1]

As was my dad

[@stopspammandm]

So was my Dad. What unit was he in?

[@johnshallman508]

@@stopspammandm 47th fighter squadron - the black and yellow striped 51's.

[@stopspammandm]

@@johnshallman508 That's the same sq as my Dad.

[@stopspammandm]

@@johnshallman508 If you don't mind giving me his name I'll look though my Dad's stuff to see if I can find anything.

[@snsixstringerfjb7730]

I'll never forget the first time I heard a Merlin powered P-51.....I damn near cried of the joy!

[@WardCarroll]

Right?

[@jasonnordgren1844]

That sound is truly glorious. You can't deny the raw screeching power of a jet engine in a fighter, but there is something symphonic in a Mustang at full military power performing a high speed pass.

[@snsixstringerfjb7730]

@@jasonnordgren1844 being, well to put it bluntly, an aviation NUT🤣it's a sound you never forget and one I would recognize anywhere. Truly glorious as you say.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

Merlin is good we all know that. But check out the sleeve valve Bristol Centaurus engine which made about 2x the power of a Merlin.

[@snsixstringerfjb7730]

@@Dave5843-d9m the British came up with alot of different engine designs during the war including the Napier Sabre that powered the Typhoon and Tempest. But the Merlin was the best aircraft engine of the war. The next best imo would be the Pratt and Whitney R-2800 radial.

[@jhbuxton4]

I guess you could say I owe my life to the P-51.... My grandfather was part of the 8th air force, flying in B-17s. He was a togglier in the B-17. Thanks for the videos!

[@c123bthunderpig]

You might check out a story on George Cahill, also a togglier, story written by Paul Kengor August 16, 2018, CNS NEWS. Tough poistion

[@jhbuxton4]

@@c123bthunderpig thanks, I'll check that out.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@jhbuxton4 The truth is both P38's and P47's escorted bombers over Berlin before P51's ever did it, by a couple of weeks. Once the P38's and P47's were provided with the right kind of drop tanks they had the range to do it, it's just that at the beginning of the bombing campaign the general's that ran the USAAF thought the bombers could out run the German fighter's at the altitude and speed they could fly at with their turbo charged engine's, what they didn't count on was that shortly before the US entered the war the Germans developed, early warning radar networks which allowed their fighter's to already be at altitude and ahead of the bombers. Then when they realized they needed fighter escorts all the way to the targets it took months for the production of drop tanks to be increased to have ample supplies to send to Europe, before that every single one being made was sent to the Pacific where from day one they'd been requested. The extreme long range mission flown by P38's in the Pacific to kill Admiral Yamamoto happened 4 months before the unescorted "Black Thursday" mission on Schweinfert, that mission in the Pacific was longer than any bombing mission in Europe, proof that if the fighter's in Europe would have had the proper type of drop tanks those bombers never would have had to fly a single mission unescorted. Late in the war the "Bomber Mafia" Generals that ran the USAAF came up with the narrative that before the P51 fighter's didn't have the range to escort those early missions in Europe, they did that to cover their asses for the heavy losses and to keep from getting drug in front of a Congressional inquiry. It's a long standing myth that before the P51 the fighter's didn't have the range to escort the bombers on those early missions.

[@georgeharris6851]

My father had just finished training as a navigator in a B-17, when they dropped the bombs on Japan. Didn't have to see action, so he considered himself lucky.

[@richardmeyeroff7397]

@@dukecraig2402 the problem with the P38's was their poorer performance above 2pprox. 22000 feet which meant that the Me-109's and FW 190's could attack from above and dive through the bomber formations. With the Merlin engines the P51's could go after the German aircraft.

[@unwashedotaku]

Not only did it help win the war, but it looked GOOD doing it. Just a well designed plane. Hands down my favorite.

[@bryanmaloy4797]

another pilot to review would be Yeager's friend Clarence "Bud" Anderson, known for his P-51 "Old Crow". I think Bud is still with us, having turned 100 a few months ago.

[@brianburnes3470]

He's still with us. Got to fly with him a few weeks ago. He's about to turn 101 in January.

[@capnhardway]

Wow!!

[@rickwilliamson9248]

Definitely agree with you. Met him many years ago after watching a talk he did. He was probably in his 80s, but you could still see that "look" in his eyes. Ward... PLEASE do a segment on Bud. Currently he's the greatest living American ace.

[@LuisSoto-ho5fw]

A class act. I highly recommend his memoir, "To Fly And Fight." Bud will personally sign your copy if you buy from his website.

[@thethirdman225]

RIP Bud.

[@vxe6vxe6]

My next door neighbor had two Rolls-Royce Merlin's (in their shipping cans) he had left over from his days of racing hydrofoils in the 50's and 60's. One day in the late 70's I came home from school and found that he had sold the engines. I watched as they were being loaded on a flatbed truck.

[@hjplano]

Were the Merlin’s sold post war for hardly anything ? Like $100 per…..guys put them in boats, so the legend goes.

[@williammrdeza9445]

Loved this one, Ward. The P-51 has always been one of my favorite WW II-era fighters and you certainly did it justice with this episode. Thank you for your research and for highlighting this icon of fighters from that era.

[@joekurtz8303]

Gramps worked for North American Aircraft during the war effort in Los Angeles assembling the Mustangs. A butcher by trade, & nights in the factory ( always view facorty pics or films for a glimpse of 🧓🏻Leo if any, alas, none so far) he still had his rivet& sheet metal dollies in his tool kit he'd shown me, and ration books ,aa well. Both jobs he endured, 💪🏼Till the wars end. Had the Ding Hao model kit, & long forgotten the pilots record I'd read in the instructions. Of course this makes the P51D a favorite as well as the earlier versions.. thanks for the other unknown R&D Info. Great episode.👍🏻

[@oldgoat142]

Of all the aircraft I've ever studied, admired, or in the case of the F-14A, worked on, I can think of only two instances where an aircraft fully came into its own with new engines. It's this bird when it was married up with the Rolls-Royce Merlin, and when the Tomcat got the GEs. Hearing those two birds open up is breathtaking.

[@matthewgreenfield360]

I'll suggest a third. Avro Manchester minus 2 Vulture engines plus 4 Merlins = Avro Lancaster.

[@Glen.Danielsen]

The heavenly Merlin music that the P-51 makes takes breath away still! Thanks for doing this topic, Ward.

[@Nghilifa]

The P-51 is a beautiful aircraft indeed. I saw one at an airshow here in Bergen, Norway in 2005, celebrating the 50th anniversary of our intl airport. It was a D model, painted like Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson's "Old Crow", flown by none other than Apollo 8 LMP (Lunar Module Pilot), William "Bill" Anders. 'Twas a great day & airshow indeed!

[@DCS_World_Japan]

Love the integration of DCS cockpit tours. The Mustang, Spit, and Jug are my favorites to cruise around in when I'm not in a combat mood.

[@baumgartnernicolas4462]

I’m a 57 year old Virtual pilot with a lot of free time (retired)…been flying virtually since the early eighties and been frustrated all my life not to have been able to join the Swiss Air Force . I look at your videos with a lot of pleasure and envy. Great job ! I just upgraded to the VR varjo head-set that as a much better resolution. A lot of fun. Will join as a patreon as soon as I finish my many thanks for your great videos….

[@davidpf043]

The ranges of the P-51B and the P-47D for an escort mission profile are almost the same when configured the same. On internal fuel, both can do about 250 miles. With two wing tanks, the P-47D can do 450 miles and the P-51B 525 miles. Indeed, from Robert S Johnson's book Thunderbolt, "By now the 56th was marching all across Germany. New belly tanks increased our range to such an extent that we flew escort missions all the way to Berlin, seeking out the Luftwaffe eagle right in his own nest. On March sixth (1944) we flew the direct route to the German capital." The 8th Air Force problem early was not that they didn't have the P-51 but that they neglected to provide adequate numbers of external tanks for the P-47. Indeed, without tanks, the P-51 would not have been able to escort the bombers to Germany. The narrative the P-51 saved the bomber campaign was invented after the fact by Air Force leadership to cover up their failure to field external tanks early. The P-51 also did not become the dominant escort fighter until after the critical air battle was won. The critical pre-D-Day campaign began in February 1944 with Big Week. In February 1944 the 8th Air Force had one P-51B group with one more converting, two P-38 groups, and eight P-47 groups. On the first mission of Big Week on 22 February 1944 (Mission 226) the bomber escort was 73 P-51s, 152 P-38s, and 668 P-47s. By 8 May 1944 (the mission on which Robert S. Johnson scored his last kill near Berlin), the escort was 282 P-51s, 152 P-38s, and 282 P-47s. The P-51 did become the dominant escort fighter after D-Day. However, that wasn't because of range but rather rationalization of force structure with the 8th Air Force using the P-51 and the 9th Air Force using the P-47 for tactical support where its radial engine made it more survivable. Cost also figured in that the P-51 was cheaper than the other fighters and burned less fuel.

[@markswalley8716]

Very well said!

[@jovianmole1]

Here, here.

[@rconger384]

Good comment. Someone has been listening to "Greg Airplanes.." The cost of one P47 could buy three P51s. The P51 was certainly the most promoted as "The Greatest. "

[@davidpf043]

@@rconger384 Greg does first rate research. However, also have a copy of Roger Freeman's Mighty Eight War Diary on the shelf that gives the day by day chronology of 8th Air Force operations with daily statistics. Just look at what was done each day. The heavy lifting for the hardest part of the campaign was the P-47 finally equipped with adequate drop tanks. If the P-51 had never existed, the war would have come out the same with those escort missions simply flown by the P-47 and P-38. P-51 was a great airplane but not critical. Biggest advantage was it cost around 50K a copy while the P-47 and P-38 were both over 100k. And you always needed more airplanes.

[@thethirdman225]

Johnson was flat out wrong about the March 6, 1944 raid. No P-47s went to Berlin. This was Mission 250, if anyone wants to look it up. Jeffrey Ethell and Dr Alfred Price wrote an entire book on that mission, including all the escort planning and P-47s got no closer to Berlin than Magdeburg. The only American fighter over Berlin that day was the P-51.

[@PelicanIslandLabs]

What Makes this KZbin Channel Great: Content like this!

[@archiehenderson2744]

Just so we don’t forget. On this day October 10, 1845, the finest service academy in the world was established! HAPPY BIRTHDAY USNA!!! United States Naval Academy. GO NAVY!

[@randyerwin]

BEAT ARMY SIR!!!

[@robzilla60]

Excellent presentation of the iconic P-51. I've enjoyed watching them fly at several airshows over the years. Even saw Chuck Yeager fly Glamorous Glennis in Winston Salem NC once. The sound of those engines is unmistakable. Thanks again Commander Mooch!

[@earthwindflier]

Hands down, some of the sexiest sheetmetal to take to the sky.

[@walt8089]

As you said, Our Unit back in the 50's, the WVANG 167th FG was the very last USAF Unit to fly the P-51 Mustang retiring them in early 1957. The one at the AF Museum was actually one of our Unit's birds. My Dad was activated with our Unit in 1950 during the Korean War. My Brother and I joined our Unit many years later and both of us retired with the now 130th AW out of Charleston, WVa. They use to fly right over our house on takeoff when I was a small kid, can still remember the beautiful sound of the RR/Merlin/Packard in my mind screaming at full throttle ! Great Video, Thank You Sir !

[@zackblum1621]

That gun camera footage at the very start of the video is brutal.

[@musicmanfelipe]

The Mustang is my favorite prop fighter. It has a personal significance for me; my grandfather helped build the Mustang at NA’s Dallas plant.

[@davidsmith8997]

What made the Mustang great? A superb airframe mated with a superb engine gave great range and performance. Good armament and visibility helped. As did Allied pilot's high-quality training. It's only serious flaws were it's relative lack of ruggedness compared to other contemporaries (e.g., P-47) and it's later entry into the war. Beyond that, it's hard to argue it isn't one of the greatest fighters ever built! Doesn't hurt that it also looks and sounds awesome.

[@jacktattis]

Great range? Yes great performance? not really about as good as the P47 with a better tactical Mach

[@bobsakamanos4469]

The new gyro gunsight made rookie pilots more deadly. Being able to outnumber the LW with a superior fighter all the way to Berlin was the key. The P-47 didn't have the range or manouverability to be able to do that until after Mustangs had eliminated most of the experienced pilots (summer 1944). As for dive speed, the P-51 outdived and outmanouvered the P-47 which needed dive flaps to keep from becoming a smoking hole.

[@HamidShibataBennett]

My father was Army Air Corps, and re-enlisted days after Pearl Harbor. He flew all the small prop fighters, but the P-51 was always his favorite. He told me all kinds of stories about his thirty years in the Air Force, but he would never elaborated on his dogfight. After his flying days, he was in communications and cryptology. He also flew in a few movies, where they would paint US planes to look like Japanese Zeros. Thanks for the informative video, Ward… you are appreciated.

[@rexw2203]

Great stuff Ward. I really loved the DCS stuff giving an "in the front office" point of view. Anytime I hear that Merlin go overhead I know exactly who/what it is. Been to many an airshow and some of my most favorite and memorable moments is when the Mustang is performing! I can almost smell the high octane and the ozone from the instruments and their wiring!

[@jjd-lx5vr]

I've always loved documentaries. Growing up it was the Discovery & History channel and the like, but now we have it even better with channels like this one. Thanks for your efforts Ward!

[@matthewwolff3729]

The P-47 could have done the job with sufficient drop tanks. The P-38 had trouble at high altitudes for prolonged periods. The P-51 was the cheapest fighter that could do the job.

[@thethirdman225]

A massive and incorrect oversimplification.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

the Jug needed more internal fuel to extend range, just like any other fighter. the Jug didn't get redesigned with more internal fuel until the P-47D-25, which started being deployed in the ETO in Summer of 1944, well after the P-51's cleared out the LW.

[@marcwesley8513]

Another great episode Mooch, early in my A & P career, I had the opportunity to work on a private collection of WW II aircraft, actually my very first job with this company in San Diego, Ca., was the firewall forward restoration of a P-51D Cavalier conversion ( two seater), this plane was a Christmas present to the owners son…..cool Dad… what a thrill as a young mechanic working on such a piece of history, although this plane was used a trainer in its day, it still had the blood lines of changing wartime history. Myself and another experienced mechanic finished the job in two months including replacing the engine with a fresh overhauled one, we rolled the airplane out of the hangar, chained it down to the run up ramp, and after initial engine test runs, no leaks, ran perfect, only minor adjustments needed, the pilot said…” who’s going on he test flight…?….needless to say…I was in the back seat before he finished asking…I would go onto to get more than 15 hrs of back seat test time in several different P-51’s…..and eventually other warbirds from this amazing collection. There’s nothing like the sound of Merlin engine on takeoff rollout….a thrill I’ll never forget ! Not to be disrespectful….but there’s a few things better in life than sex….. One is……..Flyin’ in a P-51 Mustang….! Ward, thank you for your service and incredible content of this channel. Especially your love of all things F-14 Tomcat, my Dad (R.I.P.), was a white collar security officer for Grumman Bethpage, N.Y. on the F-14 program, so we are truly a warbird family. Thanks again, keep up the great work !

[@WardCarroll]

Great comment, Marc! Thanks!

[@timb3499]

A lot of P-51 were lost when it was used to attack ground targets. The cooling system was to vulnerable. The P-47 and F4U were better multirole fighters.

[@bonidle726]

That was especially true during the Korean War.

[@jacktattis]

Source please and numbers P47 lost 2600+ doing G/A and other low level duties Source Eric Brown Testing for Combat

[@thethirdman225]

That's an internet furphy. Yes, radial engines were less vulnerable to ground fire but the idea that a liquid cooled engine was too vulnerable is ridiculous. There were plenty of successful ground attack aircraft that were fitted with liquid cooled engines. Look them up for yourself. Besides, the Mustang had armour around the radiator.

[@dukecraig2402]

​@@thethirdman225 The P51 did not have armor plating around it's radiator, as per the pilots manual the only places it had armor plate was behind the pilots seat and headrest which was 7/16th inch thick, a 1/4th inch thick crescent shaped piece directly behind the top half of the prop spinner to protect the header tank and a 1/4th inch thick steel plate used for the firewall so an engine fire wouldn't burn through before a pilot could get out like aluminum or sheet steel would, it's not even really an armor plate to protect the pilot since he had the engine in front of him to absorb hits from frontal attacks, and if you want to include it as armor then also the front windscreen was 1/4th inch thick bullet proof armor grade plexiglass, but aside from the crescent shaped piece behind the prop spinner to protect the header tank there's no armor around the cooling system components especially the radiator and those long coolant pipes that go all the way from the radiator to the engine. And successful is a subjective term when you claim that there was successful ground attack aircraft that had liquid cooled engine's, none were as successful as the one's with air cooled engine's, the fact is they were mostly fighter's pressed into service as ground attack, like the Typhoon, which while my favorite RAF fighter of the war the reality is it was pressed into use as a ground attack aircraft because of it's engine issues at altitude rendering it pretty much ill suited for the typical high altitude engagements in aerial warfare over western Europe, the only truly successful liquid cooled engine ground attack aircraft was the IL-2 and because of the extensive amounts of armor required to protect its engine and cooling system was so heavy it could hardly fend for itself against other aircraft even after dropping external stores and required protection from enemy aircraft, even the Typhoon while not a high altitude aircraft could dogfight at lower altitudes once it'd dropped it's ordnance, so it's a trade off, you want a truly successful ground attack aircraft with a liquid cooled engine then you have to armor up it's cooling system to where it's lethargic, press a fighter design into the ground attack role with armor that's only really for the pilot and mostly to counter being shot from behind and you're going to lose a lot to ground fire, in the Pacific after just a short amount of time P51's were restricted from ground attack because they were flying into their own bullets flying up in front of them because of the ricochet prone coral soil that the Pacific islands are made of, that's why you don't see any films of them doing ground attack or hear about them doing it in the Pacific, in the Korean War as if the Army hadn't learned it's lesson just a few years before right away they assigned P51's ground attack mission's and like in the Pacific it wasn't long and they were restricted from doing it again because of their horrible loss number's, the reality is the P51 was a total failure at ground attack, just because some numbskulls who didn't know any better tried using it in that role doesn't mean it was suited for it, likewise the Typhoon wasn't really suited for it either and both for the same reason, their liquid cooled engine's, as much as I like the Typhoon the fact is there were Typhoon pilots who didn't make it back because of it's liquid cooled engine, if they'd have been flying ground attack in a radial engine plane there's some that would have, it's a no brainer, anything with a cooling system is going to be more prone to ground fire. Someone from over there keeps trolling P47's videos making all kinds of malarkey claims like the one where he compares the number of P47's shot down while flying ground attack to the number of Typhoons shot down flying ground attack as proof that the Typhoon was somehow a better ground attack aircraft, but he leaves out the part of the math where just around 3,600 Typhoons were built while over 15,000 P47's were built which needless to say means they flew a tremendous amount more ground attack mission's than the Typhoon, I hit him with the math comparing the number of ground attack mission's flown by both along with the number's lost and it showed that almost twice as many Typhoons were downed per the amount of mission's flown.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

You think that the turbo and all its plumbing & induction tubes weren't vulnerable behind the Jug pilot? Without it the Juggernaut became a low level turkey. It also had a lower critical mach than the LW fighters. They installed a dive flap on it for a reason - to stop them finding smoking holes in the ground..

[@michaelmartinez1345]

This was a great segment covering the development for a product that was greatly needed for escorting our bombers and attacking/defeating the enemies in WW2... The P-51 is probably one of the most well remembered planes of WW2 What is even more amazing is the extremely short time it took to develop and test it..... Especially when the R/R Merlin's were fitted to these planes... And this video does a great job, covering the creation and the improvement of it... Awesome job Wade...

[@jonthrelkeld2910]

Outstanding video! I suggest covering the Hellcat, Corsair, and the P-47. It is my understanding that the RAF used Corsairs to provide cover for the Lancaster raids on the Tirpitz that had been bottled up in a Norwegian fjord by the Royal Navy. That might be an interesting story.

[@jacktattis]

They did but never saw any combat

[@jacktattis]

I will rephrase that "they did not have air to air combat"

[@StonesSticksBones]

My Uncle Ted flew one for the RAF, he said "they were a superb aircraft"

[@caryladd863]

Ward why you talk about the P-47. My father in law flew it during WW2 from Saipan when we took the Bombers to Tokyo. He flew 47 combat missions during this time strafing and so forth. His plane was the Noble Norma

[@patrickshanley4466]

Another GREAT video🎉. I have seen and read lots of stuff on the P-51, you always manage to bring interesting information.

[@nightsailor1]

Excellent Sumary. I was unaware that Packard was already producing Merlin engines prior to P-51 development. I enjoyed the cockpit ride and the train kill.

[@jbepsilon]

I think they were producing them for the Lancasters being built in Canada? Though I think Lancs used a variant without the high-altitude optimized two-stage supercharger.

[@wilburfinnigan2142]

Ford F Ranger Rolls Royce contracted PACKARD to build the Merlin in the USA in Sept 1940, while the Brits were getting their @$$'s kicked. same time frame as they were dealing on the P40 with NA Aviation when the mustang was born. What Packard built was the 20 series single stage version for the Brits which used them in 3,040 Mk BIII Lancasters built in England and 400 Mk X built in Canada. they were also used in the canadian built Mosquito, 1500 of them and 1200 Hyrrycanes also Canadian built. Packard building the Merlin had NOTHING to do with the Mustang BUT all about an off shore Shadow factory away from the war.,for the Brits !!! It was LATER when the Merlin 60 was developed ,late 1942 early 1943 with the 2 stage supercharger that Packard built the V1650-3 or -7 for the Mustang !! ! The Mustang got the Merlin engine because they were AVAILABLE in the USA !!!

[@wilburfinnigan2142]

@@jbepsilon What you are NOT understanding is MOST all Merlins built were NOT the 60 series 2 stage high altitude version that came into service late 1942 early 1943. Overal RR used three different superchargers on the Merlin. ALL merlins BEFORE the 20 series were simple SINGLE STAGE, about the time of the BOB the 20 series single stage 2 SPEED supercharger was developed anf in late 1942 early 1943 the 60 series 2 stage 2 speed high altitude merlin was developed. ALL merlins were NOT created equal !!! of the 20,000+ shitfires built only about 7,000 had the 60 series 2 stage supercharger,as was the case with the Mosquito, the Hurrycane and the Lancaster never did get the LATER 2 stage 60 series merlin engine. The cold har fact of history IF one does the research and not listen to the Brits lies, hypes and just plain Bull$hit !!!

[@jacktattis]

@@jbepsilon No they were producing them for Rolls Royce in everything

[@jacktattis]

@@wilburfinnigan2142 Wilbur the Packard had a lot more performance than the Allison Arses kicked not in the Battle of Britain in fact the Brits had just creamed the Luftwaffe without the Packard or the Mustang How about that ?

[@rickcimino5483]

so glad you made the TGM reference. Those scenes at the end show the beauty of that aircraft. Great history lesson too! Thanks Mr. Carroll. Another movie reference is Empire of the Sun. The end of the movie where the kid sees the P-51 coming into Japan.

[@Gearparadummies]

Impressive how much punishment that B-17 at the beginning was taking and kept flying.

[@SnowMaverick]

That's the b17 for ya

[@randyerwin]

@@SnowMaverick I wonder how the ball turret gunner felt about it?

[@captaincruise8796]

As important as its role as a bomber escort was, it was actually a shift to more aggressive tactics in the build-up to D-Day that made the mustang a decisive weapon in the air war. Instead of acting as a bomber escort after the first few months of 1944, the P-51s would essentially use the bombers as bait to draw out the Luftwaffe fighters, whereupon they would pursue them to the death, all the way to the ground if need be, forsaking the escort mission and acting as dedicated Luftwaffe hunters. This new tactic was devastatingly effective, and by D-Day the Luftwaffe was for all operational purposes all but extinct, a position from which it never really recovered by the end of the war.

[@jdcole333]

Ward - you should check out Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles. He goes into great detail about the differences between the P-47 and the P-51 and that the P-51's greater range was a myth created by bomber command.

[@BARelement]

Why? Why wouldn’t bomber crews like the 47?

[@jdcole333]

@@BARelement Wasn't the bomber crews it was the command. In the early years of the bombardment, bomber command forbade the use of droptanks because they were convinced that the "kill box" formations of the B-17 and B-24 could defend themselves from the German fighters. They invented the myth of fuel range after the fact to cover their asses from all the bomber crews that went down. None of the fighters including the 51 had the range to get into Germany without drop tanks, the 47 had the capability to get there far before but were prohibited from doing so. Greg does a great series about the 47 and goes into detail about the 47's range.

[@BARelement]

@@jdcole333 You mean the “Bomber mafia”??! If not then I’m confused.

[@jdcole333]

@@BARelement Yeah, same thing. Not everyone knows it by that...I had originally typed that out but talked myself out of it.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@BARelement The "Bomber Mafia" is the nickname of the general's that ran the USAAF and believed at the beginning of the bombing campaign in Europe that the bombers didn't need escorts.

[@Tacticaldave1]

Liquid-cooled engines made all the difference over air/fuel-cooled engines. That allowed leaning the mixture way back in cruise to save gas for the fighting. More fragile than an air-cooled engine for sure but trade offs are intrinsic to aviation. Great post Commander as always!

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Not to mention the Mustang's low drag airframe allowing it to be far more fuel efficient than the Spit with the same engine.

[@johngeorgegately7402]

Your consistency in production @ Grade A,or better, is stunning. Keep 'em comin' Mooch!

[@cheezbomber]

I love these! Thanks Ward. For all four, you've written a great "Ward Carroll script" that does a great, fairly concise and pointed tribute to the aircraft. At the same time, you don't try to say all the same stuff that everyone already says about these great aircraft. I, for one, am looking forward to more.

[@ffvdiaz]

Big correction Mooch. The Lt Lee Archer of the 332nd Figher Group was the first and only Ace of the Tuskegee Airmen.

[@keevee09]

Don't click on that "prize" comment! This scam is doing the rounds, pretending to be from the uploader.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@keevee09 That's been making the rounds on almost every KZbin channel out there.

[@keevee09]

@@dukecraig2402 Yeah, most of us will be aware, especially those of us following quality channels like Ward's. Still, I throw the odd warning out there now and again for those that may not be aware and always report them to KZbin. Never give a bloodsucker an even break.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

four or 4.5 kills. Not an ace, despite Wiki disinformation.

[@txkflier]

Well done! My dad was a line chief on P-51's during WWII. He served in England, France, and Italy as the Allies progressed toward Berlin..

[@Hammerli280]

I had the opportunity to fly a P-51 while going through Test Pilot School. Possibly the most educational sortie I had...because the airplane was a pig. By modern standards, it had a very poor roll rate, heavy control forces. Do NOT arm-wrestle a Mustang pilot, you'll lose. In comparison to the P-80 (I flew a T-33 once), you really see just how much of an advantage a jet fighter had.

[@ThumperE23]

Did they have power assist on the T-33 controls?

[@Hammerli280]

@@ThumperE23 Yup. First-generation hydraulic boost for the ailerons. But it was also an extremely low-drag airframe.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Well said. All the video game kids commenting simply don't understand reality.

[@spikymikie]

As always, Thank You. During my Air Force days, (1980-1989), I saw several P-51's (C, and D) at the airshows. Between, Nellis, Hill, and Shady J, I was at a few air shows. As a kid I think I built a whole squadron of P51 models over the years. Always loved those planes. Thank you Ward! 😎😎

[@RogueAce93]

To think, it started out as an attack aircraft! Imagine how things would’ve turned out had it been stuck with the Allison engine! Thanks for making a great vid about the greatest fighter, Ward! Keep ‘em flying!!

[@dukecraig2402]

It didn't really start out as an attack aircraft, that part of the story has gotten a bit distorted by people who don't know about the slight of hand trick that Lt Benjamin Kelsey pulled on Congress. First off to fully understand things you have to know that there's 2 timeline development stories involved here. One is the Merlin engine, contrary to the oversimplified version of things by people over the years the Merlin wasn't a "more powerful" engine than the Allison, it's just that after a certain point Rolls-Royce developed a 2 stage 2 speed high altitude supercharger for it, for high altitude performance with the Allison the P38 used a turbo for it's 2nd stage, so Allison had never designed a 2 stage 2 speed supercharger for their engine and weren't about to without funding from someone, without that type of supercharger or a turbo for a 2nd stage that limited the engine to only being able to make it's maximum power at lower altitudes. As of when the P51 was designed the version of the Merlin with a high altitude 2 stage 2 speed supercharger didn't exist yet, it was under development and wasn't even fielded until mid 1942, even the early Packard built Merlin's only had a single stage supercharger like the Allison so putting one of them in the P51 wouldn't have made any difference, and at the time of the P51's development the RAF wanted every single Merlin engine produced by both Rolls-Royce and Packard so the only engine available to go in the P51 for development was the Allison anyways. Now for the P51 timeline, the British knew from day one that the 2 stage supercharger version of the Merlin was eventually going to go in the P51 but until that version of the Merlin was being produced they weren't really interested in buying P51's, but Lt Benjamin Kelsey who was in charge of the US Army's development and procurement of aircraft knew that once the P51 was coupled with an engine with a high altitude supercharger it'd be a world class fighter, but the problem was North American didn't have a production line set up because the British were holding off their orders waiting for a high altitude engine for the airframe and the US Army at the time was out of money and Congress wouldn't allot them any more for fighter's, don't forget at this point the US wasn't in the war yet. So to get North American orders so they'd have the money to set up a production line Kelsey had Noth American fit 20mm guns on it and changed it's designation to A36, the "A" standing for attack which was a classification of aircraft that Congress would allot money to the Army to purchase them. It was never really intended to be an attack aircraft, adapting it to one was nothing more than a trick to get Congress to cough up money so North American could set up a production line.

[@hypergolic8468]

@@dukecraig2402 And it's worth remembering that the British and French had placed large orders (the British taking over the French orders on the fall of France) for the Lockheed P38, but, it was initially ordered without the Supercharger, as they thought air battles would be below 20,000ft so the cost and complexity could be removed. As the Battle of Britain proved, 20,000 feet was a false ceiling and they cancelled the orders for the none supercharged plane (which they had requested!). So holding off orders, from a British perspective could be understood as a lesson learnt. Aside from that, I understand that the P38 suffered for a while, as producing and delivering the required superchargers took too long initially. However, It would have been a very interesting if the RAF had used the P38 in larger numbers. Would the Bomber command have moved to daytime operations?

[@slammerf16]

@@hypergolic8468 I doubt the RAF would have moved to daytime operations as it gave them no great advantage. Early in the war, the RAF found out the hard way that unescorted bombers were hideously vulnerable. The USAAF came along later and learnt the same lesson. The RAF had a rethink and adopted night bombing. The USAAF had to rethink as well , but by that time it was possible to equip fighters with drop tanks, which is what they did after an operational pause. The RAF stayed on with the night bombing as they'd worked up the necessary accuracy using Oboe beam navigation and H2S group mapping radar, and the whole Pathfinder force. German nightfighters only improved throughout the war but Mosquito NF moved into a more offensive role by flying with the bomber stream and intercepting German NF. What I find interesting about the P38 is that it could possibly have been another light bomber alongside the Mosquitos or even flown fighter escort for Mosquito bomber versions. That would have been a fast bomber formation! That _might_ have tempted the RAF back to day operations because night flying for single seat aircraft was very hard work back in that era although they might have just told the pilots to get on with it. Also, by keeping the German defenses stretched both day and night, the Allies wore the Luftwaffe and German industry down much more quickly. But ultimately both airforces were wedded to the 4 engine heavy bomber concept which proved so ruinously expensive in blood and materiel.

[@jacktattis]

@@dukecraig2402 No Duke That is not how it happened The British knew no such thing, the Merlin 61 was just out when Rolls Royce Test pilot was at Duxford testing planes not normally fitted with R/R The Wing Comd. Orde- Campbell suggested that he take a test flight in the Mustang Harker realised that with the New Merlin 61 the plane would have much better performance up high. He did the figures and put it to Rolls Royce, they eventually agreed and 5 airframes were found . The USAAF were always in the picture but had NO input into the fitting of the Merlin into the P51.

[@jacktattis]

And it was the RAF Mustang 1A that had 20mm cannon

[@matthewnewnham-runner-writer]

Easily one of the most iconic aircraft (of any type) ever built. It truly is a love letter to aviation.

[@The_Sly_Potato]

Mr. Carrol, I highly suggest you take a look at "Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles" channel. You'll really like the in-depth technical research and history-telling of a variety of planes (and vehicles) he covers!

[@jacktattis]

He is biased and ignores actual ww2 test figures

[@The_Sly_Potato]

@jacktattis if you can prove your statement, I'm all ears buddy :)

[@jacktattis]

@@The_Sly_Potato Sometime ago I post three tests all done circa 43/44 One at AFDU Duxford another at RAE Farnborough and another at Wright Field and my beef was about the T/M of the P47 Nothing else and those tests? 1.AFDU Duxford 3/21/1---- 3 RDM43 Rep. No. 66 P47C dive very fast but reaches its limit at 52Omph @ 10000ft and 450mph @ 20000ft AFDU did not have Machmeters 2.RAE Farnborough early 44 Capt Eric Brown Wings on My Sleeve Page 72-- P47 dive T/ M 0.71 [ 544.76 mph] RAE would do their Tests by going to the Planes Service ceiling 40000ft and put it into a 45 deg Dive When the plane was at the point when the pilot was losing control they would record that number Brown did it then and later He said Mach 0.73 [ 555 mph ] was a death dive 3. Wright Field Jun 1944 US Test pilots so no bias P47 indicated Limit Diving Speed ILDS 500MPH@ 10000ft Tests one and three I posted to Greg And test two he intimated that Brown was wrong and that he used a flawed application Now Brown was one of 40 test pilots at that facility and is recognised as one of the greatest test pilots In Gregs' video he said his figures were up near T/M 0.80 which is above the 598mph of the P51 The tests at AFDU and Wright Field are easy to find . They are both in WW2 Aircraft Performance one is an addendum to the main reports. Test three is in Browns book

[@thethirdman225]

@@The_Sly_Potato *_"if you can prove your statement, I'm all ears buddy :)"_* It's pretty easy to prove. Buddy. Greg uses calculated data that in a lot of cases has not yet been subjected to test flying. It says so in red ink at the bottom of the page. Buddy. On top of that, he's talking about optimum altitude and throttle settings. He's not talking about operational requirements which were anything but optimal and used up fuel greedily. Buddy. Greg is fooling only those who want to be fooled. There's nothing he says that can't easily be countered by anyone who can read. I'm far too well read to be sucked in by that nonsense. Range performance and theoretical or test data are almost irrelevant when it comes to the verdict of history and you don't need to make a 45 minute video on this nonsense to see it for what it is. Buddy.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Greg makes money by telling unread kids what they want to hear. Half truths without context or full disclosure. He refuses to acknowledge his mistakes and omissions.

[@ColdWarAviator]

excellent summary of what made the Mustang great. I like how you integrated game footage to illustrate (in very good quality I must say) the feel of flying in the cockpit, along with what the various support missions looked like to the pilots. great work!

[@davidgeorge4696]

Ward I look forward to all of your videos and am a big fan of the Mustang. There is a premise about the P-51 being the only fighter to have the range to protect the bombers that may be false. Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles KZbin channel has a video "P-47 Thunderbolt Pt. 6 Range, Deceit and Treachery" that is well researched and worth considering.

[@thethirdman225]

I would be extremely wary of that video.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Don't believe the Greg rewrite of history. Do some research and you'll see that the Jug didn't get redesigned to take more internal fuel until the D-25 block, deployed in spring/summer of 1944. The LW was mostly defeated by then and Allies were on the continent.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Greg sells out of context half truths to those who won't research the real history.

[@dougreid2351]

Fascinating. Had never seen the experimental types scared out of the woodwork by the German jets. Thanks. DOUGout

[@jedibusiness789]

Chuck Yeager said it best. “The P-51 could do what the Spitfire did for 10 hours”

[@slammerf16]

Sadly, he wasn't right.

[@wilburfinnigan2142]

@@slammerf16 OOOOH He was right !!! The mustang could do everything a shitfire could do but do it all day long !!! and shitfires never escorted bombers to Berlin they were too short legged to do the job !!!

[@slammerf16]

@@wilburfinnigan2142 ahhh flying tractor is back . How little we missed you.

[@jacktattis]

@@wilburfinnigan2142 AHHH Wilbur still sprouting nonsense No Mustang could dive to T/M 0.86+ No Mustang could climb at 4800+ ft/min No Mustang could get to 44000ft+ [ Merlin ] or 48000ft+ [ Griffon] No Mustang could roll at 150 degs/sec Spit Clipped wing No Mustang was a carrier plane [ Seafire ] And as I said all those years ago The Spitfires did not escort Your bombers TO Berlin that was your job not the RAF/Friends They did however escort your Bombers over France on some occasions

[@jacktattis]

@@slammerf16 I Like that "How little we missed you"

[@screw_bird]

Incredible video Ward thank you ! Keep up the dcs action it’s very instructive as well and brings a different perspective to the things !

[@blech71]

This is the only channel that I feel that I can automatically hit the like button as it loads. Always great and awesome content by Mooch!

[@cowebb2327]

Thanks for featuring my all-time favorite airplane. If/when I win the lottery, this will be my first purchase.

[@colinritchie1757]

Goering's quote "When I saw fighters over Berlin I Knew the was was over" - says all you need to know abut the effect of the P-51's impact

[@PadraigTomas]

Check your quote brother.

[@BARelement]

Source?

[@colinritchie1757]

@@BARelement I believe it's mentioned in Goering's interrogation after his capture

[@thethirdman225]

Goering knew he was screwed when three Mosquitoes roared overhead at chimney pot level in 1943 and put him off the air.

[@mrcat5508]

First of all, the first fighters over Berlin were probably normal soldiers, second of all, if your talking about airplanes, it would probably be a ww1 biplane, third of all, if your talking about ww2 fighter airplanes, it would probably be a Bf-109, fourth of all, even if your talking about ww2 American fighters, then the P-38 was still the first over Berlin, not the P-51.

[@KiteSurfPuntaCanaSchool]

The Dominican Republic had a fleet of (52) P-51D aircraft in the 1960's, the last Dominican P-51D's where sold in 1986. A great aircraft!!

[@mikehoshall6150]

I’m sorry, but I very respectively disagree. The plane that the allies couldn’t do without was undoubtably the P47. To be short and to the point, the Allie’s flew more P47’s then any other plane. So, obviously they had more combat hours than any other plane, and more combat sorties. Yet only .7 of one percent of P47’s that flew into combat failed to bring their pilot back to base. Try beating that. And range, the N’s that flew in the Pacific had over 3000 miles of range. They had an autopilot in them!! The P51 was a remarkable plane, but in every measurable category the P47 outdid them. It was the later versions that did it, but the P47 was one bad ass airplane. It wasn’t as pretty, but it could fight.

[@jacktattis]

Not the Allies the USA The RAF already had the Plane that could beat the P47 and which its First Combat was Oct 1939 not April 43 for the P47 So for 42 months the Spitfire was knocking the enemy out of the air before the P47 was even in it,. The RAF flew more Spits for longer than the USAAF flew the P47

[@thethirdman225]

You need to find better sources that Greg. He's flat out wrong in his claims for the P-47 and it's easy to prove. Until late 1944, few P-47s could go further than the Dutch border. Those that did couldn't get past Magdeburg. When the P-51 arrived in late 1943 (it could actually have been there for Schweinfurt but that's another story), the dynamic changed completely. Anyone making the claim, as Greg does, that the P-47 was the aircraft that defeated the Luftwaffe, doesn't know what he's talking about. There were two aircraft that gave the Germans nightmares: the De Haviland Mosquito and the P-51. We know this because their reports are full of them. They don't talk much about other types.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Consider why the P-47 made it back to base on so many missions: - when they reached the limit of their range and left the bombers, then the LW attacked the bomber stream which is why the bomber attrition was so high in 1943, - when escort Jugs did engage the LW it caused them to reach "bingo fuel" status and they disengaged. - when Jugs chased the LW down the LW fighters simply out manouvered and climbed back up, which the P-47s didn't do because of compressibility it took forever to pull out and they couldn't climb well or efficiently, so home they went, - P-47 turbos were not protected. When damaged by e/a, the Jug completely lost its ability to fight at high altitude, so again it returned home at low level on its supercharger. ... yes, the P-47 had lots of armour to protect the pilot, but that also made it heavy and lack manouverability, so it took hits, RTB, but wasn't so effective for reasons stated until maybe mid 1944 with better range.

[@Christopher-xn6rb]

You miss the point entirely… Bomber crews were being lost at an unsustainable rate since planes like the P-47 didn’t have range. The P-51 changed all that.

[@johnferguson1455]

Great presentation Mooch. I was a P-51 mechanic from 1989 to 2006 on the well known Reno racer “Risky Business”. Great times and a wonderful airplane to work on.

[@fencegecko]

P-47’s shot the cream of the Luftwaffe in ‘42 and early ‘43. The P-51’s cleaned up on a severely depleted Luftwaffe.

[@jacktattis]

And the P47 only cleaned up what the Spitfire left

[@jacktattis]

P47 Combat Debut April 43

[@iCanHazTwentyLetters]

@@jacktattis We have to give the Americans some credit for helping to cripple the German/Axis industrial complex and logistics to the point that they were so weak in the end of the war. Yes, the P-51 fought a weaker luftwaffe with shortages on materials and pilots, but the P-51 also escorted the bombers that made that possible. To compare the P-51 to a spitfire is like apples and oranges though. The spitfire is clearly a better fighter in a confined or defensive scenario.

[@DonWan47]

Gross over simplification.

[@jacktattis]

@@iCanHazTwentyLetters Not so from Nov 43 to Mar 44 the RAF unleashed the Spit IXs in Operation Pointblank to go after the enemy wherever they were with the result they got 2950 enemy all shot down and my friend the P51B only had its first combat Dec 43 So while the P51 was tip toeing around the sky the Spitfire was destroying the enemy .

[@motorTranz]

Beautifully done Ward! Thanks!

[@johnchancellor4757]

Ward you ought to check your combat radius again. The difference from the P-51B to P-47 is under 75 miles both with drop tanks. They didn't by doctrine feel they needed drop tanks and the P-47's didn't get them. The powers that were, were 9-12 months late ordering drop tanks that culminated in the October 1943 Schweinfurt raid without escort. The issue was with leadership at the Ira Eaker, Jimmy Doolittle, Car Spatz level. P-47's could make it to within 75 miles of Schweinfurt where were they? They didn't have the drop tanks to do it. I have always suspected the change in command of Doolittle for Eaker had a lot to do with the decisions that were made earlier when the prewar "The Bomber will always get through" doctrine finally died. Was Eaker the sacrificial goat for this? It was Doolittle immediately changed 8th Air Force Fighter Command tactics and the result was Big Week in February of 44, and the end of the Luftwaffe fighter threat. No one talks about this in the coverups that followed the war for this shakeup. Who was pushing which doctrine? Schweinfurt was the end of the daylight bombing without escort and those 60 buffs died to prove it. The P-51 was important but not the savior its made out to be. Spatz, Eaker, and Hap Arnold were all responsible for the bombing doctrine prewar and was it really just Eaker who was the holdout?

[@jacktattis]

Add to that from Nov 43 to Mar 44 SpitfireIXs accounted for 2950 enemy in Operation Pointblank Source Morgan and Shacklady Spitfire the History Page 312

[@thethirdman225]

*_"Ward you ought to check your combat radius again. The difference from the P-51B to P-47 is under 75 miles both with drop tanks."_* No, that isn't true. In any case, 75 miles is still 75 miles. The P-51 could get as far as Prague. *_"They didn't by doctrine feel they needed drop tanks and the P-47's didn't get them."_* No, this is Greg's myth and Greg doesn't read history because he prefers technical documents and conjecture. The USAAF had already ordered some 1,300 P-51s in October, _1942._ By summer of 1943, they were ready. The trouble was that the USAAF air staff didn't know. Such were the size of US industry and the vagaries of international communication across the Atlantic during a major war. We know this because of letters from people like Hap Arnold. There was no doctrine involved after Schweinfurt, irrespective. Even so, they had an aircraft ready to do the job but didn't know it. The reason the P-47s 'didn't get them' (actually, they did) was because they had to be retrofitted. It took Republic a long time to get off their fat arses and make it a line modification. By the time of 'Big Week in early 1944, a small percentage had been converted to carry two underwing 108 gallon tanks. All the others were limited to a single centreline tank. This is why most of them couldn't get beyond the Dutch border. The ones that could got no further than Magdeburg. *_"The powers that were, were 9-12 months late ordering drop tanks that culminated in the October 1943 Schweinfurt raid without escort."_* There are all kinds of incorrect assumptions about this. First of all, the USAAF had little need for deep penetration raids prior to early 1943. At that stage the only places they were raiding were coastal cities, like Wilhelmshafen. Gradually, the raids moved further inland but losses were only rarely unacceptable. The self-defending bomber hypothesis was more or less holding water. Schweinfurt was something of an aberration. It was a high priority target that had to be attacked with whatever was available and there wasn't time to make big changes. But what scotched the Schweinfurt raid was the weather. Cloud cover over southern England and the north coast of Holland meant that many of the escorts never met up with their charges, with predictable results. Again, this had nothing to do with 'doctrine'. (why don't you just call it 'communism'?) *_"The issue was with leadership at the Ira Eaker, Jimmy Doolittle, Car Spatz level."_* It's very easy to be critical when you don't have the full picture, something not even I claim. Greg doesn't have the full picture either. But the fact is that none of them had a crystal ball. I'm sure they knew it was a risk but it was deemed a risk that had to be taken and there were no alternatives on the horizon. They might even have got away with it. Regardless of what Greg says, there is no way the P-47 could have prevented this. *_"P-47's could make it to within 75 miles of Schweinfurt where were they? They didn't have the drop tanks to do it."_* Okay but 75 miles is still 75 miles. What good is that? Might as well be 750 miles. Most of the aircraft were shot down either near the coast or over the target. The P-47s couldn't have prevented that. They _didn't_ prevent it over the coast because of the weather and the couldn't have got to Schweinfurt. No way could a P-47 get within 75 miles of Schweinfurt or Regensburg on internal fuel. It was never going to happen. References: _Big Week',_ James Holland _'Target Berlin',_ Jeffrey Ethell and Dr Alfred Price _'The Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission',_ Martin Middlebrook

[@billyshakespeare17]

@@thethirdman225 You should debate Greg. Let the facts roll, by any side.

[@thethirdman225]

@@billyshakespeare17 Fwoar… I just reread my post and I’ve done so much reading in the last few months that there are things in there that even I no longer completely agree with. It doesn’t change my basic position though. I mean, I would no longer say that Schweinfurt 1 (and Regensburg) was an aberration. I would say that people need to consider other factors, like the weather. But Schweinfurt 2, as well as the raids on Bremen, Oserschleben and Anklam in the same week show that the self-defending bomber strategy was not working. I have posted on Greg’s videos before. I posted a comment that concerned his claims about the power of the R-2800, specifically in the P-47, which concerned the fact that he was using a lot of ‘what ifs’ and applying them asymmetrically. He eventually backed down but he later deleted my comments. I’m not the only one he’s done this to. But I stand by my comment that Greg doesn’t read history. If he did, he’d know why mission planners did what they did and just accept it. But his implication that the P-47 was sufficient on its own, even with drop tanks, is absurd. The USAAF could not have met the objectives of Operation POINTBLANK without the P-51. That would have made D-Day in 1944 an impossibility. A six month delay would have meant the invasion would have had to take place in December and that was never going to happen. The only real possibility was in the summer. So that means June, 1945 and that would have been acceptable to nobody. It would also have meant a far greater Soviet advance into Central Europe than I think anyone would have been comfortable with. I think Greg’s biggest problem is his extremely narrow focus. The trouble is that people mistake his laser focus for history and it just isn’t.

[@thethirdman225]

@@billyshakespeare17 I also didn’t point out in my previous comments that drop tanks were not the answer. They could help but they couldn’t solve the problem.

[@kennethlewis3870]

Love the DCS cockpit addition. WW2 was the golden age of fighter aviation. Still needed guns for the kill but piston engines were hyper advanced for great speed & altitude performance.

[@nomar5spaulding]

The P-47 and P-38 get an undeserved bad reputation from the ETO. The P-38 had enough range to be the USAAF preferred fighter in the Pacific for missions of extreme range. The P-47 had ample drop tank solutions that have it very good range for its time as a single engine fighter, and despite not having the legs of the Lightning, again it demonstrated enough range to be competitive in the Pacific Theater. In most ways, the P-47 is actually the superior aircraft, being faster at pretty much all altitudes, much better armed, able to carry more diverse and heavier payloads in air to ground missions, and still with good range, if not the best in class in that figure. The single largest reason why the P-51 became the predominant USAAF fighter wasn't the range or performance of either aircraft. It was the cost. The P-47 was much larger and more complex, and came with the matching price tag. For what they spent to buy 1 Thunderbolt, the USAAF could buy 3 Mustangs.

[@jbepsilon]

From what I read (or maybe it was mentioned in the excellent P-47 series of videos on Greg's airplanes and automobiles channel?), it was basically 3 Mustangs for the price of 2 Thunderbolts. But yes, the price (and to a lesser extent) fuel consumption were AFAIU the main reason the Mustang replaced the Thunderbolt as the escort fighter.

[@nomar5spaulding]

@@jbepsilon yeah maybe it was 3 to 2.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

You don't seem to realize that combat radius is defined by internal fuel capacity. Can't fight with drop tanks attached. The P-47 lacked that until the D-25 model in mid 1944. The P-38 was simply unsuitable at high altitude with a host of problems (turbo and Allison) that were never really overcome. They aborted missions often due to engine problems. Even the P-82 Allisons were a nightmare for maintainers.

[@charlesberlemann8831]

I have a foggy memory of going to the general aviation side of Lambert Field (St Louis Muni) back in the 50s with my Dad and older brother to see a Mustang that was up for a private party sale for what sounds ridiculously cheap $1200 (today), but was about the same price as a new Chey Bellair back then. My brother did his best to try to convince my Dad to buy it, but was unsuccessful. My heart was with my brother, but I don't think it would have been a economically wise move.

[@jjbode1]

Thanks for this series. It's opened my eyes.

[@Boron121]

It took General Kenney 6 weeks to have Ford in Brisbane Australia to design and start production of the Brisbane drop tank for the P-47 in mid-1943. This was necessary because Hap Arnold refused to buy the drop tanks from Republic. The Republic drop tanks worked. The 5th Air Force was flying escort missions as far and as high as the 8th Air Force was in the ETO. These were the Razorback models of the P-47s, not the later models with better range. New Guinea is the world's 2nd largest island with a long range of mountains reaching over 16,000 ft. The 5th Air Force had to made do with what it got as they were at the bottom of the pecking order for supplies.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Sounds like regurgitation of greg's nonsense. Notice that Lockheed, and NAA all plumbed their fighters for pressurized drop tanks and shackles early in the game. When did Republic production variants have this? 1944? The D-25 was the first variant with enough internal fuel for long range escort. You've been drinking greg's kool aid again.

[@drgondog]

The 205gal ferry tank was only external fuel tank ordered/delivered by Republic save a 600gal tank that was rejected. Both were designed ONLY for the P-47C four point skid plate. The Brisbane 200gal tank was superior (SWP) but Republic's conversion to B-7 centerline racks eliminated the four point scheme by the beginning of September 1943 in ETO... the SWP converted in December 1943 and from that point on could carry both bombs and tanks specified by AAF. And, No, Arnold did not Refuse to buy anything. Kenney REPORTED to Arnold as well as Eaker - both ordered tanks built locally with full support of Arnold because AAF Materiel Command was too slow in spec, design, build, test and produce.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Greg lost that debate hands down. He's conning people. BTW, in PNG the higest peak is less than 15,000'.

[@Warhorse500]

A couple of notable footnotes for the P-51's history: 1) A Mustang was one of the two opponents in the very last piston-powered aircraft dogfight. In 1969, over two decades after the end of WW2, A Mustang from El Salvador and a Honduran Corsair, HAF number FAH-609, engaged, with the Honduran Corsair coming out victorious after his 20mm cannons tore one wing off the Mustang. 2) In another testament to the Mustang's solid engineering and durability, in 1971 four Mustangs were retrofitted with turboprop engines in an effort to help the USAF get a low-cost COIN aircraft. The aircraft were modified by a combination of Cavalier Aircraft (who had previously rebuilt the El Salvadorean Mustangs) and Piper Aircraft, and were redesignated PA-48 Enforcer. Cavalier and Piper tried for years to sell the concept to the USAF, at one point in 1979, Congress actually allocated nearly $12 million for further evaluation on the aircraft. The Enforcers were tested at Edwards AFB and Eglin AFB in 1983/84, but as in 1971, the USAF decided not to move forward. One of the four a/c crashed off the Florida coast in 1971; cause was found to be flutter induced by a modified trim tab. Of the remaining a/c, two still exist---one at the Edwards AFB Flight Test Museum, the other at the Pima Air Museum. My personal opinion? Pound for pound, the Corsair and the Mustang are evenly matched, performance-wise. But I still would prefer the Corsair due to the radial engine, which eliminates the one weakness of the Mustang in its liquid-cooled engine. Even Chuck Yeager, one of the Mustang's most high-profile pilots and staunchest defenders, has been quoted as saying "stick a hat-pin in the belly of a P-51 and it'll bleed to death in five minutes." Sorry Tom Cruise....:)

[@bobsakamanos4469]

At least the Corsair didn't have all the unprotected turbo gear and plumbing behind the pilot like the P-47. One round through that and the heavy P-47 became a low level turkey.

[@ezyrhino]

My all-time favorite plane. The sound and looks, simply amazing.

[@Watchandcutgearchannel]

Great episode more of these! I’m a huge Ford Mustang guy… this is actually the plane the car was named after… what an iconic plane.. beautiful as well… I actually never new packard did the original engines on those .. I thought they were always RollsRoyce engines.. learned something new today 😊

[@jacktattis]

Allison that were great down low not so good above 20000ft

[@jimhill4725]

Amazing presentations standards: I really enjoyed watching this and listening to your immaculate narration, that had me spellbound, from beginning to end, on the edge of my seat.

[@timothymanes5048]

Great idea Ward! Like Rick's "What makes this song great". I love the idea. Thanks!

[@robbabcock_]

Great video! When I was a kid I was obsessed with two planes, the P-51D and the F-14 Tomcat. I built at least three Tomcat models and two Mustangs. I really hoped to join the Navy and fly fighters til I learned in '85 that you needed uncorrected 20/20 vision.😭 Still love those planes though! It's astonishing that they were able to develop such a potent air superiority fighter so quickly and produce it in such numbers.

[@iangadget3848]

I've sat in The Flying Undertaker that you showed in the privately owned part in Perth , Western Australia about 2002.

[@Deafwing]

Such a beautiful aircraft - it looks beautiful, it sounds beautiful. I have a tough time choosing a favourite between the P-51D and the Spitfire, they're just such iconic, amazing, thoroughbreds. Richard Candelaria's story is one that really sticks out in my mind.

[@ericboehm9457]

Good job Ward! My dad was a TBM ball turret gunner on Shangri-La ('44-'45), I always love hearing the ship's name called out. The Navy tested a PBJ(B-25) on Shang as well. I seem to recall reading about the Navy's resistance to liquid cooled engines for carrier ops as well. They didn't want to store glycol. Another strike against the "Seahorse".

[@420alphadog]

WoooHooo! The Cadillac of the sky!!!

[@sdgardner1954]

My father was a corporal in the 82nd Recon squadron (He worked in the darkroom developing pictures) and knew Maj Shomo. Nice to see a connection on your channel.

[@fredsalfa]

My dad flew P51D Mustangs in WW2 against the Japanese near the end of the war in 1945. That’s incredible I’ve never known the Mustang had Jet pod tests. That’s the first time ever I’ve known about that after seeing every video about the Mustang out there in history. My dad would have been amazed as well.

[@TheWeatherbuff]

Great job, as always, Mooch! Thank you!

[@forthwithtx5852]

My favorite aircraft of WW2. So beautiful and capable. There’s a Hogan’s Heroes episode where Hogan has Col. Klink and he both admiring a P-51B (I think) during one of their improbable underground missions. My Dad was a huge WW2 aviation nut. He was 9-14 years old during the war. After the war, a highly modified P-51C named “Beguine” was in the Cleveland Air Races. My Dad was there when the Beguine crashed into a suburban house. Later in life, one of his obsessions was to recreate the Beguine in a modified plastic model. The aircraft had deleted the belly radiator for wingtip mounted ones, on asymmetrical wings (one longer than the other, for turning left). He passed before accomplishing that. It was a deep green aircraft with the opening bars of music from the Cole Porter song, “Begin the Beguine” painted on the sides of the fuselage, and highly polished prop blades. Got me thinking about finishing his mission now.

[@cmad0032]

Wow! You have a talent for historical videos. Very well done!

[@maxwellheintz2391]

Great video! My grandfather worked on P-51s (then F-51s) in the NY ANG after the war (139th FS, now the 139th Airlift Squadron / 109th Airlift Wing)

[@michaelscott1199]

Love this series Ward. Well done!

[@johnathancena5067]

always makes my day when you post ward, my favorite thing to listen to while at work!

[@SpiderMonkeyy35]

Thank you for including the Tuskegee Airmen

[@johnosbourn4312]

Also, the Mustang-I was the first production variant of the Mustang, not the P-51A, Ward.

[@JustaPilot1]

The engine also has a mixture control. The manifold pressure is controlled by a combination of RPM and prop pitch. The C-182 I used to fly was very happy at 2300 RPM and 23 inches of MP or 23 squared.

[@MrDrumzz01]

Ward, Love the channel! I'm a ex USAF SAC avionics troop. I was wondering if you could do a episode on Linebacker II? The 50year anniversary is this year and I'm sure you would do it justice! Keep up the great work!!!!

[@wayneroyal3137]

Ward, a good friend of mine owns a P-51 and before it went into shop to gets its second restoration would fly it regularly. The whole airport seemed to stop just to hear it start and taxi and then the sound on takeoff! Not many things sound better!

[@delarson9277]

Great channel Ward! I was a B52G tail gunner back in the 70's and 80's. We received very little training on fighter tactics. What would be the most likely attack profile a fighter would fly to take out a bomber with a tail gun using your gun? We were told to expect a lead collision or pursuit curve from the rear. We were also told a head-on attack would probably not be used due to the high closure rate and that a bomber could out turn a fighter at high altitude.

[@svOcelot]

Thanks for this, Ward. I've long loved the Mustang, but thought it only came out much later in the war. I also thought it was one of our first planes that could take a zero on pretty much all points. I'll look forward to your future documentaries!

[@albertsmith9315]

I was stationed at Edwards AFB in the '80s and as testament to the well thought out design of the P-51, Piper Aircraft brought two aircraft designated the "Enforcer" for testing to Edwards. These were essentially P-51 airframes with slight modifications to the aerodynamic profiles and with a turboprop engine with very large prop blades. Additionally, it featured a cannon which protruded from one wing. The thought was at the time that everyone was so focused on "high and fast" that ground support was being ignored with a "lower and slower" aircraft. With all the jets at Edwards, it was strange to watch the Enforcers go through their test flights. They actually had T-38s as chase aircraft and with that large prop they could do some amazing angle of attack angles for a propeller aircraft. Ultimately they were not used beyond the test phase, but 40 years beyond the original P-51, is says a lot for it to have been considered a contender for that decade.

[@markteague8889]

I had always heard the much ado made over the laminar flow wing; but apparently, what made a bigger difference in the performance of the Mustang in the skies over Germany was the fact that our supply lines had access to much higher quality fuels with which to power them than did the Germans.

[@thethirdman225]

That's a bit of a myth. Octane or RON ratings were incredibly unreliable and there were no agreed upon standards. I refer you to Military Aviation History channel, where Chris interviews Calum E. Douglas, who wrote the excellent book, _'The Secret Horsepower Race'._

[@jimjones8038]

I enjoyed your insights on the P 51. One of the museums I volunteered in as a docent was the Mighty Eighth Museum in Pooler, Georgia. The introduction of the Mustang as a bomber escort was included in my presentation to our guests. Thanks! Jim Jones, USN, Retired