The P-51 Mustang Retires - End of an Era

[@genechronister7085]

Beautiful birds

[@itsjohndell]

The film varies from the history. The P-51 was not built to RAF designs, it was already being manufactured as the A-35 Attack plane. The British caame up with the brilliant idea to replace it's V-1710 Allison engine with their Merlin. Kismet!

[@stevetournay6103]

The North American NA-73, prototype of the Mustang series, was built to a British order; the fourth and tenth of the resulting Mustang Mk.Is became XP-51s for USAAF testing (the first of the pair still exists, in the EAA museum, as the oldest extant Mustang) and the type entered production as both the P-51 and the A-36 Apache (briefly aka Invader, which of course was later the name of a light bomber by Douglas). Concurrently both NAA and Rolls Royce installed Merlins on Mustang airframes, with the NAA version entering production for the AAF as the P-51B and for Britain as the Mustang III...

[@Species5008]

@itsjohndell perhaps you should read a book of 6 on the North American P/F 51 Mustang. The British wanted a ground attack aircraft, and that's what the Mustang was originally designed for. Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

[@JamesBaker-q1h]

There was a time when you could buy all the Mustangs you wanted for $1500 apiece, the scrap value of the aluminum.