What made the P-51 Mustang so special?

In 1940, Britain was fighting for its life against the Luftwaffe. British aircraft manufacturers couldn't keep up with the huge orders placed by the British Government. So they turned to American manufacturers like Curtiss and North American. Eventually, North American came forward with their own design for a brand new aeroplane.
The prototype was brought to the Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU) at what is now IWM Duxford. It had great potential with a low-drag fuselage and laminar flow wing. But the Allison V12 engine which powered the aircraft struggled above 15,000 ft. So the AFDU decided to try the aircraft with a Rolls Royce Merlin instead. That aircraft became one of the greatest fighters of the Second World War - the P-51 Mustang.
The P-51 could fly and fight with British and American bombers all the way to Berlin and back again. Its range was so large that it even began to replace British Spitfires towards the end of the war. On their way back from escort duty Mustangs would also take out targets of opportunity like enemy trucks, barges, and trains. By 1944 the Allies had air superiority over Western Europe, thanks in part to the Mustang.
See our Mustangs up close! Visit IWM Duxford: www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-dux...
Find out how the Second World War was fought from the air: www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-th...
See the full list of archive films used in this video, available for licensing and downloading: film.iwmcollections.org.uk/c/...
War in the Air book: shop.iwm.org.uk/p/26905/War-I...

[@thebesttastingbleach6915]

I love hearing about Americans through British and vice versa, especially from this era. We are all still very much the same. The best time I had in the US Marines was hanging out with the Royal Marines. I felt less competition from them than my fellow Marines and they treated me like a brother.

[@williammitchell4417]

Siempre Fi

[@pauldixon2207]

You are young man. Thank you for your service.

[@The_ZeroLine]

I feel the same. It usually feels more honest.

[@Not-a-bot222]

I felt the same hanging with a bunch of typhoon crew chiefs from the Royal airforce. The pilots were pretty stuck up, but the crew chiefs were all class acts.

[@peterscotney1]

my dad was a royal marine in ww2 , when he was badly injured in a fall from a scramble net , us marine corpmen recovered him and us navy surgeons saved him from becoming paralysed !

[@quinnjim]

Very nice presentation. I had a friend who owned a P-51 back in the 1960's. He paid $25,000 for it. The radiator was going bad, so he acquired a new one. He sold the plane before he replaced the radiator. Twenty years later, while cleaning out his hangar he noticed the radiator still sitting in the box it came in. He sold it on Trade a Plane for $25,000. Now the plane is worth over $3 million.

[@wesleyhitchcock4414]

My Dad also had a P-51D that he paid 24,000 in 1955 and reluctantly sold it in 1964. He also had a F86 Sabre he bought in 1958(also for 24,000) and sold it in 1965. The reason for sale was his job with the AirForce which did not want him risking his life due to the sensitive nature of his job which none of knew what that job was until after he retired in 1987. He did tell me before he passed away in Oct 2001 that the sale of the Mustang was one of his greatest regrets in life. Lol mine too because i want one for myself and when i went in the AirForce in 1974 my main goal was to save money and purchase one with his help. You could still at that time get a airworthy bird for 55k out in Arizona. The AirForce sold 275 to the Dominican Republic Air Force in 1976 and the available inventory jumped to 250,000. That was the end of my dream of having one

[@ryansta]

@@wesleyhitchcock4414 Wow, both iconic North American fighters. The Sabre was an absolute beaut too, kind of 'Son of the Mustang' and fought on near equal terms against the Mig 15's last of the Gun Fighters.

[@quinnjim]

@Alan Brando Yeah, and it’s worth 3 million.

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL I COULD OF BOUGHT 1969 CAMAROS AND Z-28 FOR 1800 BUCKS WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL...YUP ✌️ Eric Underwood Class of 81 Downey High school CA ✌️

[@WilhelmKarsten]

@@ryansta Both designed by brilliant German engineer Edgar Schmüd.

[@ColinH1973]

My mother worked at a factory painting drop tanks. She was incredibly proud of what she did, as were we.

[@TheSulross]

and those drop tanks were ultra crucial in making a difference

[@Conn30Mtenor]

I was surprised to learn that they were made of papier-mache! I thought that they were made of aluminium.

[@cowboybob7093]

There's a story to look for about a cook on base filling a new paper tank with powdered milk, sugar and local strawberries, sending the pilot to perform aerobatic maneuvers at altitude and upon landing having an ice cream social for the local school kids.

[@TheDeJureTour]

The home front never gets much attention. I feel like people should make videos on it

[@peterbrennan1085]

She had every right to be proud and I am proud of her!

[@everettmadsen4265]

It's really nice to see all the positive comments honoring our great alliance in this comments section. Too many WW2 videos on youtube are rife with jingoistic clowns who never sacrificed anything pumping their chest over the sacrifices of their forefathers while trying to dismiss the sacrifices of their allies

[@zacharyprovance3128]

There is a man I know (S. Hawk) whose father (J. Hawk) was a P-51 pilot during the war. I don't know what his service record looked like. Some years ago, J. Hawk's family thought it would be a good idea to pool some money to rent a flight in a 2 seat, dual control P-51 for his birthday. When the day of the flight came, he was of course appreciative and excited. J. Hawk climbed into the co-pilot seat, went through all the procedures, and lifted off. Now J. Hawk was in his late 70s at this time (I think). According to the pilot, most of the old veterans that came out to fly the Mustang usually didn't get too excited with the plane once handed control. They would make some lazy turns, climbs, descents, and so on. Nothing too extreme and understandably so as most of these veterans were getting up in age. Not J. Hawk. Apparently as soon as J. Hawk was given the stick, he immediately set the throttle wide open and went into a full climb, looped over, and put the P-51 into a hard dive. From there he performed all kinds of combat maneuvers that probably shouldn't have been performed on such an old airframe (including an inverted 350+ m.p.h. pass over the runway) with an equally old pilot. J. Hawk scared the pilot pretty bad as no other veteran before him ever flew that P-51 so hard. I don't know how long the flight lasted but it came to an end with a textbook landing. That day, J. Hawk was a 20-year-old kid again in the skies over Europe in the seat of his shiny, new 2,000 horsepower warbird. If that P-51 could have spoken, I imagine it would have been howling with joy, getting to fly like she was meant to one more time with some crazy American kid behind the stick. J. Hawk has been gone for a few years now. I wish I had gotten the chance to hear his stories but sadly never did. If anyone who reads this has a family member who was in the war and they're willing to talk about it, get their story because few of the greatest generation are still here. Those men and women lived more in 3-5 years than many of us will in a lifetime and their experience ought to be heard. Hopefully I myself get to hear some of their stories in person before it's too late. Edit: I discovered I got a couple of details wrong after talking to my father who knew these men and this story better. The story did take place exactly as described above but it was a man I'll refer to as Mr. Josie. Also, the primary pilot WAS a bit spooked at first, but he was having such a good time he told Mr. Josie (not J-Hawk) to keep going. My apologies for the errors. Edit: I talked to my dad about the story again and he told me that Mr. Josie had a mini stroke the week prior to the flight. The man was fearless apparently.

[@fus149hammer5]

He was one of a priceless generation the best of the best. 🇬🇧🇺🇲

[@swbeyer8349]

Appeared to be a pilot who loved to fly and push himself and his aircraft to its limits. He probably shot a few down too. It might be an interesting project for S. Hawk to dig into his dad's record to find out. A lot of veterans will not talk about their wartime experiences. To them they were just doing their jobs.

[@bazsnell3178]

TL;DR😆

[@alexdesamsonow822]

Just wanna say thanks so much for this wonderful story. My dad was a flight instructor her RAF pilot in World War II. Sadly, he didn’t share many stories with me. And I respect it and all those who served the allies during World War II.

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

My Dad was an Island Hopper Combat engineer Amphibious I was so very lucky to have him as a Father ..A realist if there ever was one! In November and December 1941 Dad worked on P-51s for North American In Southern California. We would sit in the driveway and talk about his combat experience's for hours on end...it was without a doubt my favorite time of my life... just sharing with my Dad.

[@joycekoch5746]

Growing up I had a neighbor who flew the P-51 in the Pacific. He told me the plane was a joy to fly and when he flew against the Japanese planes it was like they were standing still in the air. "Their planes just fell apart with a 2 second burst" I recall him saying. After the war he bought a surplus P-51 but couldn't afford to keep it due to gas and maintenance so he had to let it go. He had that plane at a place called air harbor in Greensboro. I saw it in the hanger several times and it was beautiful.

[@BADALICE]

I have been fascinated by the P-51 since childhood, 50 years later it's still my favorite. One of the most beautiful planes ever built.

[@mothmagic1]

What's the old saying? If it looks right it'll fly right. They certainly did.

[@migmigjohnson6083]

Second only to the Luftwaffe.

[@routeoneauto]

@@migmigjohnson6083 ???

[@frankeppenridge2027]

Exactly the same with me 👍🏻

[@thefisherking78]

So have I!

[@jbratt]

My uncle was a engineer on the P51. He also worked on the F16 F18 and F111. My dad was younger and was a B26 pilot during WWII. After the war my dad rented a P51 and took it out on a joy ride. He had a great time with it.

[@GlowHawk]

A very nice, honest assessment of the P-51. Appreciate that the Brits have a war museum dedicated to the US fliers who lost their lives flying from England.

[@gibson617ajg]

I've been in there many times, it's fantastic, they've crammed a lot into it - even a B52! I think the B24 is one of my favourites, they're so rare.The F4 is a beauty - so is the C47 and the SR- 71 Blackbird looks like something out of a Sci- Fi film. There's a P47 too - it certainly lives up to it's 'Jug' nickname - I bet the pilots felt reasonably safe flying into combat in one of those.

[@bonidle726]

Took the controls of a two seat TF-51D (originally a P-51D) named “Crazy Horse” at Stallion51 in Florida in 2012. Stalled, rolled, looped it for 35 minutes. Most fun I ever had with my clothes on. But very hot and extremely noisy. That Merlin sounds a lot nicer from the ground looking up than it does in the cockpit. Cannot recommend the experience enough!

[@jacklong2671]

My dream flying experience right there!

[@benmiz9742]

I’m looking at making a family trip to the states, this is high on my to do list. I’ve had some correspondence with them and hopefully it will come to fruition whilst there.

[@calimark7448]

I did that too. Back in '94. Same airplane. I took the 1 hr flight, got to do some touch and go's and a few rolls and loops. Yeah, I made myself puke! ha ha ha... but, the answer to the question about what makes it so special was just that, a moderately experienced pilot could fly one and get the job done, not to mention the half dozen 50 cal's in the wings would tear up any thing you pointed it at. Originally designed for tank busting and train killing, they found it worked well in a dog fight too.

[@jacklong2671]

@@calimark7448 I’m so jealous of you guys that have flown one. They have a 3/4 scale one for sale at the airport I fly out of for $120k but not has a straight six engine in it. Would still love to get it still though just to at least experience it the P51 somewhat!

[@osher7788]

how much did it cost you?

[@MrEric622]

The sound of that engine goes right through you.

[@CiPhEr505]

The P-47 was also air-cooled - it was very durable in part to the R-2800 engine. The Jug was a =V18=, you could get shot, lose a few pistons, and still fly. That engine alone deserves a story - America designed its next-gen Pacific carrier aircraft - the F6F and the F4U -entirely around the P-47's engine.. The P-39's double engine design was a response to how important reliability was.. Meanwhile, the Mustang' Rolls Royce Merlin-engine was liquid-cooled - a single bad shot could knock out the engine. No Mustangs flew CAP in the Pacific There was a saying, "If you want to get the girls, fly a Mustang. If you want to get home alive, fly a Jug"

[@jona.scholt4362]

I hadn't realized the drop tanks were paper mache! It's amazing how creative engineers were when faced with material shortages. There are a few weapons/weapons systems you can label as "war winning". I think the Mustang deserves it. Giving the allies a top of the line fighter with that range was a combination that had not yet been realized and made a huge difference to the strategic bombing campaign. No to mention it's a gorgeous aircraft as well.

[@chezchex620]

Or it could be that the Germans were busy with the haulocaust when they should have been building more anti-aircraft towers

[@Hermitmaster]

@@chezchex620 they were busy making poor decisions to attack the Russians 😄

[@leonwayne7657]

Nothing was "given" to the allies. They had to pay for it.

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

@@leonwayne7657 No they didn't. They just had to give it back when they were done with it. Since the US didn't actually want them back - they were destroyed. There are 3 periods of time here. Before Lend Lease - where the US was _SELLING_ things like normal. During Lend Lease - when the US was *_LENDING_* things without charge. After Lend Lease - when things had to be paid for again. Lend Lease en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease The deal with Lend Lease was - anything that was given but destroyed they did NOT have to pay for. Once the war was over - anything they wanted to keep - they had to pay for - BUT - they could just destroy it themselves - and THEN they didn't have to pay for it. Lend Lease Supplies that were sent before the war was over - but arrived after the war was over - had to be paid for it they wanted to keep them. In all cases - if they didn't want to pay for it - they could just send it back - or - destroy it and they would not have to pay for it. Because there were some things that were kept - these had to be paid for - and the US gave out low interest long term loans. THESE were the things such as Britain was still paying off decades after the war. AGAIN they would not have had to pay for these things if they'd sent them back or destroyed them. Destruction of things like Carrier Aircraft by pushing them over the side of the ship was OK because the US did not want them back. We were awash in obsolete aircraft as it was. The fact that these were now - while the had been useful - obsolete - was the reason Britain didn't want to pay to keep them. There were newer aircraft available, such as Jets. Thousands upon thousands of what had been useful aircraft were destroyed by scrapping them or just throwing them away (like over the side into the ocean). *_AGAIN_* the debts the British were paying off decades after the war - were for things that they had chosen to keep once the war was over. They did not have to pay for ANYTHING that was destroyed during or after the war if they didn't want to keep it - or - send it back. *_THINK ABOUT IT!!!!!_* it was called *_LEND_* and *_LEASE_* . This was something that was being *_LENT_* or *_LEASED_* not something that was given away for free. They could use it as long as the war was on - or until it was destroyed and NOT have to pay for it. BUT - if they wanted to keep it AFTER the war was OVER - THEN they had to pay for it, return it or destroy it themselves. .

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Yes. During the Battle of Britain the Germans had some Paper Mache drop tanks for their 109's - but - they got left out in the rain - and ruined. .

[@randyragon]

in 1972 at 8 years old, I built a Mustang airplane model. It was the only model of a plane I did, because I felt it was the ultimate plane and I didn't need to make another.

[@josebrown5961]

I was 7 at that time and my 3rd grade teacher gave me a model of the Spitfire.( I think I won it in some sort of contest) I was a Spitfire fan until I discovered the P-51 much later in high school. That Merlin engine was/is the best thing to ever happen to US air.

[@opathe2nd973]

Around 2010 or so a few of us went to a small air show in Fort Myers Fl, and a group of old timers came up with the money to let a WWII Mustang flier from the war take a ride. The pilot went over the Gulf and let him take the stick. Talking later with the pilot, he told us that he was amazed at what he could to with the plane and said he took some lessons from the old timer! Great story and historic great plane! Thanks!

[@mcm95403]

Duxford is a bucket-list place for me!

[@tomservo5347]

The UK/US alliance was perfectly showcased by the Mustang and the high level of cooperation between the two.

[@randomdude4669]

@@wilburfinnigan2142 well since the uk created you guys it's only fair to help out

[@jacktattis]

@@randomdude4669 Is Wilbur still around ?

[@LK-bz9sk]

I was sitting on a beach in Northern California in the 1980s relaxing and a P-51 buzzed us low and fast and so close I could see the pilot. It gave me a sense of how terrifying it must be to have a group of them coming in on a strafing run. I was scared and in awe all at the same time.

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

Cool! Dad was a Combat engineer Amphibious island Hopper WWII... While unloading cargo after fighting to take Subic Bay he was on the beach and his position got straffed by two Zeros...when the sand settled a black American Soldier lay dead on the beach disemboweled...the lead Zero flew over the bay and Naval anti aircraft fire took it out almost immediately...the tailing Zero banked hard right as my Dad thought to himself " that Sonuvabitch is going to get away..." Just then 2 P-38S came into view behind the Zero and took turns on it and flamed it out of the sky! Apparently he would experience this a few times.. because he said when incoming planes were approaching you always looked at the wings...you see gun flashes you hit the deck! ✌️❤️🇺🇸🙏🗽

[@LK-bz9sk]

@@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503 Holy crap. That is one epic story but those were epic time.s Thanks for sharing.

[@wagner9050]

Exhilarating, huh?!.

[@jackthorton10]

That is a sight to see!

[@philij83]

My grandfather was in the RAF as an engineer and was sent to New York to lead the engineering teams in fitting the Merlin engine to the mustang 😁

[@zedoktor979]

If you know any details please post them

[@jacktattis]

The first engines were put in 5 Mustang Bodies in England He may have gone over for the Packard Program

[@thomastravisano5913]

That was an important job! One can almost say that two aircraft engines won the air war for the western Allies, the liquid-cooled British Rolls-Royce Merlin and the air-cooled US Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engines. The Merlin powered the British Avro Lancaster, de Haviland Mosquito, the Handley Page Halifax, the Hawker Hurricaine, and the Supermarine Spitfire, as well as the US Mustang. The Pratt-Whitney powered the Grumman Hellcat, the Martin B-26 Marauder, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, and the Vought F47 Corsair. That's a catalog of most of the major aircraft of the two leading western powers. Other marks of Rolls-Royce and Pratt-Whitney engines powered other important allied planes.

[@RT22-pb2pp]

We owe your grandfather a lot and our grandfathers thank them also. because of men like them we still had them post WWII. USA and UK made a great team and germany and japan found it out the hard way. Funny in 1776 we fought and since then have been fighting together, we are like cousins as countries go LOL

[@jackthorton10]

Indeed, good sir, indeed

[@GrondTheHammer]

I have fond memories of many of the P51 from my childhood. My grandfather was a massive fan of WW2 aircraft, and would take me to a couple of airshows every year to see some. My first time going with him, at the age of 11, I can remember hearing a distant growl. I looked at my grandfather to ask what that was and I remember him looking down at me, smiling, and saying "just you wait." Ten seconds later a formation of four P51s flew by almost directly overhead. My God, those Merlins! I was hooked. What a wonderful representation of what can be accomplished when we work together.

[@xXAlexbXx-hl9nf]

Great story!!

[@RT22-pb2pp]

never has such a beautiful thing come out of such a horrendous situation. Yeah there is not sound on earth as fine as a merlin at full song, and it is music

[@tunasandwich395]

Dang that P51 in green looks hot

[@1865Cowboy]

There is nothing like the sound of a flight of P-51’s. The roar goes right through your body, igniting your soul, almost touching those brave souls who flew these in life & death. Thank you for a beautiful video. Thank you for the men who flew these on real world missions.

[@w.reidripley1968]

The Harley motorbike chugga-chug of a P&W Double Wasp, the crackling drone of the Merlin, the rough-edged hotrod sound of the Griffin... all these have been in my ears.

[@louisavondart9178]

The gutteral howl of a FW 190 will make your soul dark....

[@Elitecommando501]

I drive a Mustang CAR and one time we had a whole squad of mustangs roaring through the highway and the roar and growl of all the engines combined just felt glorious, i bet it was a similar feeling

[@jackthorton10]

Hair on your chest kinda stuff…. Chilling Wild :)

[@mgoolsby6139]

I remember setting and listening to my grandfather and uncle's talk war stories and I recall that one uncle said. The greatest thing about the P51 Mustang , was that all the gauges and all the switches and the flight controls were all right where they needed to be. That the cockpit was designed perfectly for the pilot. If you ever do get the chance to set in the cockpit of a P-51. Notice how well everything is positioned for the pilot. I do recall one uncle saying that his P-51 had every gauge and every switch perfectly positioned at his finger tips. Most people would probably never think that just the design of the cockpit would help out a young man flying at 400+ mph with his hair on fire , but from the stories I loved to listen to back then from those 4 to 6 P-51 pilots ( family and friends of my family ) they all would always come back to say. The cockpit was laid out perfectly for them all. And I recall them always saying that they could go in to a dive with a 109 on there butts , and that there P-51's would make a tighter turn on a dive and they could actually turn so much tighter than a 109 that if the 109 didn't break off the tight turning dive. The P-51 pilot would actually end up behind the 109 with in 2 to 3 complete turns during a dive. A recall one friend of a uncle that was in a dog fight with a 109 , and he said. The only reason I am here today to tell these tales of war to you young men. Is simply because my ole gal ( p-51 ) could keep here wings on in a tight turn and she could simply just out turn a 109. He also said , there are 4 young German pilots that learned this lesson the hard way. And I don't believe any of those 4 German pilots are telling any war stories to any German young people tonight , like me. I was lucky to set and hear these world war 2 stories from the Greatest Generation! There all dead and gone now. And I miss hearing those stories. And I don't mean to cause any arguments. I just thought some might find that most all those P-51 pilots I got to hear tell those stories. Always came back to the cockpit design and how pilot friendly it was.

[@michaelpielorz9283]

My father is credited with 19 Mustang kills so it wasn`t that super-duper wonder marvel it was only 10:1 superior in numbers .

[@RT22-pb2pp]

yes the greatest generation really was the greatest. Sad that we only get to hear the stories second hand but pass them on kids need to know how their freedom was won and how precious it is. never ver take for granted that you live in the greatest country on the planet. We have our faults and problems but I would not live anywhere else.

[@adub1300]

Every WW2 airplane story ends with “and then the P51 Mustang came along and surpassed it” my absolute favorite airplane of all time.

[@spacehippie4229]

Well... that's pretty much propaganda that you've heard then, Messerschmitz and Focke Wulfs were better in dogfights, same for the Tempest and late Spitfires.

[@andremsmv]

I’m always so blown away by people who think this. Just look up performance numbers of the planes, and you’ll see that the P-51 could out-turn and out-climb essentially every German fighter

[@Tacticaviator7]

@@spacehippie4229 Depends on what kind of dog fight and where, at very high altitudes P47 could defeat most late war airplanes except maybe the 190D, dog fights aren't needed either to achieve air superiority, what's the point of having the better dog fighting plane if your enemies can just fly away from you and attack the airfield you took off from, destroying fuel storage and parked planes in the process.

[@ryreinhardt]

It is actually an aeroplane, airplane is not a word..

[@seanhartman9096]

@@ryreinhardt Airplane is indeed a word

[@MysticalDragon73]

Its nice to hear about the history and recognition of these museums from our friends across the pond. Too many want to make it out to be one nation or another that was responsible for winning ww2. Too many overlook the dreadful cost and sacrifices made by those that served.

[@GoViking933]

Well said..

[@slammerf16]

@@GoViking933 Yes, well said. Mustang vs Spitfire for example is a silly argument. They were two arrows in the same quiver.

[@brieneaton8578]

kSetuni . I agree 100% . That has always bothered me to no end. But now-a-days, what really pisses me off , is our militaries Canadian, American and British are training actual real live NAZI'S today ! ! Here on our soil and in the EU ! ! Makes you wonder who won , who lost ?

[@kurtdorr]

The British invented cavity magnetron won the war.

[@bigwoody4704]

@@slammerf16 correct splitting hairs it would get down to the skill of the pilot and luck really. With all the bullets flying pilots have said they missed one aircraft to hit the one behind him. Then get shot down themselves - rivoting and terrifying at the same time

[@colinpate3059]

There is no more beautiful piece of airplane design than the Mustang, on the ground or in the air. The sound of the Merlin Rolls Royce will make a grown man cry. If only, if only the allies would of had it earlier in the war. Hats off to the P38s and P47s and their pilots that did all the heavy lifting in those early years. Funny, we think of the U.S. as the land of the hot rod, but it was the Brits that hot rodded the Mustang. If you've never seen one fly, you must go to an air show where they are flying Mustangs and see poetry with a prop.

[@1anre]

Wonder why that bit of history that the mustang was actually invented by the British but licensed to Packard in the US to build & then popularize?

[@colinpate3059]

@@1anre Only the British Merlin powerplant was licence by Packard so it could be built by a U.S. manufacturer in the U.S.. The Merlin engine was of British design, but the Mustang itself was all American. I'm curious of there being any performance difference between the Rolls Royce Merlin and the Packard built Merlin only because the American factories we're not under any kind of attack or threat and the engines could be assembled with more care. Just a thought.

[@alecfoster5542]

@@colinpate3059 I read somewhere that the Packard Merlin was more efficiently built with less parts than the RR Merlin and this had something to do with British Labor Union rules.

[@farmerned6]

when you say that - you mean the D model A-C were ugly dogs D was a looker, Mosquito was the lady

[@farmerned6]

@@alecfoster5542 Mechanics liked packard-merlins as each one can with a new toolkit (ww2American Made tools were the best) Pilots seamed to dislike them - may be brand-loyal, but many stories of ordering crews to swap them out for RR Sadly those Packard engines had bad quality control, and many had to be stripped down and re-fettled by Ford in the Uk

[@HappyHermitt]

I am a big fan all of the WW2 warbirds. The Allies and also Axis. I cannot imagine the courage it took to be a crew member of the bomber squadrons. They ate the unsung heroes of WW2. They never knew if the next mission would be the last.

[@beagle7622]

My father flew Mustang III’s & IV’s, He talked about the zoom saving him & his opinion was exactly what these guys are saying. Above 20,000 ft he regarded it as the best plane with a propeller. He did say that a lot of people who bought Mustangs crashed them due mainly too the wings high speed stall characteristics. His squadron lost a new pilot to this in early 1945. A superb video. Dad got onto Mustangs by invitation from his wing Commander. He was 21.

[@MrLuigiFercotti]

At an air show in Hamilton NZ back in '95 (was fortunate to have work stint there), there was a big parade of WWII warbirds. A spitfire and P-51 chased each orther around for a bit (the only time I've ever saw Spitfire in flight), then the P-51 peels off an make big loop behind the crowd. We looking around wondering he went, when we hear him from behind to our right coming at us on full boil in a shallow dive. I suddenly had the thought of what some poor bastard felt with one these things bearing down on you with 50s blazing away. Stood the hair up on my neck as he roared over our heads at 400+ at maybe 100 ft. Truly awesome and terrifying.

[@radoslavmachan3281]

What a great presenter Mr. Rodgers is!

[@clevlandblock]

I live across the cornfield from a country airfield in Dekalb, IL. One summer afternoon I was taking a nap with the widow open and was awakened from a sound sleep by the piercing roar of a P-51D taking off about a mile away. He's based out of this airport, in full WW2 markings.

[@dufushead]

Great video, lovely plane. I took my kids down to Duxford must have been almost 20 years ago and they still ain't stopped talking about it. Wish I was there now, for anybody who ain't been, I think it's by a considerable margin the best museum I've ever visited. There is so much there, so much space, interaction and the planes my god, things you never thought you'd ever see and touch and go inside. For me going inside the B17 and putting on a flak jacket just did it; my Uncle Dave served in WW2 doing just this job and you realise how thin those things were, slipping all around on thousands of shell cases, it certainly focused my mind and if you touched the fuselage, you get frostbite. Dear Lord brave men.....who's sacrifice is remembered through you're great museums.

[@garethonthetube]

Plus as a bonus, you might catch a warbird flying on a fine day. There is a Bearcat based there which does a great display.

[@your_royal_highness]

I’d love to visit the British war museums. Having never been to Europe I am for the very first time making my way there. Most of it paid for by a company with the stay in Lisbon and all fights. But, to really make the trip worthwhile I book a place and car and will be heading to Normandy in a couple of weeks. If you ever the chance, go visit the National Air & Space Museum in D.C., along with the extension out by Dulles Airport (with the larger planes including the Enola Gay, a space shuttle, etc.).

[@dancarter482]

@@your_royal_highness We do nostalgia quite well over here. I grew up near an airfield - Lasham, Hampshire. It was a big glider venue and big jet maintenance facility. Turns out it was a mosquito base and very active during the war. Open days were magic with anything goes fly -ins. Hope you get to see some of our treasures.

[@your_royal_highness]

@@dancarter482 Love to. At age 70 I am doing my first trip to Europe (always felt awkward not speaking any languages beside mine). I am going to Normandy from Lisbon at the end of the week and there are some museums there of course. Seems like a bad time in England with the heat!!

[@BulldogBill]

@@your_royal_highness The heats all gone now we are back to 18C-25C now so you should be OK. I'm 78 and to be honest most of the heat problems have been just the usual Media hysteria!

[@sfperalta]

Fascinating! I'd never heard before the reason they put the Allison engine in the P-51 initially was due to the original want of P-40s, which used the same engine. Of course, ultimately, the pairing with the Merlin engine was a marriage made in heaven and made this design one of the great planes in aviation history!

[@brucesmith5426]

They put the Allison in it as it was the only inline V-12 engine in America they had at the time and England didn't have a surplus to ship to America. England needed every Merlin they could produce. It had nothing to do with the P-40.

[@RT22-pb2pp]

Merlin was supercharged and made major power at high altitudes which is perfect in a fighter. Gave it the top speed and altitude to be a killer fighter. Allison had no pwer at high altitude as it was not supercharged you need that in thin air to still make power.

[@iancorfield7506]

The story is a lot more complicated than put over in the brief video commentary. Yes the British needed aircraft desperately and the British (And French) government assessed American designs, the P38 Lightning, P39 Airacobra and P40 Tomahawk / Kittyhawk and found them all below European performance standards. Nevertheless, the P40 seemed the best choice and orders were discussed. It was suggested that North American build P40s under licence, but NA proposed a new aircraft that would outperform the P40. The RAF had a good working relationship with NA as they had many Havard advanced trainers and were impressed with their build standards, but I suspect that the clinching factor for the deal was a lower price - in the early days of the war with American neutrality all orders had to be paid for in cash. It is said that NA undertook to get a prototype flying in 100 days, but although the airframe was ready, there was a delay on getting the engine. The first Mustangs were delivered to the UK in late 1941, but by then the Battle of Britain had showed that fighting altitude had increased to 30,000 feet or more and the Allison performance above about 18,000 feet rendered it unsuitable for fighter command. However, it did fit in well with the operational requirements for Army Co-operation command (which evolved into the 2nd Tactical Airforce in 1943) which required fast low level aircraft for reconnaissance and interdiction behind the front lines. The Allison Mustang was very successful in this role and could outperform most axis aircraft (even Japanese as was later found out) below 20,000 feet so was well able to defend itself. The Allison engine WAS supercharged, but the supercharger design was not as good as Rolls-Royce’s. RR developed a 2 speed supercharger that improved supercharging at higher altitude, the “20 series”, and this engine was built by Packard in the US for fitment in the P40 to improve its high altitude performance in 1942 (P40F). It was initially suggested to replace the Allison engine in the Mustang with this engine, but later it was decided to use the “60 series” 2 speed 2 stage Merlin.

[@joebitgood6906]

The speaker is excellent he gives the average person is much information as they can possibly handle without being a pilot or an engineer I truly enjoy these videos

[@Schuck.]

For over a decade i used to love coming to see the Mustangs along with all the other Warbirds at Flying Legends IWM Duxford. Its such a shame you guys don't run that anymore. I've made and met so many new friends from all over the world.. The event is sorely missed through out the community...

[@bikenavbm1229]

Thank you, seen your 51's at Duxford beautifull they are too thanks for keeping them safe and alive in memory of those that were lucky enough to fly them and live to tell us the joy of it, and for those that did not get the chance to look back with fondness.

[@ElroyMcDuff]

"The American Spitfire." That's high praise. I would love to hear a Merlin engine go roaring by in person!

[@mothmagic1]

It's a beautiful sound. Makes the hairs on your neck stand up.

[@topturretgunner]

No sound in the world like it. Once heard never forgotten.

[@82maddhatter]

Unforgettable sound..

[@epswar716]

In the 1960’s the hydroplane boat racing circuit (Gold Cup) crafts were mostly powered by the Merlin (and Allison) engines. I remember watching in awe when 12 to 15 boats were charging the starting line at full power on the Detroit River course, the thunderous roar was unbelievable! The hydroplanes were dubbed the “Thunder-boats”

[@w.reidripley1968]

Close in, I would describe the sound as a fairly smooth crackling drone. Of course the engine startup is attended with high compression ratio dramatics, not to say histrionics. _chug sput wheeze pow rrrROAR._

[@Shadow0fd3ath24]

P51 and the p38 were amazing. The P38 gets overlooked so often... yet it had more range, 2xmore hp, nearly double the payload capacity, better armaments' and accuracy with its guns, faster climb, and was aid to be almost as good in maneuverability despite weighing a lot more and having a less forgiving wing design

[@kyledabearsfan]

Cool that this plane really exemplifies the working relationship between the Brits and Americans around this time. Pretty cool. A marvel of engineering for the time, and my personal favorite airplane as a kid.

[@dotdashdotdash]

Britons.

[@andym9571]

@@dotdashdotdash ...as a Briton myself I'm happy with being called a Brit. Why not ? Its not derogatory.

[@viktorkarlsson4900]

Thats Graham! Let me tell you first that I love aviation and museums, but this guy took it to a completly new level. Me, my friends from Sweden and US gatherd at Duxford and we hit the absolute jackpot with Graham taking us round on the Flying legends airshow. This guy know the details and has the feeling telling stories to the extent he should be doing audiobooks. We have a groupe with him afterwards by the B52, great great memory!

[@EVISEH]

You neglected to mention that the mustang was also built in Australia, the only other place where it was built, and that the mustang remained in Royal Australian Air Force [RAAF] service until 1962.

[@marksallows113]

As well, the Aussies, also built the amazing "Wooden Wonder" de Havilland Mosquito, along with Canada, and UK, and arguably, the best fighter/bomber of WWII.

[@maryrafuse3851]

Just have to add that the Mosquito was also built in Canada as was the Lancaster Bomber.

[@marksallows113]

@@maryrafuse3851 yes, and the UK built Mosquitoes, used Canadian wood, whereas the Canadian Mosquitoes and Lancasters, use Packard built Merlins. One of the great Mosquito aces, Canadian Wng. Cmdr. Russ Bannock, and his Scottish Navigator Flt. Lt. Robert Bruce, shot down 19 V1 flying bombs, including 4 in one hour. An amazing man, who only died 2 years ago at 100 years old. Inspirational to us all! Anyway, I digress; so back to the P-51!

[@martinhambleton5076]

@@maryrafuse3851 Also, the Hawker Hurricane was built in Canada.

[@dankeplace]

Australia also built the Sydney Harbour bridge.

[@andrewlopez8595]

The sound of this plane in person gives me chills.

[@bill-wd7zs]

Love the P-51, surely will go down as an all time classic.

[@rogermetzger7335]

Already have!

[@jacktattis]

One of them

[@Pseudonym-aka-alias]

It was struggling until they put a Rolls Royce merlin engine in it.

[@andrewmetcalfe9898]

0:32 - the low altitude performance of the Allison was actually relevant in most theatres of the war: the Mediterranean, North Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Pacific. It was only lacking in Western Europe, where altitude was key.

[@Kpar512]

A VERY good point! Andy, you must be paying attention! (Or watching Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles).

[@frankbarnwell____]

Also NOT a laminar flow wing by Greg's NACA mining.

[@leneanderthalien]

with the turbo supercharger (P38) was the Allison totaly competitive at high altitude...

[@paulbriggs3072]

@@leneanderthalien I had the same thought. Also, Rolls Royce engined P-40's were made but P-40's went back to using the latest improvements of the Allison for various reasons.

[@paulbriggs3072]

In an interview with a German fighter pilot who had served over North Africa and Italy, the interviewer named a variety of allied planes they had encountered and when they mentioned the P-40, the old fellow said it was a good plane. The interviewer was incredulous but the old pilot said "Oh yes, VERY good plane" . He made quite clear how much respect they had for it. Plus, the P-40's were cheap to buy, rugged, highly maneuverable, very well armed with 6 -50 calibers.

[@donjones4719]

The P-47 actually did have the range to escort bombers on the Schweinfurt raid & many others if drop tanks had been adopted right away. The "Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles" YT channel goes into exhaustive detail on this. The problem was the pre-war proponents of heavy bombers had been adamant that "the bomber will always get through" without escorts. They blocked the use of drop tanks on P-47s. IIRC, they then blocked the use of the lighter British paper mache tanks.

[@Rusty_Gold85]

A mistaken idea that Lost thousands of Aircrew due to USAAF theory

[@oldgringo2001]

The P-47 never had quite the range of the P-51C and D even with drop tanks. The P-47 really made it's reputation in ground attack, but it was an expensive aircraft; it burned much more fuel for a given mission and cost much more to build. Provided you had the pilots, you could have two Mustangs for one Thunderbolt.

[@cloviscontado4069]

@@oldgringo2001 incorrect! Data showed it had the range with drop tanks, same with p51.

[@marthamryglod291]

Information like this always makes me shake my head. The idea that even in dire circumstances, leadership wants to have things their own way, to boost their own egos, rather than putting mission success first. To actively stop advancement of war machines to keep your own ideas paramount is crazy.

[@benjaminjohnson6476]

Not to mention the p47 also had superior high altitude performance as compared to almost all other fighter in its era. Which is were all escort missions occurred.

[@nicholasbeck1558]

Thank you for helping us remember the contributions and sacrifices of your cousins across the pond.

[@CosmasNDamian]

Brilliant presentation. Video tributes to the Mustang are often nothing more than an endless succession of facts known by everyone presented with the tone of breathless secrecy. Nice to see a historically engaging and factually sound presentation on this fighter from the British perspective. Bravo.

[@EricDaMAJ]

An amazing thing is that they designed the P-51 in such a short time with no feature creep, political infighting, cost over runs or any of the other nonsense that goes with military procurement. Another was the high set bubble cockpit which increased pilot visibility to acquire targets/evade attackers. Colonel John Boyd believed it gave the P-51 such a critical advantage over enemy fighters he developed an entire military decision making theory around it (OODA Loop - Observe, Orient, Decide, Act). He _might_ have over stated its value but there's no denying it helped. The cockpit design was replicated in multiple modern US fighters.

[@1anre]

Just learning about OODA for the very first time now. That was some good project management that was maintained in the construction & deployment of the p-51 mustang. Who was the project manager who oversaw it & didn’t allow any scope creep come in and derail the build schedule unnecessarily?

[@MetroplexAerials]

Of course the bubble canopy didn't come until the D model a bit down the road... The other factor everybody misses is that the P-51 really helped the logistics of the war by being much more gas efficient.

[@gmaacentralfounder]

@@MetroplexAerials Not really. It had basically same fuel consumption as Spitfire, it was the range - but no wonder with twice the internal tank capacity, not even mentioning drop tanks... But they were very well designed and performed beautifully, and it helped they were about 50% cheaper than P-47... But also they lost more of them...

[@MetroplexAerials]

@@gmaacentralfounder Dude, the numbers don't lie - go look the fuel burn up for both aircraft, and yes, more P-51s were lost, but that was also a direct result of changing tactics and tactical situations.

[@danielstickney2400]

The short design period is largely explained by North American Aviation having free access to a mountain of NACA research data and the extensive research facilities of the University of California. People who laud the hundred day development of the Mustang usually overlook the vast US government subsidy that made that achievement possible.

[@keith_root]

Excellent, excellent video. Total enjoyment through and through.

[@lonelyme9914]

Wow I didn’t know people still talked about Mustangs. I appreciate it a lot.

[@Tim2704]

What a great video. Very informative in a bite size level. The facts/stats you need to know told and shown as you need it. Great stuff.

[@Hi11is]

I loved seeing the Mustangs in camouflage with the British roundels.

[@MojoPup]

The Spitfire and the Mustang, two of my favorite planes of all time. I've always said if I ever won the lottery, I would pay dearly to fly a Mustang.

[@andreasweser5796]

Fw 152 ta is the Best fighter

[@tamalpias]

What an awesome documentary. In my opinion one of the prettiest fighter plane ever designed.

[@2uiator325]

What a great video, well done IWM! Without belittling either great fighter, Mustang or Spitfire, or their respective nations, you provide an honest assessment of this great fighter’s contribution to winning the greatest struggle in the darkest war in history.

[@keithd5181]

When the Mustang utilised the Merlin engine it was an amazing aircraft.

[@Dive-Bar-Casanova]

Occasionally an unmodified P51 Merlin flys over our home at low altitude. If I'm then lucky enough to be outside its a treat listening to and seeing it. It's unique.

[@RT22-pb2pp]

Live near maxwell AFB every few yrs they have air show and I live close enough to see many fly in and make banks during shows the merlins and the B17s I love the sounds of old piston engines. I used to work downtown had park pass to a parking deck it was like 2 miles from base go down go to top of deck and watch the airshow for free and no traffic like going to the base. Love it. My favorite part is the old planes the jets are cool but the old piston prop planes are my favorite.

[@brucelamberton8819]

The noise a P-51 makes in a high-speed dive from the airflow over its surfaces is magical.

[@Reaper-cm4jr]

JU-87 was the king of dives.

[@mauricelevy9027]

@@Reaper-cm4jr The king of noise but rubbish in flight..

[@brusselssprouts560]

What is nice about this video, is that it shows how the brilliance of the airframe from USA married perfectly with the iconic RR Merlin. This is true special relations.

[@OPFlyFisher304]

The Mustang was never produced w a Rolls motor, but instead w the improved Packard.

[@FMichael1970]

Rolls-Royce + Malcolm Hood = 'Murican deadly fighter. Thanks cousins from across the Atlantic!

[@jackthorton10]

Right back at ya! Courtesy from the United States

[@williamtell5365]

One thing that is very important to say about the Mustang is that it was well designed for mass production. Indeed, that has a lot to do with the genesis of the aircraft. While the Allies made many fine fighters during the war, the Mustang and also the redesigned production process for the Merlin engine meant the airplane could produced at a scale that would simply crush the Axis. Germany had an advanced economy in many ways but when it came to industrial logistics (mass production), they were seriously lacking. Not simply from lack of resources, their simple lack of competency on the issue was more important. The production tables in terms of industrial costs in money and manpower irrefutably prove it. And that fact alone meant they had no chance of winning the war after 1941.

[@Chocolatnave123]

the production details of a plane were completely inconsequential in comparison to the strategic decisions made by the axis when it comes to losing the war.

[@iantait309]

@@Chocolatnave123 Yes he under esitmated the UK so ended up with two fronts when he invaded Russia, then later declared war on the US!

[@michaelpielorz9283]

More than 32000 ME`s build is no mass production?? OK more than P51 build (:-))

[@williamtell5365]

@@michaelpielorz9283 p51 was one aircraft type. Messerschmidt was an aircraft company. Allied production in aircraft, as nearly all things, far outstripped the Axis. That's just an empirical fact.

[@Sturminfantrist]

@@williamtell5365 He refered to the production run of Bf109 series, the Bf109 was the most produced fighterplane of all times with over 32000 Bf109 (not Me109) produced only one aircraft topped that the soviet IL-2 attack aircraft series with around 35000 produced

[@genuinsanity]

It amazes me , how a slight difference can totally change an aircrafts performance

[@chriscarbaugh3936]

An excellent review! Goring actually said he “knew the gig was up”!

[@stevemull2002]

I will always be a Spit fan, as its so beautiful, but the P51, has to come a very close second, for being such a legend, we owe, an incredible amount to these brave souls during the horrible conflict of WW2,

[@alistairherrett5444]

Graham Rogers is the single best person I've met at Duxford and I worked there for 2 years, visited about twice a year since I was born and as of this year, thanks to that man, have gotten a membership. He is so passionate about his job and where he works that his passion spreads to other people. (Also, give him a pay rise so he can buy an Audi Quattro) 😉

[@alistaircrooks2472]

Alistair Crooks It was a Rolls Royce test pilot Ronnie Harker who first flew an Allison engine Mustang on 30th April 1942 at Duxford who got the ball rolling. He reported back to RR that if fitted with a Merlin 61, the P51 would be a much improved aircraft. RR purloined 3 Mustangs and at their Hucknall facility converted them to Merlins and undertook all the flight testing over a 3 month period. Throughout this process both Packard, who were building Merlins inder licence innthe US and North American were kept in the loop. The RR Heritage Trust have published a book on this conversion "RR and the Mustang" of their historical series No 9 author David Birch. The last print run is dated 1997. Recommended reading for those interested in this remarkable Anglo American project.

[@Slaktrax]

Agree with your comment. IIRC he flew alongside a Spitfire Mk V and with both engines settings the same, the Mustang was some 15mph faster (going by memory, correct me if I'm wrong). I bought the book and enjoyed it, lent it to someone and it was never returned. Nevertheless, the definitive story about the Merlin Mustang. 🙂

[@alistaircrooks2472]

@@wilburfinnigan2142 Hi Wilbur, Thank you for your comments but may refer you to the fully documented account of RR's involvement in this project in the book I mentioned. This references the considerable interchanges between RR, the British government, the US Air Attaches based in London together with exchanges with North American and Packard. The air attaches were as anxious as RR to speed matters along. RR were not and have never claimed to be aircraft manufacturers but were merely trying to enhance the performance of an Allied fighter. As a consequence the modified P51s they 'cobbled' together were in effect prototypes. It was not a beauty contest. As I mentioned, RR shared all of their information with both Packard and North American in order to get the project up and running as quickly as possible. To this end they had the first of their prototypes flying 6 weeks before N/American. It was an excellent example of Anglo American cooperation which went on to pay great dividends. Once again thanks for your input. Alistair

[@alistaircrooks2472]

@@wilburfinnigan2142 I am puzzled by your claim the Brits exaggerated their influence on the P51. The Packard 1650 was produced under a licensing agreement with RR of the latter's Merlin engine. The Packard 1650-3 you refer to was not designed or developed by Packard as this work was undertaken by RR in the summer of 1941, 10 months before the Mustang conversion began. This was the Merlin 60 series which had been updated with the 2 stage supercharger designed by Stanley Hooker. It not only transformed the the Mustang but the Spitfire Mk9 too. If you require an in depth account of this update I can recommend Hooker's biography 'Not much of an Engineer" In view of the above you claims about exaggeration are ill founded. Regarding actual production figures, it needs to be remembered that the US industrial capacity was far far greater than the Brits. Nor was this capacity ever under constant threat of air raids or rocket attacks for the 6 year duration of WWII. (The Spitfire plant on the south coast of England was obliterated by the Luftwaffe in September 1940)

[@alistaircrooks2472]

@@wilburfinnigan2142 You have made many good points but we seem to be at cross purposes. The IWM video that prompted our interchanges shows the respect the Brits have for the Mustang. It was an outstanding aircraft nevetheless the 1650-3 is often dubbed the Packard Merlin, an expression used by yourself. I rest my case!

[@ckmoore101]

IMO, it is the meanest sounding prop plane of all time. Nothing like a high speed pass. Sounds beautiful.

[@craigriseley3149]

Man the spitfire and mustang are just beautiful

[@analystanalyst7652]

The P-51 had long legs primarily due to the Laminar Flow wings, which reduced drag with a more efficient wing, increased range and gave the P-51 a tighter turning radius, and prevented control surface freeze, or compressibility, at high speed like its contemporaries. The cockpit was also a pilot’s cockpit and well laid out. My father was part of the P-51D program at Mines Field during the war, dealing with Lee Atwood and flying in “Dutch” Kindelberger’s B-25 NA 40-2165 with Tex LaGrone before it was crashed by another pilot. He would always rave about that laminar flow wing. He said they didn’t get if perfect but they got it good enough. The Eighth Air Force daylight raids to Berlin were meant to help satisfy the goals of Operation Pointblank: bring the Luftwaffe up to the P-51’s and kill it. They also took out Me 262’s, that were not in the landing pattern, by going to full military power and maneuvering, there is gun camera footage out there showing a couple of these encounters. Maneuverability was amazing, if you knew the airplane. You could almost stop it flat, belly against your direction of flight, by reversing rudder and ailerons, and pulling the stick into your gut, somewhat like a Cobra maneuver with the airplane sideways on an angle. Like the Fifth Generation fighter in the recent Top Gun movie. It would stall out and correct easily and the pursuer was gone. Although a dangerous maneuver a lot better than a Split S for evasion. A modified version of the Mustang saw limited combat in Vietnam, used against ground targets of course.

[@jryecart8017]

The P-51D with the dorsal fin represented the most typical Mustang configuration. The wingspan was 37 feet with an area of 233 square feet and was 32 feet 3 inches long. Height was 13 feet 8 inches. The Packard-built Merlin V-1650-7 was capable of delivering 1,695 hp which provided a speed of 437 mph at 25,000 feet. Weights were 7,125 lbs. empty and 10,100 lbs. normal gross, but an additional 2,000 lbs. could be carried. Internal fuel capacity was 105 gallons, giving a range of 950 miles at 362 miles per hour at 25,000 feet. The P-51H series was the final production type that included several changes making it the fastest production variant with a maximum speed of 487 mph at 25,000 feet. Five hundred fifty-five P-51H's were delivered before VJ Day out of an original order for 1,445 machines.13

[@minerran]

Lets not forget the Merlin that was very efficient at high altitudes and the drop tanks.

[@arniewilliamson1767]

The flush rivets also reduced drag

[@jacktattis]

That laminar flow wing was a theoretical measure only Any imperfections ruined the result And if that wing was so good how is it how is it that the Double Ellipse wing of the Spitfire got it 5000ft higher and a better dive performance

[@michaelpielorz9283]

Please notice every working wing is a laminaar flow wing, or if not it`s a useless chunk of metal bolted on an fuselage !!

[@shareurtube]

Thank you for a most informative video. It was a thrill to watch and I learn a few things I did not know or expect and that was the drop tanks were of paper mache. I had to rewind to make sure I got that right. The P-51 is truly an amazing plane.

[@user-dk3ic6ni4h]

I'm only 47 years old. But I've been in love with the p-51 D for as long as I could understand what a gorgeous machine it is . This video just makes me want to be able to fly / ride in one. I started learning how to fly at 10 years old logged my 200 hr at 13. Unfortunately life change my chances of getting my pilots license. But thank you to everyone that made this video... James R Hannan.

[@TylerOstergaard]

As a younger American i have great respect and pride in what was done in that time with British and American's working together to get a incredibly tough job done. i hope this can happen again if it is ever needed in the future.

[@mauricelevy9027]

Look up WMD and Bush/Blairs involvement that started Haliburtons supply spree during the Gulf war.

[@johnmarkharris]

My grandfather flew them in WWII for the Army Air Core and eventually taught pilots to fly them. Sadly he lost his best friend who was a bomber pilot. My dad is named for his friend.

[@andrewmetcalfe9898]

8:42 - Mk XIV Spitfires and Hawker Tempests operating out of FOBs in Belgium and Holland also caught the ME 262s out on landing and take offs as much as the mustangs did.

[@nakotaapache4674]

great compact information of a lot of significant important properties of this beautiful plane. the P51.

[@DC9848]

Masters of the air brought me here. Thank you for the insightful video.

[@SoloRenegade]

P-51 was FAR cheaper than the P-38 and P-47. WW2 was a war of logistics. P-51: $50k P-47: $85k P-38: $105k P-51 was easier to learn on and transition to from the T-6.

[@Kpar512]

Oh yes, quite true. Still, the P-47 was magnificent at high altitude! Once again, Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles is probably the "go to" channel on such.

[@paulm749]

What's that old saying? Enthusiasts argue over tactics, while professionals plan out the logistics.

[@flick22601]

So true. During the gulf war, General Norman Schwarzkopf had William G. Pagonis promoted to Lieutenant General and told him to take care of my men. General Pagonis was in charge of all logistics and was promoted to Lieutenant General because Schwarkopf didn't want him to be a lower rank than his other field generals but, their equal. Pagonis authored a book - Moving Mountains - that detail the extent, complexity and solutions to managing logistics during that war. Fascinating reading.

[@ATEC101]

@@flick22601 Is there a chapter titled 'Show Me the Money'?

[@riconui5227]

It was also a war of manufacturing capacity. Whoever was still making planes and ships and submarines, was going to prevail. We know how that worked out. It was also the secret sauce in our post war boom.

[@jmg94j]

The P-51 is a perfect example of the unprecedented cooperation between the allied powers, that the axis powers lacked. Microwave radar was another good example. It was invented in Britain, brought to America, developed and put into production by Bell Labs, and MIT, and that gave a huge advantage to the allies. Admiral Dönitz suspected from all of his U-boat losses, that the allies had some new type of radar, but the German scientists assured him that was impossible. When the Germans finally got their hands on a Resonant Cavity Magnetron from a downed allied bomber, they were shocked.

[@DanDan-fu6sd]

This is fascinating! nice job.

[@Bogie3855]

I love the sound of that Merlin and see P51s at the air shows to this date. My absolute fave fighter plane. Them and the P38.

[@kricklin]

Kudos to Graham Rodgers and all those involved at IWM for giving us another fascinating video. Very well done. I'm a novice at WW2 fighter technology, and quite surprised to learn the drop tanks on the P-51 were made of paper mache. I wouldn't think it was possible. I also marvel that the British and Americans came together, contributing their respective technologies to produce a magnificent war bird. How cool is that?

[@RT22-pb2pp]

The spitfire had same engine and sounds as great as P51 and both the spitfire and mustang were killers. The germans hated them as the supercharged merlins were just to fast and able to climb to high altitudes which in prop fighter is huge advantage

[@FRixwt]

I love listening to mr. Rodgers, cheers from Poland, great stuff :D

[@garyshuttleworth3459]

very informative and interesting video, many thanks to all who were involved in making it

[@maryrafuse3851]

The last models of Spitfires with the Griffon Engine, were vastly different from the first. The Spitfire did adopt the Mustang P-51D style canopy in these late models. It also used drop tanks late in the war.

[@strontiumstargazer103]

Spitfire drops tanks - never knew. Thanks.

[@jacksonhudd3681]

@@wilburfinnigan2142 back talking BS Wilbur??? Didn't fit them to bombers!! Dopey!

[@dynamo1796]

@@wilburfinnigan2142 Too little too late? What do mean... the Spit already had an excellent kill to loss ratio by 1944, improvements were always ongoing even right up to the end of the war and beyond...

[@jacksonhudd3681]

@@wilburfinnigan2142 Intact why don't you waffle on about your "Packard built Merlin's" being American??!!! Still a British engine and always will be!!😂😂

[@dynamo1796]

@@wilburfinnigan2142 Lol you have no idea what you're talking about

[@jasonmorahan7450]

Another thing worth noting is the laminar flow wing was, functionally really just a regular thin wing. Field tests were performed upon squadron examples during service as part of an administrative survey upon the NACA profile under field conditions and it was found that laminar flow was only sustained when the aircraft had been hand cleaned and polished as part of routine field servicing and otherwise lasted approximately two weeks before, due to inherent accumulation of tiny defects and grime in service use they lost any laminar flow and became a regular, albeit thin cross section wing with no particular laminar flow benefits or characteristics. This obviously would describe the bulk of P51 during their service lives, only when brand spanking new or meticulously maintained by routine hand refinishing of the external airframe surfaces do they gain laminar flow over the wings. Should add that without laminar flow, the particular profile was prone to some nasty stall habits on low speed manoeuvres in thick air. But you know, so was the BF109 in all versions.

[@Mishn0]

You're neglecting the fact that crew chiefs could and did polish the wings and fuselage of their charges. They might not always have time, but weather happens cancelling missions leaving time to do the "nonessential" things like a wax job. There are enough photos of very shiny Mustangs to support this.

[@jasonmorahan7450]

@@Mishn0 just paraphrasing the findings of a wartime survey in the field. I can't attest myself one way or another.

[@electronwave4551]

Interesting. There is always a fly in the ointment.

[@andrewmetcalfe9898]

The successor organisation to NACA - NASA has flat out stated as fact that no production model mustang achieved sustained laminar air flow. This finding replicates Supermarine’s own work with laminar airflow and the Spiteful.

[@dijin456]

Laminar over rated...

[@origionalwinja]

excellent video! thank you for your time in making it!! much love from the USA!!

[@bludog4657]

Thank you for putting this out.

[@philiphumphrey1548]

North American had designed the P51 to fit the Rolls Royce Merlin engine right from the start. They had noted that experiments fitting the P40 with a Merlin engine had greatly improved its high altitude performance, but at the time Merlin engines were all needed for existing aircraft. So the Allison engine was always seen as a stopgap. (Incidentally the Allison engine was excellent at high altitude in the P38 Lightning where there was room to fit extra turbosuperchargers, problem was there wasn't room in a small single engined fighter like the P40 or P51.)

[@Completeaerogeek]

I don't think this is correct unless you have a reference. The timeline doesn't match up. One of the reasons the British requested the P-40F with a Merlin engine was because of the poor altitude of the P40 and their Mustang 1s (P-51A). The AFDU invited Ronnie Harker an engineer at Rolls Royce to evaluate the aircraft and he went back to RR to suggest putting the Merlin 61 in the P-51 airframe. The 60 series was created by Stanley Hooker at Rolls Royce putting a Merlin supercharger and a Vulture supercharger in series with an intercooler cooling the air in between. The Mustang X flew on October 1942 and the dramatic performance increase meant that not long afterwards North American began design studies to do the same.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Mustang_Mk.X

[@Swaggerlot]

Interesting comment, do you have a source to support that?

[@philiphumphrey1548]

@@Swaggerlot If you want to know more I suggest you check out the Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles channel on KZbin. He has done a number of videos on the P38 Lightning and also one on the P40 (Allison v Merlin engine) that explains a lot of this.

[@Swaggerlot]

@@philiphumphrey1548 OK, thanks. I am familiar with the channel.

[@Kpar512]

@@philiphumphrey1548 Greg is ALWAYS a great reference! Good on Ya!

[@patrickbuchanan4444]

Regarding British pilots preferring the more nimble Spitfire over the Mustang, we have to look at what both aircraft were designed for. The Spitfire was primarily a short range defensive weapon or interceptor whereas the Mustang had a much longer range and not only could it fill defensive tasks but long range offensive ones as well. Armament was much heavier in the P-51 along with total aircraft weight.

[@0Zolrender0]

The P51 was nothing without the British Merlin engine in it.

[@Watkinsstudio]

@@0Zolrender0 The Merlin was nothing without the P-51.

[@0Zolrender0]

@@Watkinsstudio Lol.... The Merlin powered every decent UK plane. The P-51 had a shit powerplant and was crap until they put a Merlin in it. Then and only then the P-51 became an exceptional plane.

[@wanyelewis9667]

@@0Zolrender0 that's not even close to being true. The Mustang was already inherently a great plane, with superior aerodynamics and systems. Lots of planes had some version of the Merlin. But none of them performed like the P-51. The Merlin just made it better for the mission that the Allies wanted it for, which was high altitude air superiority. And don't forget that the Merlin the Mustang used was an American version built by Packard, which was better than the one's the British built.

[@Watkinsstudio]

@@0Zolrender0 The P-51 was a superior aircraft which took the fight to the Germans and helped destroy their air force. The Mustang's long range and greater speed was never achieved by any British fighter whatever the engine and was due to its superior aerodynamics. The complete package made the Mustang the war-winning fighter it was, not the components.

[@pahouseholder]

A serious piece of kit indeed. Great video!

[@johnsavarese6365]

My father was with the 486th Bomb Group (Heavy) stationed in Sudbury from late February 1944 to the end of the war. I loved listening to him recount his experiences with the locals. Especially an elderly couple, Pops and Sweety Pugh with whom my dad and his First Sergeant spent Christmas of 44.

[@tolik5929]

Kind of interesting , in an interview with German pilots , they said the P51 gave them trouble from the very beginning . One reason was that from a certain angle , they looked like a 109 , so they would sometimes hold their fire too long , trying to make a positive ID .

[@Chiller01]

There’s no rumour involved a back seat was fashioned for Eisenhower. Video exists showing him getting in the plane, taking off and returning. He wasn’t surveying Normandy beaches but observing the advance toward St Lo.

[@randylaw3368]

Yes just watched it on UTube. Fascinating watching him and the pilot in unguarded moments having a laugh. Just made me nervous though watching him lighting a smoke beside a fueled a/c

[@TexasGreed]

man flying the first few sorties over berlin must have been insane. Like a feeling of "we finally made it lets end this nightmare."

[@paulcarey1708]

Great video and well written - somehow enthusiastic without coming across as biased (eg. noting the Spitfire had superior maneuverability). Saw a Mustang fly at an airshow in Edmonton around 1990 I think (??) and in a dive, you could here the "pop-pop-pop" of what I assumed was the engine. The P.A. dude said it was actually the tips of the prop going super-sonic! Second coolest plane at the show!! (the Concord was there... got to see it take off, land and take off again).

[@andyc3088]

When the P51 came into service, Spitfires were armed with 20mm cannons

[@busterdee8228]

I was in Quantico VA when the Harrier was relatively new. A visiting (assigned?) British pilot was scheduled to join airshow flying the following day. You could see in his flying that his chain of command was 'out of sight' (and ATC had its 'diplomacy hat' on). He was doing a low, fast pass along the runway. It looked like he intended to pull out to the right toward the water, but his crisp 90-roll caused the tail to drop towards the runway. He quickly took out some roll and added elevator for a nice save. During the airshow, I expected him to be a bit chastened. Nope. During the pretend napalm run, he confirmed that that Rolls would not necessarily 'stall' if flown through the flames. Obviously, airshows play with angles to make the crowds believe things are closer than they are. But, he was much closer, and more aggressive, than the Marine pilots--who are not exactly known for sedate flying. It's safe to say that the British pilot was not 'ashamed' of his skills or that Harrier.

[@jacktattis]

Go and have a look at the flying through the Welsh Valleys Even the RAF Hercules are going lower than the USAAF F15

[@McsMark1]

I love the love that developed between my country & my country's mother country & thank you Queen Elizabeth II for dedicating the museum to the 30,000 American Airmen who were killed.

[@dwp1970]

Thank you for the wonderful video. I was lucky enough to attend an air show at Duxford a decade or so ago and all I wish for is another visit. The Imperial War Museum is a fantastic outfit keep up the great work!

[@mencken8]

The numbers the U.S. was able to produce is often overlooked. YT videos love to compare fighters on every side in WWII, but by mid-war, the exigencies of combat and the need to improve made many front-line fighters comparable. The difference lay in the pilot. Swap more for less experienced pilots, and the former was most likely to prevail. One P-38 pilot stated that if one survived 7-8 hours of combat, probability of survival went way up.

[@OPFlyFisher304]

Your right, the production capibilities of the US was insane. In one year, just one year the US became the worlds number one producer of tanks. The US continue building aircraft that the US pilots didn't even use. Factory is online just keep making them for the Russians, they use the to great effect.