October 2015 13 Historical perspecti ve Ace of aces North America’s P-51 Mustang was one of the best all-around fighters of WWII by Michael Lombardi Beloved and revered, it is a near-perfect blend of art and engineering—and one of the most lethal fighter planes of all time. The P-51 Mustang, which flew for the first time 75 years ago this month, became the stuff of legend. But the story of this iconic American fighter, from Boeing heritage company North American Aviation, began not in the U.S. but in Great Britain. In 1940, Great Britain was at war and desperately needed airplanes, in particular the U.S. front-line fighter Curtiss P-40. But Curtiss was committed to filling orders for the U.S. Army, so the British Air Ministry turned to North American, which had a proven track record delivering Harvard trainers to the Royal Air Force. Rather than build P-40s, North American’s chief designer, Edgar Schmued, counseled company president Dutch Kindelberger: “Let’s not build an obsolete airplane, let’s build a new one; we can design a better one and build a better one.” Kindelberger presented the British with a proposal for a new fighter that included two important innovations: the pioneering use of a laminar flow wing that greatly reduced drag from the airfoil, and an engine cooling system that gave the airplane a distinctive air scoop and created thrust from air heated by the radiator—known as the Meredith effect. On May 29, North American received a contract from Great Britain for 320 of the fighters that the British named Mustang. North American said it could produce a flying prototype within 100 days. As promised, on Sept. 9 it completed the prototype designated NA-73X after 102 days, but the aircraft had to wait for its Allison engine, sliding the first flight to Oct. 26, 1940. One year later, production Mustangs arrived in Britain and the RAF put them into service. Pilots flying armed reconnaissance over occupied Europe praised the new planes and, in that role, became the first allied fighters to cross into Germany after the fall of France. The U.S. Army Air Force first ordered the P-51 in July 1941 and initially called it the Apache. Later, Kindelberger recommended that the U.S. airplanes also be called Mustang. The RAF and Rolls-Royce took steps to improve the Mustang’s performance by replacing its Allison engine with the more powerful Rolls- Royce Merlin engine. North American also tested the Merlin and adopted it, creating a new Packard-built, Merlinpowered Mustang, designated the P-51B (the company also built it in Dallas as the P-51C). Later, the P-51D model added a bubble canopy, giving the pilot allaround visibility. In addition to external drop tanks, these later versions had increased internal fuel capacity, allowing the Mustang to not only escort U.S. bombers to any target but also dominate the airspace over that target. That ability made the Mustang a critical component to the success of the U.S. airpower strategy against Germany, and contributed to its reputation as the finest all-around fighter of World War II . In all, North American built nearly 16,000 Mustangs between 1940 and 1947 at plants in Dallas and in Inglewood, Calif. And Australia’s Commonwealth Aircraft Corp. built 200 on the only Mustang production line outside the United States. The Mustang continued to serve long after WWII in Air National Guard squadrons and with United Nations forces during the Korean War. It remains a mainstay at air races and air shows, where it is hugely popular with the public. The high degree of engineering, innovation and craftsmanship that gave birth to the Mustang was the hallmark of North American Aviation. A German scientist who evaluated the Mustang’s design in 1943 said it “surpasses the quality customary in German aircraft construction.” Recalling Mustang’s birth and critical role in this, Boeing’s centennial year, is a reminder of just how important it can be to ‘build something better.’ n michael.j.lombardi@boeing.com Photos: (Far left) Rosie the Riveters work on final assembly of P-51B Mustangs at the North American plant in Inglewood, Cailf. Boeing Archives (Above) A vintage P-51 Mustang. shutterstock
Frontiers October 2015 Issue
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