The Most Flawless WW2 Fighter Plane (Except for This One Thing)
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- Опубліковано 10 лип 2022
- Despite Britain’s best efforts to keep the peace, on September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler shocked the world by invading Poland. A war like the world had never seen before was coming to Europe, and Britain was nowhere near ready to resist the rising Wehrmacht.
Desperate for modern aircraft, the British requested warplanes from the US, whose dormant aircraft industry could only spare limited amounts. They were then sold several P-40 Warhawks, but they needed many more as the conflict escalated.
After the Curtiss corporation was unable to manufacture the numbers Britain required, they turned to James H. Kindleberger, the president of a recently formed aircraft manufacturer. He not only assured them that he could produce the P-40s they needed, but that he could do better and come up with a far superior warplane in just 120 days.
The result would come to be known as the most aerodynamically flawless pursuit plane in existence: a fast, agile, and reliable aircraft that would shift the balance of the war.
Still, the P-51 Mustang was revealed to have a fatal flaw that almost ended its career in combat, but destiny had other plans...
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If I had a nickel for every time the USA ended up using a weapon they were making primarily for England more than England itself, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's strange that it happened twice.
I got the chance to rebuild several P-51 Mustangs as a young aircraft mechanic and let me tell you that I have never seen a better built aircraft in the 30 years of working on all sorts of airplanes since then. Also, let me give a real shout-out here to Rosie the riveter. I drilled out a lot of her rivets and they were almost all perfect. Even the impossible to get to fasteners looked wonderful! Thanks again for your channel.
The P-51 Mustang took advantage of the Meredith effect to increase the flow of air thorough the scoop over the water and oil radiators without excessive drag. It is a miracle of efficiency. Since it had such a high kill rate any disadvantage from vulnerabilities was far outweighed by it's increased performance Many have mentioned the P51 was not the first to use the Meredith effect as many planes did use it but the research on the P-51's use was extensive as outlined in the book P-51B Mustang by James Marshall and Lowell Ford. There are loads of diagrams and pictures of the various inlets they tested. I highly recommend it in both Kindle and paper versions as it shows the development leading to the finished products. over 500 pages.
Comparisons between the Spitfire and Mustang need to be tempered with care, as the two planes were conceived and designed for completely different purposes. The Spitfire was intended to be used in a defensive role, within easy range of home airfields, and to be able to accommodate high sortie rates, some pilots flying 5-6 sorties in a day. The Mustang, by contrast, was conceived as a very long range escort fighter, flying slow and far most of the time, with a frantic fighting phase over enemy territory. Each of them excelled in their respective roles, becoming iconic and indeed legendary.
All aircraft using liquid cooled engines had the same vulnerability. This hazard was known before the P-51 was designed. In the Korean War the USAF used Mustangs for bombing and strafing. While the Navy and Marines flew the less vulnerable Corsair.
So the Royal Air Force didn't win the Battle of Britain with British made Hurricanes and Spitfires, but with US made P40's ? Well that is really news to me and the whole British nation including those who actually fought in the battle, I can tell you ! Thanks for telling us all the truth at last! 🤣
Nonsense. Liquid cooling was no more a "Fatal Flaw" of the mustang than it was for the Spitfire, P-40, P-38, ME-109, etc. That's why almost all of the naval aircraft in WWII were air-cooled.
As told to me by WW2 Mustang pilots it had another nasty flaw. The 50 gallon fuel tank behind the pilot was out of the CG cone and until you used up that fuel the aircraft was dangerous and unstable. The Luftwaffe never caught on to this and the pilots hopefully used up most of the fuel in that tank before crossing the European coast.
The purchase of P40 Warhawks by the UK was for those France had ordered but the slow production rate meant France had fallen before they could be delivered. After the fall of France the British agreed to take the Warhawks but several were redirected to the Pacific and placed on ships bound for China in the late spring and summer of 1941. FDR created a mercenary air force equipped with both a bomber wing and fighter wing flown by men taken from the three flying branches of the military illegally allowed to resign their commissions to fight in a foreign war. This meant delivery of US fighters were falling behind and why the US government was eagerly trying t find another company to help fill the order. As to US neutrality or refering to the US as an Allie you are taking great liberties given the assistance they provided to Germany during the pre war era. Both the UK and it's fighting allies and the Germans and Italians were put on the exact same footing, cash and carry for all goods before they left US docks. There was a movement within US government and industrialists to support the Germans and no the British. Several key people include Henry Ford, the head of Ford Motor Company, Joseph Kennedy, the US Ambassador to the UK who was known to be connected to a plot to replace King George with his brother who abdicated because of his relationship with a US divorcee. The woman he abdicated for Wallis Simpson was known to be a German sympathizer who helped put several key US industrialists in connection with German spies. Other US people who were sympathetic with the Nazi regime can be found in Trading with the enemy which has a fountain of information on the time period. Ford Motor was given a contract to produce the Chance Voight F4U but was so slow with preparations the contract was rescinded and then given to Goodyear. Was that intentional or not?
I'm still amazed at how most nations like France and England were so ill prepared for WWII! they forgot about WWI!!!????? WTF!!!!!
My Father flew 86 missions over Europe in a Mustang and lived to tell about it. I remember in the late 70's he heard a P51 was in town at the airport. ( Fairbanks, AK ).
My good friend Hank flew one in W.W.II at first escorting bombers in Europe where he said Command was always asking them to see how many parachutes got out when one went down so they could alert the ground to try and help them. Then fighting in Africa and finally in the Pacific going up against Zeros. Got shot down twice. Was kept over in occupied China and then occupied Japan. He said we might have been crazy but we couldn’t wait to get back up. I truly and sorely miss my good friend Hank. A man’s man like all those others, who fought and won this horrific war for us.
I have been a Mustang fan for as long as I can remember. As a Marine stationed at Miramar I walked out of my shop door and was nose to nose with a Mustang! I almost cried! I was looking it over in awe when the pilot walked up and asked me if I liked it. He was a WW2 veteran pilot. That Mustang had been in his squadron flown by his friend in Europe. We must have talked for an hour.
My Dad was a BTG in B-17F's. He made his first 8 missions before the Mustangs arrived. One day a Mustang B model landed at Thorpe Abbots and the pilot told them to take a good look and remember it. As he climbed back into the cockpit he stopped, smiled and said "Oh, one more thing", and he hinted at the new range and said, "See you over Berlin". Dad said half the guys whooped and hollered and the other half simply began to cry. He said the Mustang was the only reason I was here.
The p-51 shows just what a well run, yet small company can do. It was quick to develop, didn't go over budget, and flew very well.
Nothing to do with WWII, but I lived in Colorado Springs for 4 years. The Air Force Academy is in Colorado Springs and on graduation day they have many flight exhibitions. I was driving down the mountain pass from Woodland Park to Colorado Springs and heard this terrible, beautiful roar. It was a flight of 5 P-51's coming down the pass prior to participating in graduation exhibitions. What a Freaking sound!! Absolutely awe inspiring! Always one of my favorite aircraft! I will never forget that sound!
Isn't it great that 2 countries could work together and between them make one of the most formidable fighter aircraft of WW2. We can all feel proud of the people who in my instance kept my parents safe while they did their part to defeat the Germans
In 1954 when I was 6 years old, I won a tiny model of a P51 in a game of marbles with a school mate.
My 3rd favourite Allied pane of WW2, the Spitfire and the Mosquito being 1 and 2. I love the fact that it was given a second life by the British made Merlin engine. One of the greatest Piston engine sounds ever
Not the most meaningful contribution, but one incredible story was that of the pilot (can’t remember the name off the top of my head) escorting a bomber formation in a lone Mustang, and got into a dogfight with 30 luftwaffe fighters and shot down 6 until running out of ammo, who then somehow still managed to keep them away by feinting attack runs and scaring them away; he was the only fighter pilot of the European theater to be awarded the Medal of Honor iirc