Who was the designer of the P-51 Mustang?

Who was the designer of the P-51 Mustang?

In July of 1943, U.S. Army approved a contract with North American Aviation to design and build a lightweight P-51. Designated NA-105, 5 aircraft were to be built and tested. Edgar Schmued, chief of design at NAA, began this design early in 1943.

Are there any P-51H Mustangs still in use?

In the years to follow, the H was used in many Air National Guard units around the U.S. Only 5 P-51Hs survived, 2 are display quality only, 2 are airworthy and the last is in restoration to be airworthy. One of the XP-51G prototypes does exist and is in a long term restoration with John Morgan in California.

What was the fastest speed of a P-51 Mustang?

This was the fastest production P-51 clocking 487 mph at 25,000 feet. The propeller of the P-51H was the Aeroproducts 11’1″ 4-blade Unimatic otherwise know as the “H prop”. This prop is even lighter than the K model Aeroproducts but it looks much different. The blades are wider and keep approx. the same width almost the whole blade.

What kind of propeller does a P-51H have?

The propeller of the P-51H was the Aeroproducts 11’1″ 4-blade Unimatic otherwise know as the “H prop”. This prop is even lighter than the K model Aeroproducts but it looks much different. The blades are wider and keep approx. the same width almost the whole blade. The tips are rounded.

When was the last flight of the XP-51 Mustang?

XP-51 No. 4 was acquired by EAA after years in storage at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. It was completely restored in 1975-1976 by Darrell Skurich of Fort Collins, Colorado, and flew in the Oshkosh air show from 1976 until Paul Poberezny made the final flight in late 1982.

What was the range of the P-51 Mustang?

Merlin-powered P-51s, equipped with jettisonable drop tanks, had an operational range of more than 1,600 miles (2,500 km), and they mounted their first long-range bomber escort missions over Germany in mid-December 1943. They quickly established ascendancy over Germany’s premier fighters, the Me 109 and the Fw 190.

When was the P-51 Mustang taken out of mothballs?

Though production contracts were canceled at war’s end, the P-51 remained in service with the Air Force for several years thereafter. P-51s, some taken out of “mothballs,” were used for ground-attack missions early in the Korean War (1950–53).