I don’t care how it came to be, the P51 Mustang is one of the best single-engine propeller driven aircraft in history.
And the only prop-driven fighter I can think of that looks better is the Supermarine Spitfire.
(In my opinion)
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Glad you said “in my opinion.”
In MY Opinion it is the other way around. The P51 has always been my absolute favorite of all planes that ever flew. Used to build models of them when I was a kid. I still go to airshows just to see them perform and to talk to their pilots. It is the sexiest plane ever designed. The Spitfire is second.
To me, the Spitfire doesn’t just look the best, it sounds the best (but as a Brit I admit I could be a little bit biased)!
Göring is alleged to have said that the day an [Allied] fighter reaches Berlin, the war [for Germany] is lost. And that honour most definitely goes to the Mustang.