If The P-51 Mustang Had Not Been In WWII

January 18, 2010 | myknowledge

[myknowledge]

The North American P-51 Mustang has been heralded as the best Allied WWII fighter ever and made a significant contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Luftwaffe.

With over 15,500 of them built, in all variants, this aircraft found its way into the European, CBI and Pacific theaters.

Powered by a Packard-built Rolls Royce Merlin V-1650 V-12 piston engine, drawing ~1700 hp, the P-51 reached speeds of 700 km/h, and with a pair of drop tanks, it had the range to escort bombers from the UK to Berlin and back, from Iwo Jima to the Japanese home islands and back.

Packing six .50 cal Browning M2 machine guns with over 1600 rounds of ammo, the Mustang had enough firepower to rip any enemy fighter into shreds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddtqJImF5Qc

I'm sure that you aviation fans know a lot more about the P-51, but I have started this thread because I wanted to ask this question:

What if the P-51 Mustang had not been in WWII?

My response to that is maybe the U.S. 8th AF would have to compensate using P-38s (fork-tailed devils) and probably late mark RAF Spitfires.

This would have meant more bomber casualties and losses from German AAA and Luftwaffe Bf 109s, Fw 190s and Me 262s. More of them could have been airborne due to the aircraft plants not being bombed.

[Tallguy]

Makes you wonder why the Marines sent the F4U5 and AU1 Corsairs them?

[myknowledge]

Same reason - they were WWII-era aircraft that still had a role to play in the Korean War - close air support.

[tanknetter]

Another reason why the F-51 was sent to Korea, according to the military brass, was that the Mustang ‘looked sexier’ than the rotund-looking Jug.

There are lots of theories out there on why the F-51 and not the F-47 went to Korea. Another one has it that since the F-51 squadrons were largely concentrated in the Western US, while the F-47 ones were largely in the Eastern US, the F-51 was chosen to go.

The performance of the F4Us/AU-1s, the F7Fs, ADs and Sea Furys in Korea speaks to the effectiveness of radial-powered aircraft used in the tactical strike/CAS role. The Jug would clearly have been in its own, had it gone.

[myknowledge]

If there was 100-octane fuel but no P-51 Mustangs, what would the Allies have done?

Maybe add 100-octane fuel with 7-ton Jugs?

[tanknetter]

Forgot the A-26/B-26s in the above, as well as others I’d imagine.

[No Truce With Kings]

“If there was 100-octane fuel but no P-51 Mustangs, what would the Allies have done?

Maybe add 100-octane fuel with 7-ton Jugs?”

The Jug (along with the B-17, and every other radial-engine US production aircraft in WWII) also used engines that burned 100-octane. They got similar benefits. The P-47N — designed for service in the Pacific — had a range similar to that of the P-51 as I recall.

The trick with 100-octane is that you could lean out the mixture to an 87-octane equivalent and cruise longer, then add fuel to the mixture in combat and get the power of 100-octane. In the Pacific Lindbergh taught P-47 squadrons to really lean their fuel mix (down to an 80-octane equivalent) that *really* boosted range. Plane flew like a slug, but you could go forever, then rich the mix once in combat.

The Germans could kinda-sorta do the equivalent, except that to get their fuel at 100-octane equivalent (with aromatics like benzene) the had to pump extra fuel into the cylinder to prevent pre-ignition. This effectively used the fuel as coolant (keeping the cylinder temps down) which meant that the short-legged German fighters got even shorter ranges.

[Arizona Carolyn]

Back in 1980 my husband and I were in Tahiti, sitting on the hotel deck off our room when all of a sudden he said: “that sounds like a P-51 engine to me”.. couldn’t see it, but he could hear it... pretty soon what came into view to land at the airport ({we could see from our balcony) but a P-51.. beautiful... it had extra fuel tanks mounted and we surmised it must have been ferried in from South America or Australia... but there was no mistaking the engine.

[Doogle]

....several years ago I was dating a woman who had never been to an airshow. She humored me and attended *grins*, I went on to explain the different acts and who I was familiar with and what to watch for....the show was going into it’s third hour and I kept an eye out for the p-51’S that were there and were starting to warm up.
Just before they lifted off she headed to the rest room and was working her way back to our location through the crowd when the first one went screaming by....when she got next to me she said with big wide eyes..”what was that?”
I said it’s a 50 year old WWII fighter called a P-51....she said with a smile, “now I know why you wanted to be here”,
I said eeeeeyeah one of the reasons *smiling*. Then the other one came by, just as beautiful and loud,..she was hooked.

[Nailbiter]

I had occassion to buy time in P51c 2 yrs ago, once in lifetime experience. I have flown before in civilian craft but the experience is one I will never forget.
The foundation that offers these rides is Collins foundation on P51c
If anyone has the chance and cash it is well worth the investment, I can not say enough about foundations that honor these warbirds or those that served in them.

If permissible this is website for collins
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/menu.htm

There are others that I have toured on the ground.
I had been for years saying I would buy a ride, again un beliveable, my father and his good friends served.
I wish that I would have known about these foundations when my dad was alive, I believe he would have enjoyed a ride.

I agree on the ground difficult, but oh my what power in the air.