POF's North American P-51A Mustang "Mrs. Virginia"

The Planes of Fame Air Museum is the owner and operator of this very rare North American P-51A Mustang "Mrs. Virginia" (S/N 43-6251), which is the only authentic flying example of it's type in the world, and is on display in Chino, CA., available for film or specially arranged events.

On September 9, 1940, only 102 days after the contract had been signed, the NA-73X prototype was rolled out though still waiting for its engine. The new fighter was named Mustang by the British, and the first British version was designated Mustang I. As soon as it was available, the 1,120hp Allison V-171 0-39 power plant was installed, and engine and taxi tests began. On 26 October, Vance Breese lifted the aircraft off the runway for a maiden flight. Testing continued until Paul Balfour was forced to make a deadstick landing. The NA73X flipped over on its back, and it took six weeks to make repairs and get the aircraft ready to fly again. The first production Mustang I soon joined the repaired prototype in the test program, and shortly other Mustangs were heading for England.

As expected, the evaluation of the flight test aircraft showed that the NA-73 was indeed superior to the P-40 Warhawk which was considered to be the best single-engine fighter in the U.S. Army Air Corps inventory at the time. A lot of criticism has been written about the AAC's initial lack of interest and subsequent slowness to act concerning acquiring Mustangs for its own use. This simply is not so. All evidence is to the contrary, particularly considering the political and economic situation in America at that time.

The Army contract for Mustangs consisted of an order on August 24, 1942 for 1200 NA-99 versions with the USAAF designation of P-51A. Unlike the A-36A, these aircraft from the start were meant to be fighters, not bombers. The first P-51A flew on February 3, 1943, and the first deliveries began the next month. In the event, only 310 P-51As were actually built between March and May of 1943 before production was switched over to the Merlin-powered P-51B.

These aircraft had the same external stores capability as the A-36A Invader, but had no dive brakes and no fuselage guns, the armament being limited to four 0.50-inch machine guns mounted in the wings. The inboard pair had 350 rpg and the outboard pair had 280 rpg. An underwing load consisted of two 250 lb, 325, or 500-pound bombs. Maximum takeoff weight rose to 10,600 pounds, but maximum ferry range was increased to 2350 miles. The P-51A had the Allison V-1710-81 (F20R) engine rated at 1200 hp for takeoff and 1125 hp at 18,000 feet, with significantly better high-altitude performance than the V-1710-39 of the P-51. The engine was fitted with a new supercharger which further enhanced low-altitude performance. In addition, a larger-diameter propeller was fitted. Maximum speed rose to 409 mph at 11,000 feet, faster at medium altitudes than any other fighter then in service.

Because of the thin wing cross section, the wing guns lay almost on their sides and the ammunition belt feeds had to be built with some rather sharp kinks in them in order to direct the bullets into the guns. This awkward arrangement resulted in many gun jams, particularly after maneuvers in which high g-values were pulled.

Of the 310 P-51As built, 35 of them were fitted with twin-K24 camera installations and had their guns removed. These were redesignated F-6B. 50 P-51As went to the RAF, becoming Mustang IIs. These planes replaced the NA-91s that had been diverted from RAF Mustang IA orders for conversion as USAAAF F-6As. The RAF serials of the Mustang IIs were FR890/FR939. Deliveries were made late in 1942. Mustang II FR901 was fitted with special deep-section fuel tanks beneath the wings for ultra-long-range flying. FR893 was tested at Boscombe Down, and demonstrated a best rate of climb of 3800 feet per minute at 6000 feet, with n altitude of 20,000 feet being reached in 6.9 minutes and 34,000 feet in 24 minutes. The Mustang I, IA, and II had astonishingly long service with the RAF, with the last front-line RAF Allison-engined Mustangs being phased out in early 1945.

The first P-51A group was the 54th, which remained in Florida for replacement training. Later, P-51As went to Asia with the 23rd, 311th, and 1st Air Commando Groups. Almost all of the P-51As served in the China, Burma, India (CBI) theatre of operations. On November 25, 1943, the 530th Fighter-Bomber Squadron of the 311th Fighter Bomber Group flew the first of the Mustang's long-range escort missions, using drop tanks to escort B-24 Liberators in an attack on Rangoon, Burma, a round trip of nearly 900 miles.

By comparison, Mustangs with the Allison engine could outperform the Merlin-powered variants below 15,000 feet, but no writer has criticized the P-51B, -C, -D, or -K for having less performance at low altitudes. It has been claimed that the Merlin engine is what allowed the Mustang to reach its potential. If only high-altitude performance is considered, this would be true. But a more correct assessment would be that both the Allison and Merlin-powered versions performed very well at the altitudes where they were designed and intended to operate.

When production of the Allison-engined Mustang ended, 1580 examples had been built.

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