FIGHTER NORTH AMERICAN P-51D MUSTANG 1/72 academy 12441

FIGHTER NORTH AMERICAN P-51D MUSTANG
1/72
Academy AC12441

Manufacturer: Academy
Scale: 1/72
Material: Plastic
Paint: Unpainted, Unassembled, Kit do not contain paints and glue.
Condition: New in Box
 

The legendary Р-51 Mustang was one of the best fighter aircraft of the WWII period. This airplane has designed by North American Corporation by the order of the British RAF. The prototype NA-73X made the maiden flight at October 26, 1940. In Great Britain the airplane received the name Mustang. USAAF also were interested of the new fighter and marked it P-51.

The last modification with Allison engine - Р-51A - has built in 1942. The airplane had high speed and big range, but its rate of climb and service ceiling were insufficient. Р- 51A were in combat service in India and China in the middle of 1943.

The modification Р-51В was built in May 1943. It differed in the installation of potent and high altitude Packard Мerlin engine. The airplane Mustang with this engine became one of the fastest fighters in the world. It had huge range, was well armed and armored.

Mustangs, produced by a plant in Dallas, were meant as Р-51С. Airplanes put on Lend-Lease by the British RAF, have received a designation Mustang Mk.III. The bubble canopy named «Malcolm Hood» was installed on them. It allowed to improve the view from a cabin.

At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang was the main fighter of the United Nations until jet fighters such as the F-86 took over this role; the Mustang then became a specialized fighter-bomber. Despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After World War II and the Korean War, many Mustangs were converted for civilian use, especially air racing, and increasingly, preserved and flown as historicwarbird aircraft at airshows.

North American Aviation (NAA) was already supplying its Harvard trainer to the RAF, but was otherwise underutilized. NAA President "Dutch" Kindelberger approached Self to sell a newmedium bomber, the B-25 Mitchell. Instead, Self asked if NAA could manufacture the Tomahawk under license from Curtiss. Kindelberger said NAA could have a better aircraft with the same engine in the air sooner than establishing a production line for the P-40. The Commission stipulated armament of four .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns, the Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engine, a unit cost of no more than $40,000, and delivery of the first production aircraft by January 1941.In March 1940, 320 aircraft were ordered by Sir Wilfred Freeman who had become the executive head of Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP), and the contract was promulgated on 24 April.

P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustangs of the 375th Fighter Squadron, Eighth Air Force mid-1944.
Role	Fighter
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	North American Aviation
First flight	26 October 1940
Introduction	1942
Status	Retired from military service 1984, still in civil use
Primary users	United States Army Air Forces Royal Air Force Chinese Nationalist Air Force numerous others (see below)
Number built	More than 15,000
Unit cost	US$50,985 in 1945
Variants	North American A-36 Rolls-Royce Mustang Mk.X Cavalier Mustang
Developed into	North American F-82 Twin Mustang Piper PA-48 Enforcer Rolls-Royce Mustang Mk.X