North American P-51D Mustang 1/48 AMG 48501

North American P-51D Mustang
1/48 scale plastic model kit

AMG48501

Manufacturer: AMG Models
Scale: 1/48
Material: Plastic
Paint: Unpainted, Unassembled, Kit do not contain paints and glue.
Condition: New in Box

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 (Dominican Air Force)[1]
Primary users	United States Army Air Forces Royal Air Force Chinese Nationalist Air Force numerous others (see below)
Number built	More than 15,000[2]
Unit cost	US$50,985 in 1945[3]
Variants	North American A-36 Rolls-Royce Mustang Mk.X Cavalier Mustang
Developed into	North American F-82 Twin Mustang Piper PA-48 Enforcer

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used duringWorld War II, the Korean War and other conflicts. The Mustang was conceived, designed and built by North American Aviation(NAA) in response to a specification issued directly to NAA by the British Purchasing Commission. The prototype NA-73Xairframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed and first flew on 26 October.^[4][5][6]

The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance. It was first flown operationally by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the P-51B/C model transformed the Mustang's performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, matching or bettering that of the Luftwaffe's fighters.^{[7][nb 1]} The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by thePackard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 series two-stage two-speed supercharged engine, and armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns.^[8]

From late 1943, P-51Bs (supplemented by P-51Ds from mid-1944) were used by the USAAF's Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany, while the RAF's 2 TAF and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force used the Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, roles in which the Mustang helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944.^[9] The P-51 was also in service with Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean and Italian theaters, and saw limited service against the Japanese in the Pacific War. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed 4,950 enemy aircraft shot down.^{[nb 2]}

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 historic warbird aircraft at airshows.