Airfix AXJ6016

Model Aircraft Extra 4. Building the North-American P-51D Mustang. WAS £14.99. TEMPORARILY SAVE 1/3RD!!! Marrying an American dive-bomber design and a British engine, the North-American P-51 Mustang became one of the greatest fighters of World War II. The iconic P-51 was a World War II single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber that also saw service in the Korean War and other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by North-American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission. The Purchasing Commission approached North-American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Rather than build an old design from another company, North-American Aviation proposed the design and production of a more modern fighter. The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed, and first flew on 26 October. The Mustang was designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance in its earlier variants. The aircraft was first flown operationally by the RAF as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). Replacing the Allison with a Rolls-Royce Merlin resulted in the P-51B/P-51C (Mustang Mk III) model and transformed the aircraft's performance at altitudes above 15,000ft, without sacrificing range, allowing it to compete with the Luftwaffe's fighters. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the two-speed two-stage-supercharged Merlin 66 and was armed with six .50 calibre M2/AN Browning machine guns. From late 1943, P-51Bs and P-51Cs (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 Second Tactical Air Force 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. The P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean, Italian and Pacific theatres, and during World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed some 4,950-enemy aircraft. At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang, by then redesignated F-51, was the main fighter of the United Nations until jet fighters, including North-American's F-86, took over this role, the Mustang then became a specialised fighter-bomber. Despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. In Model Aircraft Extra #4, some 15 P-51 Mustang build projects will be included, in a 'how-to' format, and continue this fantastic series modelling guides from MA Publications, the new name in scale modelling.

More

AM-18 - The North-American P-51D/K Mustang (inc. the P-51H & XP-51F, P-51G & P-51J) - A Complete Guide to the Cadillac of the Skies By Richard A. Franks The P-51 Mustang is one of the most popular aircraft modelling subjects around. Our latest book will go some way towards unpicking the different variants and colourful schemes that apply to the type. This eighteenth book in our much-acclaimed series. AM18 has now been expanded to 272 pages plus covers and plans section in order to accommodate extra material. Packed with vital information that no active modeller and USAAF enthusiast should be without. It will contain: 60+ pages of technical information 60+ pages of walk-around images and technical diagrams 8+ pages of camouflage and markings 25+ pages of model builds and modelling information 200+ photographs including wartime images Colour side views and four-views by Richard J. Caruana 3D isometric views of all variants by Wojciech Sankowski Specially commissioned extensive full kit builds by Libor Jekl & Steve A. Evans Specially commissioned front cover artwork by Jerry Boucher Bonus set of 1/48 scale plans

More