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The P 51 was originally developed for the RAF as a fighter /
interceptor. Initially a disappointment when introduced to the
European theatre of war due to poor high altitude performance,
the first batch of Mustangs was assigned to British Army
Co-operation Command instead of Fighter Command -- where they
did excel at low level operations. At one point it was
suggested to replace the American Allison engine with the proven
Merlin engine, the same that was used in the Spitfire. Following
an arrangement with the US Packard Co. to produce the Merlin
engine under licence, work advanced quickly to modify the
Mustang for the Merlin. The alteration proved to be what was
necessary to transform the Mustang to fit the role for which it
was intended. Sorely needed by Allied Bomber command to curb
unsustainable losses on long range missions, was a fighter that
could provide escort to distant targets and home again. The new
version of the P51 arrived at a very critical period in the air
war and proved to be exactly what was needed to help remedy
mounting losses of bomber crews.
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, commander of
the German Luftwaffe during the war, was quoted as saying,
"When I saw Mustangs over Berlin, I
knew the jig was up." Whether that is a true quote or not
(Goring had previously already seen Spitfires over Berlin), the
fact of the matter was that every corner of Germany became
vulnerable as Bomber Command now had significant protective
cover with the arrival of the long range Mustang.
By
8 May 1945, the 8th, 9th, and 15th Air Force's P-51
groups claimed some 4,950 aircraft shot down
(about half of all USAAF claims in the European theater, the
most claimed by any Allied fighter in air-to-air combat) and
4,131 destroyed on the ground. Losses were
about 2,520 aircraft (not to mention the pilots who were killed,
injured, or taken prisoner), – which under war time conditions
was better odds than could be expected……acceptable odds at least
to higher command.
My model of the P51 Mustang D was flown by Lt. J.E. Young of the
3rd Fighter Squadron Group. This was an Air Commando Unit
primarily seeing combat during the Philippines Campaign in
1944-45.
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