No other aircraft of WWII could fly as high, go as far, or fight as hard as the famed Mustang. Piloted by a record 281 Aces, this agile and ferocious dogfighter tallied more kills than any other Allied airplane. As the bombers of the Eighth Air Force fought their way deep into Hitler's Germany, it was the Mustang that cleared the skies of Luftwaffe fighters. The powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine gave the Mustang a speed of 445 mph. Re-styled with an aerodynamic bubble canopy for greater visibility, and outfitted with 6 fast-firing .50 caliber machine guns, the P-51 became the best fighter of the war. New P-51Bs (NA-102s) would continue with the same armament and ammunition load of the P-51A, while the bomb rack/external drop tank installation was adapted from the A-36 Apache; the racks were rated to carry up to 500 lb (230 kg) of ordnance and were also piped for drop tanks. The machine guns were aimed using the electrically illuminated N-3B reflector sight fitted with an A-1 head assembly which allowed it to be used as a gun or bomb sight through varying the angle of the reflector glass. Pilots were also given the option of having ring and bead sights mounted on the top engine cowling formers. This option was discontinued with the P-51D.

The first XP-51B flew on November 30th, 1942. Flight tests confirmed the potential of the new fighter, with the service ceiling being raised by 10,000 ft (3,000 m), with the top speed improving by 50 mph (43 kn; 80 km/h) at 30,000 ft (9,100 m). American production was started in early 1943 with the P-51B (NA-102) being manufactured at Inglewood, California, and the P-51C (NA-103) at a new plant in Dallas, Texas, which was in operation by summer 1943. The RAF named these models Mustang Mk III. In performance tests, the P-51B reached 441 mph (383 kn; 710 km/h) at 30,000 ft (9,100 m). In addition, the extended range made possible by the use of drop tanks enabled the Merlin-powered Mustang to be introduced as a bomber escort with a combat radius of 750 mi (1,210 km) using two 75 US gal (62 imp gal; 280 l) 2-piece, sheet-metal stamped construction drop tanks.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a USAAF North American P-51B Mustang fighter that was piloted by Captain Lee "Dutch" Eisenhart and nicknamed "Bonny Bea," which was attached to the 504th Fighter Squadron, 339th Fighter Group, then deployed to RAF Fowlmere, England, from 1943-44. Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 6-3/4-inches
Length: 5-inches

Release Date: September 2024

Historical Account: "Where the Sirens Sing" - The 504th was reassigned to the 66th Fighter Wing of VIII Fighter Command and stationed at RAF Fowlmere in England in April 1944 and was re-designated 339th Fighter Group in May 1944. They were equipped with P-51 Mustang aircraft and the first combat operation was on April 30th, 1944.

The unit engaged primarily in B-17/B-24 escort duties during its first five weeks of operations, and afterwards flew many escort missions to cover the operations of medium and heavy bombers that struck strategic objectives, interdicted the enemy's communications, or supported operations on the ground.

The group strafed airfields and other targets of opportunity while on escort missions. The 339th received a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations on September 10th and 11th, 1944. On the first of those days, when it escorted bombers to a target in Germany and then attacked an aerodrome near Erding, the group destroyed or damaged many enemy planes despite the intense fire it encountered from anti-aircraft guns and small arms. The following day the bomber formation being escorted to Munich was attacked by enemy fighters, but members of the 339th group destroyed a number of the interceptors and drove off the others and at the same time, other members of the 339th were attacking an airfield near Karlsruhe, where they encountered heavy fire but were able to destroy or damage many of the aircraft parked on the field.

The 339th provided fighter cover over the English Channel and the coast of Normandy during the invasion of France in June 1944. They strafed and dive-bombed vehicles, locomotives, marshalling yards, anti-aircraft batteries, and troops while Allied forces fought to break out of the beachhead in France.

The group attacked transportation targets as Allied armies drove across France after the breakthrough at Saint-Lo in July and flew area patrols during the airborne attack on Holland in September.

They escorted bombers and flew patrols during the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 - January 1945. They provided area patrols during the assault across the Rhine in March 1945.