Following combat experience the P-51D series introduced a "teardrop", or "bubble", canopy to rectify problems with poor visibility to the rear of the aircraft. In America, new moulding techniques had been developed to form streamlined nose transparencies for bombers. North American designed a new streamlined plexiglass canopy for the P-51B which was later developed into the teardrop shaped bubble canopy. In late 1942, the tenth production P-51B-1-NA was removed from the assembly lines. From the windshield aft the fuselage was redesigned by cutting down the rear fuselage formers to the same height as those forward of the cockpit; the new shape faired in to the vertical tail unit. A new simpler style of windscreen, with an angled bullet-resistant windscreen mounted on two flat side pieces improved the forward view while the new canopy resulted in exceptional all-round visibility. Wind tunnel tests of a wooden model confirmed that the aerodynamics were sound.

The new model Mustang also had a redesigned wing; alterations to the undercarriage up-locks and inner-door retracting mechanisms meant that there was an additional fillet added forward of each of the wheel bays, increasing the wing area and creating a distinctive "kink" at the wing root's leading edges.

Other alterations to the wings included new navigation lights, mounted on the wingtips, rather than the smaller lights above and below the wings of the earlier Mustangs, and retractable landing lights which were mounted at the back of the wheel wells; these replaced the lights which had been formerly mounted in the wing leading edges.

The engine was the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 series, fitted with a two-stage, two-speed supercharger.

The armament was increased with the addition of two more .50 in (12.7 mm) AN/M2 "light-barrel" M2 Browning machine guns, the standard heavy-calibre machine gun used throughout the American air services of World War II, bringing the total to six. The inner pair of machine guns had 400 rounds per gun, and the others had 270 rpg, for a total of 1,880. The B/C subtypes' M2 guns were mounted with an inboard axial tilt, this angled mounting had caused problems with the ammunition feed and with spent casings and links failing to clear the gun-chutes, leading to frequent complaints that the guns jammed during combat maneuvers. The D/K's six M2s were mounted upright, remedying the jamming problems. In addition, the weapons were installed along the line of the wing's dihedral, rather than parallel to the ground line as in the earlier Mustangs.

The wing racks fitted to the P-51D/P-51K series were strengthened and were able to carry up to 1,000 lb (450 kg) of ordnance, although 500 lb (230 kg) bombs were the recommended maximum load. Later models had removable under-wing 'Zero Rail' rocket pylons added to carry up to ten T64 5.0 in (127 mm) H.V.A.R rockets per plane. The gunsight was changed from the N-3B to the N-9 before the introduction in September 1944 of the K-14 or K-14A gyro-computing sight. Apart from these changes, the P-51D and K series retained V-1650-7 engine used in the majority of the P-51B/C series.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a USAAF North American P-51D Mustang fighter that was nicknamed "Detroit Miss", and piloted by Lieutenant Urban L Drew, who was attached to 375th Fighter Squadron, 361st Fighter Group on October 1944. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 6-1/4-inches
Length: 5-1/4-inches

Release Date: March 2022

Historical Account: "Detroit Miss" - Already an 'Ace' pilot by the time he was asked to lead a fighter protection flight covering a deep penetration bombing raid into Germany on October 7th, 1944, Urban L. Drew was also one of only three USAAF pilots to have encountered the new Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter during a combat mission over enemy territory. As this was to be a 'Ramrod' mission, once the fighters had protected the bombers through the target area, they were free to go 'hunting' for targets of opportunity and as an expert low altitude flyer, Drew was hoping that he and his personal P-51D Mustang; "Detroit Miss"; would encounter one of the Luftwaffe jet fighters again. With the bombers heading for home and the Mustangs of the 375th Fighter Squadron over Osnabruck, the same area where Drew had seen one of the German jets previously, he noticed two of the unusual aircraft moving on the airfield at Achmer below. Immediately placing his Mustang into a steep dive and pushing the throttle to maximum, he knew he would only have one chance to fire on the jets, because once they got into the air, not even a Mustang at full power could hope to catch one. As he raced towards the airfield at almost 450mph and at treetop height, the lead jet was already in the air and the second aircraft had started its take-off run - was he already too late?

By now, the anti-aircraft gunners at Achmer airfield had sprung into action and they were extremely proficient at their job. With their well-trained guns now targeting Drew's yellow nosed Mustang, it was time to get as far away as possible, as quickly as possible. Remaining at low altitude and using the trees for cover, Drew maintained full power and tried to place as much distance between his Mustang and the scene of his famous double jet victory. By the time he arrived back at base, news of his double success had already begun to circulate and there was quite a crowd around "Detroit Miss" revetment area as she taxied in. At that time, the 8th Air Force had started to introduce the use of color film in fighter gun cameras, but its use had been proving somewhat problematic. The new color film had been in use for this mission, but as Drew's crew chief removed the film canister from "Detroit Miss", hoping that the day's events would yield some unique images for the US publicity department, they were to be disappointed - the film had jammed yet again and no film had been exposed. In actual fact, none of the fighters loaded with color film for that mission came back with exposed film.

With the incident clearly being of huge interest to military planners, Drew's account of the mission was thoroughly studied and just a few days later, the victories were confirmed on the direct orders of General Jimmy Doolittle himself. Without the gun camera film evidence, Drew never really knew if this confirmation was simply for Eighth Air Force morale purposes, or if the General was privy to top secret information, but whichever was the case, he was happy to be one of the few Allied pilots of the war to achieve victories over the new German jet fighter and one of only two USAAF pilots to score a jet double on a single mission.

Many years later, a military historian was looking into the fascinating story of this double jet victory and decided to try and corroborate details of the combat victory claim. Contacting officials in the German War Records Office, she was hoping to locate any former Luftwaffe personnel who may have been at Achmer airfield on the day Drew and his "Detroit Miss" made their attack and incredibly, she was in luck. Seventy-eight victory ace pilot Oberleutnant Georg-Peter Eder was flying Messerschmitt Me 262 jests with Kommando Nowotney at Achmer on the day of the attack and was able to give a German perspective of events. With the new German jets proving to be a revelation, it was nevertheless proving a challenge introducing this new technology at that stage of the war, flight testing aircraft and training pilots while under almost daily enemy air attacks. October 7th was scheduled to be a significant day for the Luftwaffe and their Messerschmitt Me 262, as on this day, Kommando Nowotney were finally hoping to commit the new jet against the enemy in something approaching unit strength for the first time.

Ace pilot Eder was due to take part in this full-strength attack on the latest USAAF raid over Germany, but as he taxied his aircraft out to the runway, it developed a technical issue and he was forced to return to the hangar to have it checked. Standing on the wing of his fighter talking to his crew chief, they were both alerted to the sound of an American Mustang fighter screaming in low over the airfield boundary and firing at the jets which were just taking off. Eder was able to confirm that two of his comrades were shot down by the aggressively flown Mustang and while he could not definitively confirm the identity of the American fighter, he did confirm that it was a Mustang with a full yellow nose. This new information, combined with Drew's combat debrief report submitted at the time was enough to convince US Military officials that the double jet kill claimed by Drew on October 7th, 1944, was valid and finally officially confirmed the victories. In May 1983, Urban L. Drew was awarded the Air Force Cross, in recognition of his wartime service and status as an air 'Ace'.