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.

The range would be further increased with the introduction of an 85 US gal (71 imp gal; 320 l) self-sealing fuel tank aft of the pilot's seat, starting with P-51B-5-NA ("block 5"). When this tank was full, the center of gravity of the Mustang was moved dangerously close to the aft limit. As a result, maneuvers were restricted until the tank was down to about 25 US gal (21 imp gal; 95 l) and the external tanks had been dropped. Problems with high-speed "porpoising" of the P-51Bs and P-51Cs with the fuselage tanks would lead to the replacement of the fabric-covered elevators with metal-covered surfaces and a reduction of the tailplane incidence. With the fuselage and wing tanks, plus two 75 US gal (62 imp gal; 280 l) drop tanks, the combat radius was 880 mi (1,420 km).

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a USAAF North American P-51B-5 Mustang fighter that was piloted by Ray Wetmore, and nicknamed "Daddy's Girl", which was attached to the 370th Fighter Squadron, 359th Fighter Group, then deployed to France, during June 1944. Sold Out!

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

Release Date: September 2009

Historical Account: "Daddy's Girl" - Ray S. Wetmore was a leading U.S. Army ace of World War II. Born in Kerman, California, Wetmore enlisted in the Army in November 1941 at age 18 and entered pilot training eight months later. Upon commissioning in March 1943 he joined the new 359th Fighter Group which was sent to England in October that year. Flying with the 370th Fighter Squadron, in February and March 1944 Wetmore scored his first 4.25 victories flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. Upon conversion to P-51 Mustangs the group ranged farther afield and Wetmore became a 20-year-old ace with a double victory on May 19th, downing two Me-109s. At month's end his tally was 8.25. At year's end he was a captain with nearly 15 kills, flying a Mustang named Daddy's Girl.

During World War II, Wetmore had a funny story during the Battle of the Bulge. Wetmore and his wingman, Lieutenant John F. McAlevey, were sent to the Battle of the Bulge. American gunners on the ground were told to shoot at anything they heard. The problem was, it was extremely cloudy, so American gunners shot at their own planes as well as German planes. As Wetmore was flying, a piece of flack hit his wing and burst open his wheel. His wing lit on fire, but Wetmore didn't notice. His wingman, McAlevey, shouted "You're hit, Wetmore!". Wetmore did a complete nosedive and extinguished the fire. McAlevey, who had also been hit, landed his plane in France, where he would return to England the next day.

Upon return from leave in the U.S., then-Captain Wetmore scored steadily from November 1944 to January 1945. In that period he downed 12 more enemy fighters including 4.5 FW-190s on January 14th. His final victory was a rocket-powered Me-163 on March 15th. His final score was 21.25 destroyed and one damaged in aerial combat, highest score in the 359th Group and eighth best of all Americans in the European Theater. On VE-Day he was a 21-year-old major.