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.

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 licence-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 1:48 scale replica of a USAAF North American P-51D Mustang fighter that was piloted by Lt. Col. John Landers and nicknamed "Big Beautiful Doll," which was attached to the 78th Fighter Group, during December 1944. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 8-1/2-inches
Length: 7-1/2-inches

Release Date: May 2013

Historical Account: "From Longhorns to Dolls" - John Dave Landers (August 2nd, 1920 - September 12th, 1989) was a colonel in the United States Army Air Forces. He flew with the 9th Fighter Squadron in the Pacific commanded the 357th Fighter Group and the 78th Fighter Group during World War II.

By January 1942, Landers was posted to the 9th Fighter Squadron of the 49th Fighter Group in Australia, flying the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. He named his P-40, "Texas Longhorn". With only 10 flying hours, he embarked on his first combat missions over the Pacific.

Landers was assigned to the 38th Fighter Squadron of the 55th Fighter Group at RAF Wormingford in April 1944. Landers continued to score aerial victories against Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and Messerschmitt Me 410 over France and Germany, first in the P-38 and then the North American P-51D Mustang, after the 55th FG converted in July 1944. Replica of Landers' aircraft

Promoted from Captain to Major, he took command of the 38th FS. During this time he was involved in what is regarded as the longest fighter escort mission. His flight accompanied heavy bombers on a 1,600-mile sortie over Poland and spent approximately seven hours in flight. While with the 38th FS, he destroyed an additional 2 enemy aircraft in aerial combat plus one damaged.

Newly promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, Landers was temporarily assigned as commanding officer of the 357th Fighter Group between October and December 1944 at RAF Leiston. Landers also destroyed one enemy aircraft, while flying with the 357th. He returned to the U.S. in December 1944, and returned to Europe in February 1945.

In February 1945, Landers took command of the 78th Fighter Group at RAF Duxford. He was credited in destroying another 3.5 enemy aircraft in the air, including a shared victory over a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. From July 1945 until the war's end, he commanded the 361st Fighter Group from July 1945 until his return to the U.S. in October 1945. Landers left active duty in December 1945. During the war, Landers was credited with destroying a total 14.5 enemy aircraft in aerial combat plus one damaged, and 20 more on the ground while strafing enemy airfields. He flew several P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang aircraft that were named "Big Beautiful Doll."