Planes of Fame, Chino

Hi,
What is the aircraft in pics 3 and 6 from the bottom?

Paddy

I think it is a P51A with an Allison engine in it (note scoop above engine) Same as green one second from top and also similar to the one in my previous post with the Yanks Air Museum

Silver Mustang has dive brakes on under side of wings extended. I think this version was the A36???

www.nzwarbirds.org.nz/p51a.html

"The British specified that the aircraft's powerplant had to be a liquid-cooled inline engine so the 1,150 hp Allison V-1710-F3R, as originally planned for the prototype, was fitted to the Mustang I. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a turbocharger or supercharger, the Allison suffered from a rapid drop off in power at higher altitudes. Radiators for the ethylene glycol engine coolant and lubricating oil were grouped together in a distinctive, streamlined duct underneath the rear fuselage. Due to it's plenum chamber design (the duct shape moved from narrow to wide before narrowing again aft of the radiators in an automatic, hinged exhaust port) the duct had the ability to add some propulsive thrust by heating the incoming air and expelling it out the back at a higher velocity. This cooling arrangement did have a few drawbacks, namely extra weight and (more importantly) the added combat vulnerability of the long pipes that led to and from the engine. Armament was heavier than American standards of the day. Two 0.5 in Browning M2 machine guns were installed in the underside of the nose beside the engine crankcase and synchronized to fire through the propeller arc. A further two 0.5 in guns were mounted in the wings outboard of the main gear and four 0.3 in Browning machine guns were mounted further outboard on the wing.

In January 1942, Mustang Is entered service with No. 26 Squadron, RAF Army Co-operation Command where they were fitted with an F24 oblique camera behind the pilot's head armour and operated in the low-level reconnaissance role. While the first British order had been a straight sale, the costs involved in fighting a war started to take their toll on the funds available to purchase more aircraft. Consequently, the US government instigated the Lend-Lease scheme and on July 7, 1941, the US Army Air Force (renamed from the USAAC in the previous month) ordered 150 Mustangs on behalf of the RAF. Armament was changed to four wing mounted 20 mm Hispano Suiza cannons and the aircraft entered service as the Mustang IA. Only 93 of the Mustang IAs ordered for the RAF were delivered with the remainder (apart from two used in the XP-78 project) staying with the USAAF where they were designated the P-51. The majority of the USAAF P-51s had cameras fitted and were used in the tactical reconnaissance role under the designation F-6A.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941 and America's entry into World War Two, military production in that country was stepped up phenomenally. Consequently, by the time the USAAF decided that they wanted the Mustang, there was no money left in the fighter budget. There was, however, still money available for attack aircraft so the A-36A, a dive bomber variant of the P-51 was developed. This was essentially just a way of getting the P-51 into USAAF service, as they had no real need for a dive bomber. Despite this, an order for 500 A-36As was placed on April 16, 1942. The A-36A was essentially a Mustang I with the 0.3 in guns removed, underwing racks to take a single 500 lb bomb under each wing added and hydraulic dive brakes installed above and below the wings. The V-1710-F3R engine was changed to a 1,325 hp Allison V-1710-87. Just over 2 months later, 310 P-51As were ordered. These were fitted with a 1,200 hp Allison V-1710-81 engine and had four wing mounted 0.5 in machine guns, the nose mounted 0.5 in and wing mounted 0.3 in guns having been removed. This model was also used in the photo-reconnaissance role when 35 were fitted with cameras and became the F-6B. Another 50 were supplied to the RAF as the Mustang II. "

Yes you might be right there Vs. The other thing about the early a models Mustangs is one of the prototypes survives and is on display in the EAA Museum. It is XP51 NX51NA was the 4th one built and the first Mustang delivered to the USAAC. It was airworthy until the 1980s.

Werke Nummer 3523

CS + AJ Rote 6

ex-Jim Pearce