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From 27th Aug 1944 to 24th April 1945 Bomber Command heavies flew 153 daylight raids, sometimes putting over 1,000 bombers over a target, that all required escort.
Okay, let me spell it out.
I would suspect the other poster was referring to the RAF's use of Mustang IIIs in the fighter bomber role in the lead-up to D-Day and the period up until the end of September 1944 when the aircraft swap between AGB/FC and 2TAF occurred.
Yes, and No. The P-51B was assigned to TAC by Air Defense Directorate in approximately May 1943. That said, while the 354th, 357th and 363rd were originally assigned to 9th AF, several key actions changed the course. First, Eaker appealed for Mustangs and Lightnings in July 1943 - ASAP. Second, Arnold changed priorities for new P-38 FGs (55th and 20th) from MTO to ETO. Third, he asked Portal to trade Mustang III delivered through 1943, for future deliveries. Fourth, authorized 8th AF Operational control over IX FC (ALL IX FC including P-51B/P-47D) which extended through April, 1944. Fifth, while 8th was not able to acquire 354th and 363rd FG outright, Spaatz was able to trade P-47D 358FH for 357 FG (P-51B) effective Jan 31st, 1944. The 355th FG was tasked for P-47D to P-51B after 56th FG turned down the conversion, and received about 20 P-51Bs. Last, Blakesleee convinced Doolittle that the 4th should be next - and committed to on the job 'education' as you stated above. The 355th turned over their consignment after Big Week and flew its first P-51B mission on Feb 28th. The 4th returned their 'laners' back to the 355th on the 8th of March and the 355t flewits first 'all P-51B' op on March 9th.
To further clarify the Mustang III 'role' in RAF. It's first and primary mission was TAC under Leigh Mallory - but Arnold persuaded Portal to continue loaning RAF squadrons to mid-range daylight escort of 8th AF (no 85 gallon fuselage tanks until the P-51B-10s started arriving). IIRC they returned to TAC command and control near the end of April when the Rail Campaign took very high priority.
From memory, there were four, maximum six, Mustang Mk.I used for weapons trials including the trials of the "low attack wing". (I have the details of the aircraft involved somewhere in the copies of the relevant AM files that I have). The reduction in the wing armament to the single machine gun was similar in concept used for the Hurricane equipped with the 40mm cannon pods, to assist with aiming the larger cannon and minimal self defence capability. Ditto for the aircraft fitted with the rocket rails. The removal of the nose guns was a weight saving measure and they were also not considered essential to be fitted during the trials. As it was, the trials showed that whilst the Mustang equipped with the "low attack wing" would be an improvement over the Hurricane, the negative impacts on the performance of the Mustang would make it vulnerable operating in a highly contested environment. As it was, they were already looking at the Typhoon as the best alternative for the CAS role, given its greater engine power and more rugged airframe.
The Mustang was not purchased by the AM or RAF for Army Co-operation. They were purchased as another fighter type aircraft, likely to be useful in the defence of the UK or as a fighter type in RAF service in overseas commands. At the time they were ordered in 1940, the RAF was looking for fighter aircraft from all sources to increase the available numbers and offset potential for shortfalls in UK production due to German attacks on aircraft plants in the UK. At the time the Mustang was ordered, the standard aircraft for ACC Squadrons was the Westland Lysander and the RAF had not yet experienced in the Battle of France what would happen to aircraft like the Lysander when they came up against enemy fighters and flak. What types of higher performance aircraft might be of use in future Army Co-operation Squadrons given what happened in France did not start to occur until August-September 1940 - the time when you see consideration of equipping the Army Co-operation Squadrons with Fairey Battles or B.P. Defiants, or even specialist types capable of dive bombing to answer the British Army's demands for a Stuka equivalent to support them (Chesapeakes, Bermudas, Vengeances) but a preference was being shown for Hurricanes, which were not available at the time because of the demands made by FC. The Tomahawk which was coming through from the French orders and early RAF orders was considered a suitable alternative to the Hurricane and so that is why the AC Squadrons started to receive them. Even as late as mid to late-1941 before the first Mustangs arrived in the UK, the then formed ACC was lobbying for the release of Hurricanes to be used for AC Squadrons and repeatedly being rejected by FC. Of note, at the time the Mustang made its first flight, Army Co-operation Command had not even been formed (formed 1 December 1940, first Mustang flight 26 October 1940), and what was the Army Co-operation Group, 22 Group, still resided within Fighter Command.
The difference in NAA Delivery of P51A versus P-51B-1 was about four weeks. The difference between first flights were more than 3 months due to the aforementioned delays to provide NAA the Packard Merlin 1650-3.
100 longer range fighters in the west are not going to do a lot to the Luftwaffe, the Mediterranean and Red Air Forces did a lot of the damage July/August 1943 part of the reason for the German pull back, as well as the raids launched from Britain. And there are not 500 spare two stage Merlins available without disruption to Spitfire output. As of 30 June 1943 the Luftwaffe quartermaster recorded 1,849 single and 194 twin engined fighters on strength, total 2,043 as of 30 November it was 1,789 single and 315 twin, total 2,104.
Actually given what the 8th was doing at the time and where its losses were being taken your statement is incorrect. How many of the bomber losses is a Mustang X force expected to save versus historical losses?
The initial oblique camera installations were basically in the areas where the rear quarter windows in the cockpit were, immediately behind the pilot's head's armour plate. Some of the radio equipment and supporting ancillaries got moved from that area for the initial oblique camera installation, so there is in fact little moved into the fuselage where a fuselage fuel tank might go. The vertical camera mount was just in front of the rear tailwheel bay, so again, not where the fuselage tank was placed in the later Mustang models - in fact in the USAAF modified Tac/R Merlin engine Mustangs they could have the cameras and the fuselage tank.
As noted the NA-91 P-51/Mustang Mk.IA only had 150 delivered, if as you propose a re-engining program were initiated earlier, potentially greater pressure would have been placed to produce more of that model. If the re-engined Mustang was seen as a stop-gap long range escort by the USAAF for their bomber operations over Europe, it may have kept derivatives of the cannon armed Mustang in production longer and in greater numbers than they were. As it was the RAF had been planning on receiving follow on additional orders of developments of the NA-91 but the US entry into the War in December 1941 changed that and other than the 50 P-51A/Mustang II they received in part compensation for the P-51/Mustang Mk.IA they did not receive from the initial order, they never received the Allison engine versions of the Mustang in the quantities they had projected or hoped for - partly due to change to Merlin engined Mustang to meet the long range capable fighter priorities.
