eBay: North American P-51 Mustang (1 Viewer)

Navalwarrior · Oct 2, 2019

drgondog said:
P-51B-5-NA. All the B-1 were 43-12093 through 43-12492. At the time this pick was taken it was not yet assigned to 4th FG as no squadron codes have been applied - also does not have apparent filler cap indicating Depot installed 85 gallon fuse tank but image is not clear enough.

Resp:
The old photo tends to suggest a WW machine, but as you noted this P-51 is a new arrival.

drgondog · Oct 2, 2019

MIflyer said:
Yes, you are right. The first flight of the first converted Mustang Mk1A was not until 13 Oct 1942. One book says that the first P-51A converted to Merlin power in the USA occurred on 30 Nov 1942, but since the P-51A was not even yet in production then, that cannot be exactly right.

Hmmm, according to the same book, Production Line to Front Line, it says that an NAA employee, George Wing, invented a new harder rivet for use in the Mustang wing that replaced nearly 800 rivets and bolts, giving a 60% weight saving and a 200 % increase in shear strength. TRUE and he started his own company after WWII. Think his first proprietary product was the Hi Shear rivet.

The prototype NA-83 AM118 test bed for the dive flaps and bomb/fuel tank racks first flew in 4-30 1942.
The NA-91 (P-51-NA and Mk IA) first flew on 5-30
The first Merlin powered Mustang was the NA-91 - never the NA-99 P-51A. The ship numbers for XP-51Bs were 41-37352 and 421. 352 first flew 11-30-42
The first P-51D was flown November 15, 1942 - was 42-106539. The fuselage that was modified was of P-51B-1-NA Spare (no assigned serial unto completed)

MIflyer · Oct 2, 2019

The USAAF ordered 400 P-51B-1-NA on 26 Aug 1942, so neither the British nor the American prototype Merlin Mustangs had flown yet.

It seems that originally 1200 P-51A's were ordered but when the significance of the Merlin version became clear they cut the P-51A order back to 310.
I do not think the first P-51D flew 15 days before the first XP-51B.

On 27 Feb 1943 two P-51B airframes, the 201st and 202nd P-51B-1-NA, built, were given back to NAA for the bubble canopy mod. It appears that actual P-51B production did not begin until April 1943. Since they were building about 10 airplanes a day and P-51A deliveries did not begin until March 1943, it seems likely that the whole P-51A production was done in a month.

Snautzer01 · Oct 3, 2019

10th WW2 Era Military Airplane B&W Negative Army Air Force, 66 472505 | eBay
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Wurger · Oct 3, 2019

Gnomey · Oct 3, 2019

Good shots!

Snautzer01 · Oct 7, 2019

VINTAGE/ORIGINAL WWII 34TH PHOTO RECON SQUADRON PHOTO LOT #6 AIRCRAFT | eBay

Snautzer01 · Oct 7, 2019

ORIGINAL WWII US ARMY AIR FORCE RUN WAY SIGNAL TRUCK WARTON 1944 | eBay

Snautzer01 · Oct 7, 2019

ORIGINAL WWII US P-51 MUSTANG FIGHTER NOSE ART SPARE PARTS IN FLIGHT PIC | eBay

Notice it is a 2 seater with a interesting story

Bauer:
6623 crashed on takeoff from Speke (airport for Liverpool) Feb 18, 1943 and SOC. Sent to USAF Base Air Depot 2 (Now RAF Warton) where it was combined with other P-51B's parts that had been dropped while being unloaded at Liverpool docks and rebuilt as an unarmed two seater named *Spare Parts*.It was used for delivering urgent small spares, as a VIP transport and (amongst other things but probably most importantly) fetching bulk supplies of Scotch whiskey from a distillery in Glasgow! In late 1944 it suffered engine failure whilst flying over the Irish Sea off Blackpool and the two occupants had to bail out; they were safely rescued, but 'Spare Parts' crashed into the sea.