The Allisson engined Mustangs in RAF service were Mk I, Mk IA and Mk II. Deliveries of the ordered Mustang MK I were interrupted by Pearl Harbour and the US halting shipments of anything and everything until they sorted stuff out. Whenn deliveries resumed they were under Lend Lease and named MK IA. There was still a shortfall which was made up with the MK II which had the later Allisson engine P-51 Mustang Variants - RAF - MustangsMustangs.comExcuse me, but has NO ONE corrected the info on this aircraft all this time. It's an NA-91 aircraft, 92 of which went to the RAF under Lend Lease and 58 to the US ( 1 to USN and 57 to USAAF) as "P-51" (no letter suffix --- already mentioned) "Apaches." They officially became Mustangs in the USAAF in July, 1942.
The RAFs were named "Mustang Mk IA" --- most of the USAAF's P-51 Mustangs became Tac-R aircraft after cameras were added in 3 (maybe more) locations in the US, and a couple years later were redesignated "F-6As." They kept their four 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannons (license-built by Oldsmobile), even after cameras were added. Two of the NA-91s became the XP-51B Mustang prototypes when Merlins and 4-bladed props were adapted to the airframe, along with cooling system and other changes. The one that went to the USN became a "chase plane" and sorta "never was heard of again."
The NA-97 A-36A Mustang followed the NA-91 aircraft and were NEVER officially named ANYTHING but "Mustang," although some of the pilots and groundcrewmen in the 27th FBG in the MTO wanted them renamed "Invaders," but Douglas already had that name on their excellent A-26 Invader.
What else can I tell you? OH, and I have scans of historical documents, most of which came from the USAAF and NAA, so they're PRIMARY sources, which naturally I trust over anything you can read in Wikipedia or on websites.
Please reply to me if I've made any errors in my clarification above --- I'm only human and mistype stuff alllll the time!
Thanks.
MustangTMG
P-51 Mustang in unusual camo
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Snautzer01
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It is a bit left of field but if they nailed P-51s with a dazzle pattern to the sides, it cold have worked, why did no one think about it?
Good shots!
Sorry, beg, respectfully, to disagree. Based on the documentation including the acceptance and shipping/sailing dates, there was no interruption to the deliveries of the NA-73 and NA-83 Mustang I to the RAF. First examples of the NA-73 Mustang I were shipped to the UK in October 1941, arriving in November 1941, with shipments leaving US ports continuing right through December 1941 to August 1942 on a regular basis - biggest issue was shipping space to spread delivery batches across ships in convoys so loss of one ship would not lead to large losses of crated aircraft and sailing dates of convoys. Remember the NA-73 and NA-83 Mustang I production batches had been paid for 'up front' by the UK Government and USAAF at this point in time was still not showing great interest in the Mustang I and the two NA-73 provided to the USAAF had not even been tested by the USAAF by this stage.
Now in the case of the NA-91 P-51 Mustang, Mustang IA for RAF, 150 aircraft to be provided under Lend Lease, different story. The purchase contract for the NA-91 was finalised on 25 September 1941 and the production of the NA-91 was still in its very early stages when Pearl Harbor happened - the production line was still building Mustang Is. Once the Mustang I production batch which included the contracted and pre-paid for batches of major airframe spares was finished, production commenced of the NA-91 aircraft. There was some overlap in production where there were common components between models. So certainly in the case of the NA-91 P-51 Mustang IA there was a bit of time for a decision to be made by the US Government on holding back aircraft from that production run. The UK Government/Air Ministry was not happy with the loss of airframes they were planning on receiving, but understood the position the US Government was now in. There was back and forth about the number of airframes to be retained by the US, and part of that discussion was around the number of airframes that would be suficient to support a certain level of operational use by both the RAF and USAAF. The 92 to RAF and 58 to remain in USA was what was eventually arrived at. At the time the US Government did promise to replace the airframes they were taking from the production batch with Mustangs from a later production run, but details on the exact number and sub-type the UK would receive and particularly when, was not detailed. First batch of 45 NA-91 for RAF were officially delivered and accepted at NAA in late July 1942, with first being on a ship to the UK four weeks later with dispatch from the USA to UK again largely dictated by availability of shipping space and convoy sailing dates. Last NA-91 for the RAF were delivered and accepted at NAA at the end of September 1942 and were shipped fairly soon after to UK, with last sailing in November 1942.
The information on the MustangsMustangs website on RAF Mustangs contains a number of errors, a lot of it based off old and now disproven information. Some of it is repeating old Mustang 'myths' for example the piece about the only difference between the NA-73 Mustang I and the NA-83 Mustang I being the flared exhaust stacks - it was much more than that; or for the NA-91 P-51 that the 20mm cannon were replaced by 0.50HMGs in USAAF service, also definetly didn't happen. Realistically, the whole information section on the various sub-types needs a major rework and update to improve the accuracy of the information provided to those who visit and quote the website.
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Thumpalumpacus
Major
Good lord, that gave me epilepsy.
N4521U
Colonel
Well, I'ma gonna build it Anyways!!!!!!!!!
See you in St-2-Fin!
See you in St-2-Fin!
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
If you fall down and do the fish, make sure it's among friends.
The worst that'll happen is they'll point and laugh.
Barrett
Senior Airman
The Buffalo (and TBD and other types) test dazzle patterns were shades of gray and green. Here's a modeling site: Special Hobby 1/32 F2A-1 Brewster Buffalo | Large Scale Planes
N4521U
Colonel
i Am old, missed the grey and green bit.
They say "grey and green should never be seen", which is why it is great for camo.
N4521U
Colonel
Why did I come back to This thread?
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
You're old. I can't remember why I went back to a room all the time.
fubar57
General
I can't remember what I had for breakfast
Snautzer01
Honourably banned
- 43,094
- Mar 26, 2007
Who are you people? And where is Mary?
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
Is it breakfast time??
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
And never trust a fart...I hope you all remember to go to a toilet if you need to pee.
