P-51B/C gin sight.

[Chops]

I am building the Eduard 1/48 P-51B (or was it C?) In the markings of Major George Preddy, the version I am building is the one prior to adding the Malcom Hood and D Day stripes.
please could anyone tell me the type of gunsight likely to have been fitted? Eduard produce an upgrade set of different U.S gunsights in 1/48 but I'm wondering which to use.

 

[Airframes]

It would be the N3 type. The Eduard set is a future release, but a set of this type is available from Quickboost. See pic below.

 

[Wurger]

Actually it is quite difficult to state .. in the pic of the 42-105451 it can't be noticed.

However in these two below the gunsight looks like the British MK II* one. But the serial of P-51B/C isn't provided.

the pic source: Preddy, George E | Crazy Horse Aviation Photography

 

[MIflyer]

Well, for what its worth, here is the P-51A maintenance manual info. The P-51B pilot's manual looks almost identical.

 

[Airframes]

That certainly looks like the British Mk.II sight in those photos, and appears to be on a custom mount too, as the standard N3 sight protruded up through the instrument cowl, as seen in the manual illustrations.
The RAF Mk.II sight is also available in resin from Quickboost and other manufacturers.

 

[Chops]

Actually it is quite difficult to state .. in the pic of the 42-105451 it can't be noticed.

View attachment 794729

However in these two below the gunsight looks like the British MK II* one. But the serial of P-51B/C isn't provided.

View attachment 794728
View attachment 794730
the pic source: Preddy, George E | Crazy Horse Aviation Photography

I haven't seen the top photo before but the sight (from what I can see of it) looks like the bottom right one of the Eduard sights in picture 1 top left in picture 2. Not sure what this sight is though

 

[Wurger]

Do you mean the one? If you do that's the K-14 gunsight. It was used for the D and late variants of the Mustang. However it happened these were reto-fitted to the the B/C kites too. IMHO it wasn't used for the particular P-51B.

 

[Airframes]

Nope, the Eduard sight mentioned is the K-14 gyro sight, a licence-produced version of the British sight, fitted to the P-51D series late in 1944 onwards.

 

[Gunsights]

The Sight as shipped to the RAF by North American would be the N-3 type as shown in the Flight Manual previously posted.
But , many times these sights were changed out to the Standard RAF MK II sight in the field.
This also happened with many
P-47's in theater.

 

[MikeMeech]

Hi
Page 233 of 'The Mighty Eighth War Manual' by Roger A Freeman has some information on the Reflector Sights used:

'British Aircraft Armament, Volume 2: RAF Guns and Gunsights from 1914 to the Present Day' by R Wallace Clarke, is also useful, including this picture of the Mk II* on page 158:

Mike

 

[Chops]

The Sight as shipped to the RAF by North American would be the N-3 type as shown in the Flight Manual previously posted.
But , many times these sights were changed out to the Standard RAF MK II sight in the field.
This also happened with many
P-47's in theater.

Thank you, so it looks like fitting either the N-3 or MK II.
As there are no definitive pictures of the sight used by George Preddy in his original P-51B I'll use an N-3 in the first P-51 and MK II in the one with Malcom Hood and D Day stripes (using the picture above as reference) to give slight changes in the models.