JonJGoldberg
Airman 1st Class
Hey plan D,
How are you?
Thanks for the help… But what did I say/type that led you to believe I had made an error? What are you trying to tell me, or remind me of?
As you said XP-51 was the first American designation, but as the 'series' goes it was the second, if you are going to be 'nit picky' the NA-73X was the first, prototypes are always 1st in the series, and I believe you are mistaken in regard to the 'order' of models... As uasual…too much info below
Original privately financed prototype the NA-73X prototype contract was signed on May 23, 1940. On May 29, a provisional RAF procurement was issued for 320 aircraft, contingent on satisfactory testing of the prototype. NAA agreed to start deliveries in January 1941. In a contract approved on September 20, 1940, it was agreed that the fourth and tenth production NA-73s would be the planes diverted to the Army. The designation XP-51 was to be assigned to these two planes.
Vance Breese flew the NA-73X for the first time on October 26, 1940. On November 20, 1940 test pilot Paul Balfour forgot to change fuel tanks, ran out of gas, and the plane ended up on its back in a farmer's field.
In December 1940, the RAF ordered 300 more of the Mustang Is which embodied minor modifications, assigned NA-73 by NAA.
The NA-73X aircraft resumed flying on January 11, 1941 and continued in the initial development program until being retired on July, 1941.
During testing there were several changes in the geometry of the ventral ducting and the controllable flaps. By the time that the NA-73 had been cleared for production, the duct had had its inlet moved downward so that its upper lip was lower than the underside of the wing, thus avoiding the ingestion of a turbulent boundary layer of air into the radiator cooler.
Since the NA-73X had encountered very few problems during tests, production for the RAF began almost immediately, but the first production Mustang I for the RAF flew for the first time on April 23, 1941, well behind the original schedule. Most of the first 20 RAF Mustang Is were retained by NAA for special measurements and trial installations, designated NA-83 by the factory.
The fourth and tenth NA-73s, XP-51s were delivered to the US Army in May of 1941 for testing at Wright Field, Ohio. Inexplicably, no Army orders were forthcoming.
NA-73s finally arriving in Liverpool on October 24, 1941, had lacked a radio, a gunsight, and certain other equipment which was by contract to be supplied by British manufacturers. The completed aircrafts were evaluated at the Aeroplane Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscome Down and by the Air Fighting Development Unit at RAF Duxford.
The newly-arrived Mustang was quickly recognized as being the best fighter aircraft yet to be delivered from the USA; it was superior to the Kittyhawk, Airacobra and Spitfire in both speed and maneuverability at low altitudes. Maximum speed was 382 mph at 13,000 feet. At all heights up to 20,000 feet, the Mustang was faster than any other fighter then in service with the RAF. Rate of climb, acceleration, speed in a dive, stability, handling in all configurations, rate of roll and radius of turn were all rated as being satisfactory to outstanding. Mustang's range was nearly double that of any other RAF single-engined fighter. It was 25 to 45 mph faster than the Spitfire V at altitudes up to 15,000 feet. Yet there was the rapid fall-off in performance above 15,000 feet, caused by its low-altitude Allison engine as it was supercharged for best performance at low levels. The relatively poor high altitude performance of the Mustang was more than just a minor deficiency, since most aerial combat over Europe at that time was taking place at medium to high altitudes.
The first RAF unit to receive the Mustang was No 26 Squadron at Gatwick which began to operate the fighter in February 1942. The first Mustang combat mission was undertaken by Flying Officer G. N. Dawson of No. 26 Squadron on May 10, 1942, strafing hangars in France and shooting up a train.
Tactical reports from RAF army cooperation units were; The Mustang I and IAs were able to take an incredible amount of battle damage; The range of the Mustang made it an excellent tactical reconnaissance aircraft and its heavy armament made it effective against most ground targets. At the time at sea level, the Mustang could run away from any enemy aircraft. The flaps were very useful in combat to reduce the turning radius. Mustang Is and IAs served with the RAF up until 1944. It knew few equals in the role of low-altitude interdiction and reconnaissance.
On March 11, 1941, the Lend/Lease Act was passed; September 25, '41, the US Army ordered 150 Mustangs under the provisions of Lend-Lease for delivery to Britain. Lend-Lease Mustangs were designated Mustang Mark IA by the RAF and NA-91 by the NAA factory. The British did not get all of these NA-91s. For contractual purposes, these aircraft were assigned the US designation of P-51. The Mustang IA differed from earlier versions in having the machine guns replaced by four 20-mm wing-mounted Hispano cannon, with most of the long barrels protruding well ahead of the wing. Throughout 1941, the Army referred to these aircraft under the name *Apache*, but this was changed to *Mustang* at about the time the deliveries began in mid- 1942, I do not have any info on the number, but as far as I can tell deliveries started with the Peterson Field Recon School in Colorado. In March of 1943, some 25 or so F-6A/P-51s were assigned to the 154th Observation Squadron at Oujda in French Morocco. This was the 1st US Mustang unit. The first mission was a photographic coverage of Kairouan airfield in Tunisia on April 10, 1943, which was the first USAAF Mustang mission of the war. The 1st combat loss was a friendly fire incident in which Allied AAA failed to recognize the difference between the F-6A/P-51 Me-109, with fatal results.
NA-73 Mustang Mk I: 1st batch of 320 aircraft for RAF
1,150-hp twelve-cylinder Vee liquid-cooled V-1710-F3R Allison engine
382 mph @ 13,000ft
Four 0.5-in and four 0.303-in machine guns (two .0.5s mounted on underside of engine fired through the prop)
Many fitted with cameras for reconnaissance
On April 16, 1942, the Army finally ordered 500 NA-97s. The NA-97 was a ground attack version and was designated A-36A. The A-36 seems to have been known by several different names--it was initially called *Apache*, which was the name that the Army initially assigned to the P-51, but there was an effort to change the name to Invader following the invasion of Sicily.
The A-36A differed from previous Mustang versions in having a set of hydraulically-operated perforated door-type dive brakes mounted on both the upper and lower wing surfaces outboard of the wing guns. The brakes were normally recessed into the wings, but were opened to 90 degrees by a hydraulic jack to hold diving speeds down to 250 mph. Armament of six 0.50-inch machine guns (two in lower fuselage nose, four in the wings) was fitted, however the two nose guns were often omitted in service. The wing guns were moved closer to the main landing gear strut in order to minimize stress under taxi and takeoff conditions.
The first A-36A flew on September 21, 1942. Deliveries of the A-36A were completed by the following March. The A-36A equipped the 27th and 86th Fighter Bomber Groups based in Sicily and in Italy. Both of these Groups arrived in North Africa in April of 1943 just after the end of the Tunisian campaign. Their first actions were attacks on the island of Pantelleria, starting on June 6, 1943. The only other Group was the 311, of which I know nothing, except they were based in India.
A-36A (NA-97) "Apache," later "Invader," finally "Mustang" dive bomber variant with hydraulic retractable dive brakes in wings
8,370 lbs normal, 10,700 lbs max
Six 0.5-in machine guns (two in lower fuselage nose four in the wings), 2 X 500 lbs bombs
Pylons for two 500-lbs bombs;
Allison twelve-cylinder Vee liquid-cooled V-1710-87 (F21R) 1325 hp at 3000 ft
356 mph @ 5000 ft "clean," 310 mph w/two 500-lbs bombs
500 built, three to RAF
The next Army contract for Mustangs consisted of an order on August 24, 1942 for 1200 NA-99 versions with the USAAF designation of P-51A, these aircraft from the start were meant to be fighters, not bombers. The first P-51A flew on February 3, 1943, and the first deliveries began the next month. 310 P-51As were actually built between March and May of 1943 as production was switched over to the Merlin-powered P-51B. 35 P-51As were fitted with twin-K24 camera installations and had their guns removed. These were designated F-6B. 50 P-51As went to the RAF, becoming Mustang IIs. The first P-51A group was the 54th, which remained in Florida for replacement training. Later, P-51As went to Asia with the 23rd, 311th, and 1st Air Commando Groups. Almost all of the P-51As served in the China, Burma, India (CBI) theatre of operations.
How are you?
Thanks for the help… But what did I say/type that led you to believe I had made an error? What are you trying to tell me, or remind me of?
As you said XP-51 was the first American designation, but as the 'series' goes it was the second, if you are going to be 'nit picky' the NA-73X was the first, prototypes are always 1st in the series, and I believe you are mistaken in regard to the 'order' of models... As uasual…too much info below
Original privately financed prototype the NA-73X prototype contract was signed on May 23, 1940. On May 29, a provisional RAF procurement was issued for 320 aircraft, contingent on satisfactory testing of the prototype. NAA agreed to start deliveries in January 1941. In a contract approved on September 20, 1940, it was agreed that the fourth and tenth production NA-73s would be the planes diverted to the Army. The designation XP-51 was to be assigned to these two planes.
Vance Breese flew the NA-73X for the first time on October 26, 1940. On November 20, 1940 test pilot Paul Balfour forgot to change fuel tanks, ran out of gas, and the plane ended up on its back in a farmer's field.
In December 1940, the RAF ordered 300 more of the Mustang Is which embodied minor modifications, assigned NA-73 by NAA.
The NA-73X aircraft resumed flying on January 11, 1941 and continued in the initial development program until being retired on July, 1941.
During testing there were several changes in the geometry of the ventral ducting and the controllable flaps. By the time that the NA-73 had been cleared for production, the duct had had its inlet moved downward so that its upper lip was lower than the underside of the wing, thus avoiding the ingestion of a turbulent boundary layer of air into the radiator cooler.
Since the NA-73X had encountered very few problems during tests, production for the RAF began almost immediately, but the first production Mustang I for the RAF flew for the first time on April 23, 1941, well behind the original schedule. Most of the first 20 RAF Mustang Is were retained by NAA for special measurements and trial installations, designated NA-83 by the factory.
The fourth and tenth NA-73s, XP-51s were delivered to the US Army in May of 1941 for testing at Wright Field, Ohio. Inexplicably, no Army orders were forthcoming.
NA-73s finally arriving in Liverpool on October 24, 1941, had lacked a radio, a gunsight, and certain other equipment which was by contract to be supplied by British manufacturers. The completed aircrafts were evaluated at the Aeroplane Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscome Down and by the Air Fighting Development Unit at RAF Duxford.
The newly-arrived Mustang was quickly recognized as being the best fighter aircraft yet to be delivered from the USA; it was superior to the Kittyhawk, Airacobra and Spitfire in both speed and maneuverability at low altitudes. Maximum speed was 382 mph at 13,000 feet. At all heights up to 20,000 feet, the Mustang was faster than any other fighter then in service with the RAF. Rate of climb, acceleration, speed in a dive, stability, handling in all configurations, rate of roll and radius of turn were all rated as being satisfactory to outstanding. Mustang's range was nearly double that of any other RAF single-engined fighter. It was 25 to 45 mph faster than the Spitfire V at altitudes up to 15,000 feet. Yet there was the rapid fall-off in performance above 15,000 feet, caused by its low-altitude Allison engine as it was supercharged for best performance at low levels. The relatively poor high altitude performance of the Mustang was more than just a minor deficiency, since most aerial combat over Europe at that time was taking place at medium to high altitudes.
The first RAF unit to receive the Mustang was No 26 Squadron at Gatwick which began to operate the fighter in February 1942. The first Mustang combat mission was undertaken by Flying Officer G. N. Dawson of No. 26 Squadron on May 10, 1942, strafing hangars in France and shooting up a train.
Tactical reports from RAF army cooperation units were; The Mustang I and IAs were able to take an incredible amount of battle damage; The range of the Mustang made it an excellent tactical reconnaissance aircraft and its heavy armament made it effective against most ground targets. At the time at sea level, the Mustang could run away from any enemy aircraft. The flaps were very useful in combat to reduce the turning radius. Mustang Is and IAs served with the RAF up until 1944. It knew few equals in the role of low-altitude interdiction and reconnaissance.
On March 11, 1941, the Lend/Lease Act was passed; September 25, '41, the US Army ordered 150 Mustangs under the provisions of Lend-Lease for delivery to Britain. Lend-Lease Mustangs were designated Mustang Mark IA by the RAF and NA-91 by the NAA factory. The British did not get all of these NA-91s. For contractual purposes, these aircraft were assigned the US designation of P-51. The Mustang IA differed from earlier versions in having the machine guns replaced by four 20-mm wing-mounted Hispano cannon, with most of the long barrels protruding well ahead of the wing. Throughout 1941, the Army referred to these aircraft under the name *Apache*, but this was changed to *Mustang* at about the time the deliveries began in mid- 1942, I do not have any info on the number, but as far as I can tell deliveries started with the Peterson Field Recon School in Colorado. In March of 1943, some 25 or so F-6A/P-51s were assigned to the 154th Observation Squadron at Oujda in French Morocco. This was the 1st US Mustang unit. The first mission was a photographic coverage of Kairouan airfield in Tunisia on April 10, 1943, which was the first USAAF Mustang mission of the war. The 1st combat loss was a friendly fire incident in which Allied AAA failed to recognize the difference between the F-6A/P-51 Me-109, with fatal results.
NA-73 Mustang Mk I: 1st batch of 320 aircraft for RAF
1,150-hp twelve-cylinder Vee liquid-cooled V-1710-F3R Allison engine
382 mph @ 13,000ft
Four 0.5-in and four 0.303-in machine guns (two .0.5s mounted on underside of engine fired through the prop)
Many fitted with cameras for reconnaissance
On April 16, 1942, the Army finally ordered 500 NA-97s. The NA-97 was a ground attack version and was designated A-36A. The A-36 seems to have been known by several different names--it was initially called *Apache*, which was the name that the Army initially assigned to the P-51, but there was an effort to change the name to Invader following the invasion of Sicily.
The A-36A differed from previous Mustang versions in having a set of hydraulically-operated perforated door-type dive brakes mounted on both the upper and lower wing surfaces outboard of the wing guns. The brakes were normally recessed into the wings, but were opened to 90 degrees by a hydraulic jack to hold diving speeds down to 250 mph. Armament of six 0.50-inch machine guns (two in lower fuselage nose, four in the wings) was fitted, however the two nose guns were often omitted in service. The wing guns were moved closer to the main landing gear strut in order to minimize stress under taxi and takeoff conditions.
The first A-36A flew on September 21, 1942. Deliveries of the A-36A were completed by the following March. The A-36A equipped the 27th and 86th Fighter Bomber Groups based in Sicily and in Italy. Both of these Groups arrived in North Africa in April of 1943 just after the end of the Tunisian campaign. Their first actions were attacks on the island of Pantelleria, starting on June 6, 1943. The only other Group was the 311, of which I know nothing, except they were based in India.
A-36A (NA-97) "Apache," later "Invader," finally "Mustang" dive bomber variant with hydraulic retractable dive brakes in wings
8,370 lbs normal, 10,700 lbs max
Six 0.5-in machine guns (two in lower fuselage nose four in the wings), 2 X 500 lbs bombs
Pylons for two 500-lbs bombs;
Allison twelve-cylinder Vee liquid-cooled V-1710-87 (F21R) 1325 hp at 3000 ft
356 mph @ 5000 ft "clean," 310 mph w/two 500-lbs bombs
500 built, three to RAF
The next Army contract for Mustangs consisted of an order on August 24, 1942 for 1200 NA-99 versions with the USAAF designation of P-51A, these aircraft from the start were meant to be fighters, not bombers. The first P-51A flew on February 3, 1943, and the first deliveries began the next month. 310 P-51As were actually built between March and May of 1943 as production was switched over to the Merlin-powered P-51B. 35 P-51As were fitted with twin-K24 camera installations and had their guns removed. These were designated F-6B. 50 P-51As went to the RAF, becoming Mustang IIs. The first P-51A group was the 54th, which remained in Florida for replacement training. Later, P-51As went to Asia with the 23rd, 311th, and 1st Air Commando Groups. Almost all of the P-51As served in the China, Burma, India (CBI) theatre of operations.
