Wow 2018 !
This is what is unique about the Mustang over much of its competitors.
It was more versatile! Used as a fighter and fighter bomber. Stable landing gear.
Cost less and easier to manufacture and repair.
Was the most cost effective aircraft in WW2 to operate.
It was a great Escort Fighter yet lightened was a good interceptor.
Maybe not as light as the Spitfire but close and a good bit faster!
You could not add enough fuel to a Spitfire to be an effective long range escort!
It could have been adopted for carrier use! One of the reasons for the H tail on P51H.
What made the Mustang great it was designed from the ground up for an in-line engine.
It was not a upgrade or adoption of an earlier design like the P40 and P47.
Though their reliability vastly improved because the design was sorted out unlike,the P38.
P38 was an expensive pita to build and took a long time to sort out.
Took twice the maintenance and resources and pilot training to compete on an even playing field.
The P39 was a great short range low medium fighter.
Worked great on the Eastern front.
Yet because of its poor range other aircraft took its place for offensive combat.
Then it twitchy flight performance when the nose weaponry was used up.
Lot of bent fuselages from surviving a spin.
Mustang was purpose built like the Wildcat and Hellcat. All smart useful designs.
Unlike the Corsair basically the same airframe as the P66.
Adopted for a larger engine and prop with bent wings.
Know as Ensign Eliminator for losing so many Navy Pilots.
The F4U4 is always reported better performance than the Mustang.
Yet never compare the performance when the Mustang used 44-1 fuel.
Despite that the Mustangs cruise performance was 75mmph faster.
The other false claim the P47 would have been better off in Korea.
No, it would have suffered just as bad as the Corsair and the Mustang.
The P47 had a huge oil tank, cooler and turbo system that could catch fire from AA.
It was the Corsairs Achilles heal and the Japanese pilots knew that.
And were successful shooting them down knowing that fact.
The Corsair had another issue physically wearing out from landing on carriers.
The fuselage and Wing would become bent and performance sufffered with an out of spec airframe.
The Wildcat and Hellcat did not suffer bent frames as much.
The P51 was the only new plane we built and fought with in WW2.
The US was late bringing in new designs quickly.
Almost for the same reason the Mustang got a late start in the war.
We were not desperate but the Brits were!
Ok here come the opinions!
Dan