Two Seat P-51B Night Fighter?

[MIflyer]

Here is an interesting photo that should provide some inspiration for a modeling effort. The photo is of a P-51B "War Weary" modified with a second seat and Perfectos equipment that triggered Luftwaffe FUG-25 IFF sets so to enable them to be homed on. The RAF used Mossies equipped with gear to attack Luftwaffe night fighters, and it seems this Mustang was modified for a similar mission.

 

[Wurger]

The 350 FS of the 353FG ... LH-L s/n. 42-106751 ... here without the anttenae.

the source: media-400750.jpg | American Air Museum

 

[BarnOwlLover]

I wonder how this compares to the similarly modified P-51D from 1945 that was made into a two seater and fitted with some night fighting equipment? This also means that said Mustang wasn't the first such conversion.

 

[MIflyer]

The P-51D I recall seeing a photo of had a second seat and a split bubble canopy. But it had a radar and was used in daylight for spotting airplanes up ahead to support a fighter group's sweeps. The P-51B shown above does not have a radar but a system for triggering Luftwaffe IFF's and homing in on them; as a result it did not need a radar to find targets. I guess we do not know if it was ever used operationally, but it would have been pretty pointless to equip it on that fashion and not go where Luftwaffe night fighters were operating.