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I had a different take. The A-36 project proposed and installed many different combinations on mock-ups including 37mm and 20mm/37mm combinations but the Army specified only 50 cal in the contract - which wasstructrued as a modification to NA-83.Was looking through my copy of Building the P-51 Mustang tonight and in the P-51H section, there seems to be something maybe/maybe not strange. It featured a P-51H mock up (then provisionally known as the NAA-117) with a four gun wing. Like the P-51D/K, the production P-51H could have 4 or 6 (usually 6) .50 Browning MGs. However, the guns in the mock up didn't like like Ma Deuces. Namely, they had what looked like a gas cylinder on them. The only US produced aircraft MG or cannon that was gas operated was the AN/M2, AN/M3 and M24 cannons--all based on the Hispano-Suiza HS404.
The guns in the mock up also looked like they used a feed system consistent with a Hispano cannon (drum type feeder and all).
I guess this maybe gives creedence to something I read on Secret Projects that the USAAF did favor the P-51H initially having 4 20mm Hispano cannons until the 6 .50s were standardized instead.
Well, not quite the same. The XP-82 and P-82B had the equivalent 1650-11 (R.M. 16 S.M.) (same as 1650-9A) but with speed density carb variable speed supercharger control - and right/left rotation so 1650-19/-21. Implied are engine mounts common, maybe coolant tanks but I'm not sure at this time.I thought that the only thing for sure that the P-51H and P-82 (Merlin variants) had in common was power unit components (basic engine, cooling system, maybe engine mounts and cowling were at least similar). I do doubt that most of the airframe had much in common with the P-51H--based on and exact copy are two different things IMO.
One minor difference is that the XP-82/F-82B did have the radiator inlet indented downward above the boundary layer splitter, the P-51H didn't. Interestingly, the Allison powered F-82s adopted the P-51H intake shape.
Again, citing what was said by the XP-82 restoration team, only about 5 parts or so on their XP-82 was common to a P-51D (and those were fairly minor parts), and only a few were common to the P-51H.
By the same token, I'm guessing that the P-51H had a similar evolution compared to the XP-51F/G. Again, based on the basic design, but did diverge/evolve from it.
I don't really want to mix our giant scale (1/4&1/2 roughly 1/4 scale Rc model ofvthe p 51-H . I'm constantly searching for everybidbit if info I can get . We are trying to come up with as close to scale as possible so any drawings are greatly appreciated. We have D model plans that have known profile errors so those are being corrected in the H model. Overall length come pretty well because of the ultimately larger vertical stab and rudder from what I've determined by the earlier drawing posted here . Since we are restoring our crashed D model I'm thinking of building two wings with one about 12-13% thinner airfoil . This is not much in model scale but it is in performance as was determined in early Rc aerobatic planes . The wing plan form is slightly different between D and H . This is easily done the location is different and this is much more involve in Rc model of this type I have a plan for repositioning the wing in our proto type model . we are just like a miniature North American design departmentvLOL I've been building models for nearly 55 years . Yes we will have scale 50 cal in it along with 3D printed ammo belts . This is scale stuff now . I'm used to winning things and I've dragged by son along in sports to little league World Series baseball. I played until 72. My Rc corsair flew 13 years and won 5 scale events including static and flying so I was " ace" there . There is more but we are after wings and guns today so the previous discussion was very valuable. Thank y'all . I have to get back to modeling so I'll read more later .This was touched upon in a different thread, but it seems that these programs had their genesis at much the same time (at least for the XP-82 and the XP-51 Lightweight program). But there seemed to be some cross pollination of ideas and concepts as time went on, though the programs were still ultimately separate. Even the P-51H, which owes quite a bit to the LW program, did diverge from it.
So I'm wondering if anyone can point out similarities that I don't know, divergences that I don't know, and maybe other details as far as commonalities and differences between the designs of the programs.