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North
American Aviation originally designed the
Mustang in response to a British specification.
They agreed to produce the first prototype only
4 months after signing the contract in April
1940.
The
NA-73X prototype was produced in record
time, but did not fly until October 26, 1940.
By the end of 1941
North American had delivered the first Mustang
to England for test flights. These first
Mustangs were powered by the Allison V-1710
engine, a good engine, but one which didn't
operate well at high altitudes.
Significant design changes came about when the
Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 was used in the P-51B/C
and then when the bubble canopy P-51D/K was
introduced. The P-51D Mustang was the most
produced model and was favored among most
pilots. The P-51H was a redesigned
lighter-weight version but entered service to
late to make an impact on WWII. The P-51H is
noticably different in design and uses less than
ten percent of the parts from the P-51D. Another
light-weight, the P-51G prototypes were produced
and tested. Other models, like the P-51L, P-51M
never made it to production becuase the war
ended.
- P-51A,
310 built at Inglewood,
California.
- P-51B,
650 built at Inglewood.
- P-51C,
3.750 built at Dallas,
Texas.
- P-51D/K, 6.502 built at
Inglewood; 1.454 at Dallas;
200 by CAC at Fisherman's
Bend, Australia. A total of
8.156.
- P-51H,
555 built at Inglewood.
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