Mustangs to the Rescue

Amazon sells more than 70,000 books related to World War II. “untold story” Wings of War’s blurb from the publisher should be questioned. This short book by David Fairbank White and Margaret Stanback White recounts the impact of North American Aviation’s P-51 Mustang on the success of the bombing campaign against Nazi Germany. In truth, it is a well-known tale recounted in many books, but for WWII buffs, it reminds one of the old joke: After the crash of 2008, a man kept calling his stock broker’s office. He answered, “It was a suicide attempt.” “I know, I just like the sound of it.” So it is with this story. It’s so rewarding to continue reading about the amazing drama and triumphs of war. This book is a welcome addition.

Field Marshal Hermann Göring, the head of the Luftwaffe, reportedly told Allied interrogators that when he saw the Mustangs accompanying American B-17 bombers over Berlin, he knew “the jig was up.” For the first time in history, the German fighter aircrafts were no longer able to make clear runs at the bombers. Instead they faced a stronger opponent. Getting the leadership of the Army Air Force to adopt the Mustang as the bombers’ principal fighter escort, however, was its own struggle.

P-51 (P stood for all fighters, and was based on their classification as “pursuit” In the 1930s, planes were being designed by Edgar Schmued, a brilliant German immigrant. British officials requested that American companies submit plans to build a new fighter to replace the Supermarine Spitfire. North American Aviation, Schmued’s company, produced the plans and a mock-up for the Mustang (named by the British) in about three months. It was beautiful. It still looks great today, as the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum has a replica. The P-51 test version performed just as well as it looked. The P-51 test version was able to fly at speeds of 400 mph, climb 2300 feet per second, and fly more than 2,080 miles without refueling. This is far better than any German fighter.

British ordered the first version of the plane, but the 1,120-horsepower Allison engine produced insufficient power above 25,000 feet. This meant that the P-51 could only fly at 25,000 feet.