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North American P-51 Mustang

The North American P-51 Mustang was an all-metal low-wing monoplane Pursuit aircraft with an inline engine, and a large protruding air intake on the bottom of the fuselage just aft of the cockpit location.  Originally developed in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission as an alternative to the P-40, these aircraft eventually served with the USAAC, the UK, Austalia, Canada, China, France, Polish Forces in Great Britain, and South Africa during the war.  In addition the USSR recieved a number of these types but did not use them in front line service during the war.  After the war several additional nations procured some of these aircraft, including Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Indonesia, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Somalia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, and Uruguay.  

Per reference [8] it took its first flight on 26 October 1940, and entered service in January 1942 with the Royal Air Force.  The P-51 was built in several variants, with the primary variants analyzed at this website being:
 The P-51B and P-51C were in general identical, with the P-51B being built in the North American Plant in Inglewood CA while the P-51C was built in Dallas TX.  The P-51B/P-51C aircraft were configured with a razorback fuselage while the P-51D was configured qith a bubble canopy.  Per reference [8] over 15,000 of this type aircraft of all variants were built.  

As shown in the images below distinguishing features of this aircraft including;
P-51
[Image Sources: Public Domain via Ref [8] - as annotated by this site]

 P-51B_3-viewP-51D_3-view
[Source: Ref [8] - Public Domain]

The table below summarizes the current data collected on this type aircraft, identifying sources for the data

    P-51B & P-51C P-51D Source Notes
Primary Source   1 2 3,5
No of Crew   1 1
Engine:  
   Qty   1 1
   Model   V-1650-3 V-1650-7
   Displacement  (cu in) 1650 1650
   Power  
     Military (HP) 1600 1720
     War Emergency (HP)    
    Normal (HP)
    Take Off (HP) 1280 1315
   Eng Dims  
     Length (ft)
     Width/Dia (ft)
     Height (ft)
   Base Engine Wt (lb) 1700 1715
Propeller  
   # Blades   4 4
   Dia (ft) 11.17 11.17
   Manufacturer   Hamilton Std
   Type   Const Speed Const Speed
Wing      
   Span (ft) 37.03
   Root Thickness (%) 15.8%
  (in) 15.8
   Total Area  (sq ft) 233.19 236
     Wing (less Ailerons & Flaps) (sq ft) 188.24
     Ailerons (sq ft) 12.73
     Flaps (sq ft) 32.22
Tail Area (sq ft) 61.05
   V Tail Area (sq ft) 20.02
     Fin (sq ft) 9.61
     Rudder (sq ft) 10.41
   H Tail Area (sq ft) 41.03
     Stabilizer (sq ft) 27.98
     Elevator (sq ft) 13.05
Total Control Surf Area (sq ft) 68.41
Length  
   Overall (ft)  
   Fuselage (ft) 27.8
   Body  (ft)
     Body Depth (ft) 11.13
    Body Width (ft) 2.92 2.92
Fuel Tank Volume (gal) 269.8
   Wing Tanks (gal) 184.8
    FuselageTanks (gal) 85
Oil Tank Volume (gal) 13.8
Water Injection Fluid Tank Volume (gal)
Wetted Area (sqf) (sq ft) 862.12
Pwr Ldng (lb/HP) 7.70
Wing Ldng (lb/sq ft) 42.88
Struct. Des. GW  (lb) 8000
Ultimate Load Factor (G's) 12
Design Speed (mph) 537
Not to Exceed Speed (mph)
       
Total Struct Weight   2813 2693
   Total Wing   1066 1027
     Wing      
     Ailerons      
     Flaps      
     Fuselage Carry-Through      
   Tail   183 188
     H Tail     121
       Stabilizer      
       Elevator      
     V Tail     67
       Fin      
       Rudder      
   Body + Eng Section + LG  
   Body + LG   1564 1478
   Body   783 725
     Fuselage   509  
     Engine Section   274  
   Landing Gear   781 753
     Mn Landing Gr     661
     Tail/Nose Aux LG     92
   Tail Hook  
   Booms  
   Nacelles  
Total Propulsion Weight   3292 3391
   Engine w/ Accessories   1670 1780
   Engine(s) as Installed     1692
     Accessories     88
    Turbocharger(s)  
   Controls   30 31
   Propeller(s)   483 479
     2-Blade      
     3-Blade      
     4-Blade   483 479
   Starting System   25 22
   Water Injection System  
     Tanks      
     Piping Etc      
   Cooling System   663 604
   Lube System   101 112
     Tanks      
     Piping Etc      
   Fuel System   320 363
     Tanks      
     Piping Etc      
Total Sys. & Eqpmt.   883 966
   Instruments   48 50
   Surface Controls    108 118
   Hydraulics   57 54
   Electrical Equip   176 189
Electronics (Purple means incl in Furn/Gray in Useful Ld)   163 161
   Arm Prov/Equipment & Armor   246 292
    Furnishings   85 102
   Anti-Ice (If not in Furn)  
   Other /Misc  
     Hoisting Gear  
     Floatation Gear  
     Armor Plate      
   
Empty Wt   6988 7050
Basic Mission Useful Load     3069
   Crew   200
   Equipment  
   Oil   94
   Fuel   1614
   Fuel & Oil Trapped in Systems  
   Water Solution for Engine Injection  
   Bombs/Torp Etc  
   Radio (if Not Included in Empty Wt)  
   Nav Equipment  
   Oxygen System  
   Armament   1014
     Guns & Ammo     1014
       Guns     450
       Ammo     564
     Pyrotechnics      
     Camera      
     Other      
   Other Useful Load   147
Basic Mission GW     10119

Notes: This website has been developed with a number of low cost or free programs including Hot Metal Pro, KompoZer, MicroSoft Designer and Da Button Factory.com

Rev 3-13-25

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