| The P-51 Mustang was an American long-range single-seat
fighter aircraft that entered service with Allied air forces
in the middle years of World War II. The P-51 became one of
the conflict's most successful and recognizable aircraft.
The Mustang was a well-made and rugged aircraft. The definitive
version of the single-seat fighter was powered by the Packard
V-1650-3, a two-stage two-speed supercharged 12-cylinder Packard-built
version of the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, and armed
with six aircraft versions of the .50 caliber (12.7 mm) Browning
machine guns.
After World War II, many Mustangs were converted for civilian
use, especially air racing.
The Mustang's reputation was such that, in the mid-1960s,
Ford Motor Company's Designer John Najjar proposed the name
for a new youth-oriented coupé after the fighter.
|
