P-51D Mustang
Military History
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range single-seat World War II fighter aircraft. Designed and built in just 117 days to a specification issued to NAA by the British Purchasing Commission, the Mustang first flew in Royal Air Force (RAF) service as a fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft before conversion to a bomber escort, employed in raids over Germany, helping ensure Allied air superiority from early 1944. The P-51 was in service with Allied air forces in Europe and also saw limited service against the Japanese in the Pacific War.
At the start of Korean War the Mustang was the United Nations' main fighter but the role was quickly shouldered by jet fighters, including the F-86, after which the Mustang became a specialised ground-attack fighter-bomber. In spite of being superseded by jet fighters the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s.
As well as being economical to produce, the Mustang was a fast, well-made, and highly durable aircraft. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650, a two-stage two-speed supercharged version of the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, and was armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns.
The Foundation P-51D aircraft was painted in the markings of Capt. Herbert G. Kolb's P-51D "Baby Duck". Captain Kolb was a West Point graduate who was credited with 14.5 ground kills while serving in the U.S. Army 8th Air Force, 353rd Fighter Group, 350th Fighter Squadron, based at Raydon, England in 1944-45. Five of these kills were attained while flying the original "Baby Duck" aircraft, which was lost in action later in World War II.
Read more information on the P-51 Mustang from the free online resource 'Wikipedia'.
P-51D-25-NA - Constr #: 122-31945 - Serial No: 44-72086 (U.S. Army Air Force)
| Date | Squadron |
|---|---|
| 1944 Aug 23 | Inglewood, CA (Manufactured) |
| 1945 Jan 20 | Delivered to USAAF 8th AF This aircraft was one of the first 12 new replacement Mustangs included in an initial order of 46 P-51D aircraft destined for the Royal Swedish Air Force. Assigned to 1409th Army Air Force Base Unit (AAFBU). Based at Station 366 Air Transport Command European Depot Air Base Metfield (near Norwich), Suffolk, England. Under "Project Speedy", this unit was entrusted with the logistics associated with the first delivery of P-51Ds to the Swedish Government in March 1945. |
| 1945 Apr 10 | Delivered to the Royal Swedish Air Force or "Flygvapnet". Designated as aircraft #26009. Assigned to the F16 Wing. The aircraft was named "Elvira" (L) and painted with the cartoon figure of "Panchito" (L) and coded Red "E". |
| 1953 May 20 | Delivered to the Dominican Republic Air Force or "Fuerza Aerea Dominicana" (FAD). Designated as aircraft #1936. Initially assigned to Escuadron Caza Ramfis. Primarily based at the San Isidro airbase. Later Assigned to Escuadron De Combate. |
| 1964-1965 | Refurbished by Trans-Florida Aviation, Inc. at their Sarasota, FL facility. One of ~27 P-51Ds refurbished. |
| 1968 Jul | As part of the U.S. Military Assistance Program (MAP) and "Project Peace Hawk", a general overhaul and IRAN (Inspect and Repair as Necessary) was conducted by a Field Team of the Cavalier Aircraft Corporation, performed at San Isidro airbase. |
| 1968 Nov 21 | Suffered extensive damage as the result of a forced landing. While undergoing a protracted rebuild, the backseat area was fitted with rudimentary instruments and controls. |
| 1984 | Prior to being removed from service, underwent an in-house IRAN program performed by the mechanics of the Grupo de Maintenamiento at the San Isidro airbase. |
| 1984 May 19 | Acquired by Johnson Aviation, Miami, FL (Brian O'Farrell) |
| 1986 Apr | Registered as N789DH |
| 1987 | Acquired by Vintage Air, Yardley, PA (Joe E. Scogna) - Assembled by Fort Wayne Air Service, Baer Field, IN. - Flown as 415137 / Baby Duck / LH-R |
| 1994 | Registered as N510JS |
| 1996 | In Storage |
| 2008 Dec | Acquired by Mustang Historic Military Aircraft, LLC. - Maintained and Operated by Warbird Heritage Foundation under a Bailment Agreement - Restored to airworthy condition by Tab-Air, Inc. of East Troy, WI. |
| 2011 Jul 8 | First Post-Restoration Flight |
| 2012 | Began airshow perfomances |
| 2012 May | Registered as N251PW |
* Information in blue above, Copyright © 2002-2013 by J.L. Dienst and L. Hellstrom. Used here with prior permission. This information may not be reproduced, copied, distributed, published, modified, or furnished to third parties, without the prior writtem consent of the authors.
RESTORATION
The Warbird Heritage Foundation began a project to restore the North American P-51D Mustang, Serial No. 44-72086, to airworthy condition in December of 2008. The aircraft had been in storage since 1996 when we took delivery. You can follow along with the restoration activities via our photo link below. The restoration project was completed, and the aircraft made it's first post-restoration flight on July 8, 2011.
VLADO LENOCH
Pilot, Vlado Lenoch, loved to fly the Warbird Heritage Foundation's P-51D "Baby Duck". Vlado perished, while doing what he did best, in a tragic airplane crash July 16, 2017. Please visit our tribute page dedicated to Vlado.
SPECIFICATIONS
| Manufacturer: | North American Aviation, Inc. |
| Model: | P-51D-25-NA |
| Year Built: | 1944 |
| Constr # / Plant: | 122-31945 / Inglewood, CA |
| Serial No: | 44-72086 (U.S. Army Air Force) |
| N-Number: | N251PW |
| Engines: | One |
| Packard "Rolls Royce" Merlin V-1650-7 liquid-cooled supercharged V-12 | |
| 1,490 hp. / 1,720 hp. at WEP | |
| Length: | 32 ft. 3 in. |
| Height: | 12 ft. 2 in. |
| Wingspan: | 37 ft. |
| Weight: | Empty: 7,635 lbs. |
| Max Takeoff: 12,100 lbs. | |
| Performance: | Range: 2,300 miles |
| Range: 1,200 miles - Internal Fuel | |
| Ceiling: Over 41,900 ft. | |
| Stall Speed: 100 MPH | |
| Cruise Speed: 362 MPH | |
| Max Speed: 437 MPH at 25,000 ft. |
GALLERY
Explore the photos of our aircraft on this page by clicking the play arrow, or click on the square in the upper right hand corner to go to full screen. Once on the page, click play. To return to this page, click upper right hand button again. In full screen mode, you can double click the image to get a close-up view.
Historial Photos
Photographer: Unknown - Copyright © 2002-2018 by J.L. Dienst and L. Hellstrom.
In-Flight Photos
Interior Photos
VIDEOS
Selected P-51 video clips are available for your viewing, courtesy of Airshowstuff.com