The P-51 Mustang

bettis1

bettis1

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I sent this to several of you as individuals and got a pretty positive response so I thought I'd post it here for all to enjoy. Very much worth spending 30 minutes watching.

Bob


The P-51 Mustang

What an emotional experience...and a most excellent video! Whether you know anything about aviation or not, I think that you may find this to be one of the most enjoyable films that you've ever seen on the internet!
Well worth 30 minutes of your time to watch it thru to the end of the credits and note who the singer is (be sure to click the little icon and watch it full screen).

http://www.asb.tv/videos/view.php?v=1bf99434&br=500
 
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Wow, great video. I was lucky enough to attend the Gathering of Mustangs airshow. I'll never forget it, looking down two rows of P-51's as far as the eye could see.
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I built a Mustang out of strips of balsa wood and tissue paper when I was a kid; have always thought it was a beautiful plane.
 
Haven't seen the film yet, and this may be in it. But how many of you knew that the Mustang was built for the RAF originally? It was with them that it first saw action, and I suspect that the British had the idea of hooking up a Merlin engine to it in lieu of the Allison, letting it reach its full potential.

However, some Allison-engined Mustangs served well over Burma, with the US First Air Commando Wing. They didn't as often fight at high altitude as over Europe, and the Allison engine usually sufficed, although it fell off badly at much over 14,000 feet.

A relative few P-40's (the P-40F) were given Merlin engines, but I can't find anything about how well they did compared to the Allison-engined ones. Some P-40F's were used in Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa.

T-Star
 
Thanks Bettis1. I'm sitting here right now with tears in my eyes. I saw that video once before and it did the same thing. I lost a cousin on his first mission with the Eighth Air Force in England...and I've got a next door neighbor, also an Eighth Air Force crewman, that was wounded on his fifth mission....and his plane was shot down on the sixth.

These guys deserve all of our respect.

We have changed so much as a country. We have put politicos in office that have no idea what it is to be an American.

These were our true heros.

God bless them.
 
My friend has a P51-D. I rode a 30 minute hop in it and we flew over the Air Force Academy and the cadets came out and saluted as we did a fly over. One of my greatest memories! Would never have imagined a prop plane could pull such G's or do such stunts. My knees were weak and I was almost unable to stand when I got out.
 
I live right outside the US Navy Master Jet Base at Oceana and see the F-18 Super Hornets most everyday. They are impressive I guess. They sure are loud. The sight and sound of a WWII fighter plane is very exciting to me. The P-51 is the king of the heap for the land based fighters. That's a good video. Thanks for that.
 
Absolutely wonderful video, many thanks to the poster. My father has passed away and flew in a bomber in WWII and I know he would have enjoyed it too.
 
My all time favorite airplane, I'll have to watch the video when I get home, can't at work.

This is however, the current wallpaper on my computer,

Thanks for sharing...
 

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It's for sure the most impressive propeller-fighter!

The swiss-army got allways good taste. Here the Swiss-version.
Swiss_Air_Force_P-51_Mustang_side_v.jpg


Swissman
 
Thank you, Bob.

What an outstanding video and tribute.

I'll be sure to pass this along to the aviation enthusiasts in my circle of family and friends.
 
Thank's for the link, good video! Although the P-51-D would be meat on the table for a P-38-LO, it's a fine pursuit ship!
 
My dad worked at Newark's Curtis Wright Corp. during WW2. P-51's were flown in and were disassembled and crated for shipment to the ETO. He loaded the crates for transport to Port Newark. He always loved that plane. He used to say it looked like it was going 500mph while sitting o the ground (it still does). Happy New Year everyone.
 
Watching this vidio is probably the most enjoyable thing I will do today. My father is a WWII, ETO veteren. He was stationed at Air bases in No. Africa, Italy, Corscia and France as part of a AAA battalion. I will try to show this to him this afternoon. I'm sure he saw his share of P51's in his 33 months overseas. Yes, it brought tears to my eyes too.

LTC
 
Watching this vidio is probably the most enjoyable thing I will do today. My father is a WWII, ETO veteren. He was stationed at air bases in No. Africa, Italy, Corscia and France as part of a AAA battalion. I will try to show this to him this afternoon. I'm sure he saw his share of P51's in his 33 months overseas. Yes, it brought tears to my eyes too.

LTC
 
The Air Guard still had Mustangs here in Wyoming when I was a kid.

I was thrilled over and over as they flew over head at the ranch.

I came to know and love the sound of that Merlin engine and would run out to watch them as they passed.

50 years later, living in town and on a ridge near the airport, many planes pass overhead down low above my house.

Every year, they have an air show at during the Frontier Days Rodeo.

I can hear them coming, it's a merlin, IT'S A MUSTANG!!

Just like when I was a kid, I race out doors and watch that beautiful plane pass overhead.

That plane and the men who flew them say more to me than anything in the world about who we are.........:)

or were.:(
 
Vulcan Bob said:
Thank's for the link, good video! Although the P-51-D would be meat on the table for a P-38-LO, it's a fine pursuit ship!
Click to expand...


This puzzles me. Usually, the P-38 is considered slower than a P-51, won't turn as tightly, won't roll as well, and can't climb or dive as well. Uses more fuel, too.

So, how do you figure? Will the LO version do something better than a Mustang? Really asking because I want to learn, not being mean.

For what it's worth, Royal Navy Captain Eric Browne was a test pilot who flew about all Allied and Axis planes of WW II. He wrote that if his life was at risk in a dogfight, he'd rather be in a Spitfire MK XIV than any other WWII fighter, but he admired the P-51D/Mustang IV and the FW-190 greatly.

He was a veteran of aerial combat over Europe, and once had a hairy afternoon flying a Spitfire IX against an equivalent FW-190. He had the advantage in the horizontal, and the German had the vertical advantage. Eventually, neither got the advantage on the other and they broke off and parted ways. Browne had great respect for the Focke-Wulf, especially for its rate of roll. That's one advantage that it had over the Spitfire.

I do know that enemy pilots feared the Mustang greatly, although some regarded the P-38 with disdain. All those who wrote that were German, as far as I know. The Jap pilots feared the Lightning.

Unlike with the German planes, the P-38 could outdive the Japs, and the late P-38's with enhanced flaps could actually turn inside a Zero, a pretty significant accomplishment. It was, of course, much faster than most Japanese fighters. I think that only the Ki-100 might equal it on speed. Maybe the George 12. I'd have to check specs. The Frank was about 25 miles slower.

T-Star
 
Swissman said:
The swiss-army got allways good taste. Here the Swiss-version.
Swiss_Air_Force_P-51_Mustang_side_v.jpg


Swissman
Click to expand...

Swissman-

Thanks! I hadn't seen a Mustang in Swiss colors in such detail until now.

By the way, I saw images of the new (2008) issue Swiss Army knife last night. Very similar to the present German knife, also made by Victorinox. Some rubber pads on the handle seem to be the main difference. How is this knife being viewed by the troops, as compared to the model issued from 1961-2008? I'll be curious how long the serrated blade stays sharp.

T-Star
 
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