The P-51 Mustang
By Roel Bazuin
- 5 minutes read - 997 wordsThe American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts.
The fighter plane was the main asset of 122 Squadron. And is still flown by enthousiasts.
Following combat experience the P-51D series introduced a "teardrop", or "bubble", canopy to rectify problems with poor visibility to the rear of the aircraft.
The P-51D became the most widely produced variant of the Mustang[1]. A Dallas-built version of the P-51D, designated the P-51K, was equipped with an 11 ft (3.4 m) diameter Aeroproducts propeller in place of the 11.2 ft (3.4 m) Hamilton Standard propeller.
Engine
The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 66 two-stage two-speed supercharged engine.
The engine sound’s like this.. or try 14 P-51 Mustangs Simultaneous Engine Run and Takeoffs.
Armament
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Guns: 6 × 0.50 caliber (12.7mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns with 1,840 total rounds (380 rounds for each on the inboard pair and 270 rounds for each of the outer two pair).
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Rockets: 6 or 10 × 5.0 in (127 mm) T64 H.V.A.R rockets. Later models had removable under-wing 'Zero Rail' rocket pylon.
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Bombs: 1,000 pounds (450 kg) total on two wing hardpoints. Each hardpoint: 1 × 100 pounds (45 kg) bomb, 1 × 250 pounds (110 kg) bomb or 1 × 500 pounds (230 kg) bomb).[2]
The wing racks fitted to the P-51D/P-51K series were strengthened and were able to carry up to 1,000 lb (450 kg) of ordnance, although 500 lb (230 kg) bombs were the recommended maximum load.
NEI Delivery and assembly
Before V-J Day [3], the Netherlands received 40 P-51D/K’s for use by the Netherlands East Indies Air Force. [4].
The delivery was in March, April and June 1945 (10x P-51K and 31x P-51D respectively). Of these 41 aircraft, 40 reached the ML-KNIL in Australia; they had numbers N3-600 through N3-640. They were transported to Australia by ship.
In Australia, the Mustangs were prepared at RAAF depots. [5] The first in May and June 1945, so before the Japanese surrender on 15 August.
19 aircraft (N3-600 / 618) were supplied with the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force Personnel & equipment pool (NEI-PEP).
In April 1942, the NEI Personnel & Equipment Pool (NEI PEP) was established in Canberra.
This unit initially had primarily a depot function for 18 Squadron and over time 120 Squadron. Later a training function was added.
Many crews received additional training during rest periods at the Mitchells and Kittyhawks present at the NEI PEP. Newly trained pilots who came from the RNMFS from America were made aware of the flight conditions in Australia at this squadron, before they were placed in operational units.
In the summer of 1945, the squadron was moved from Canberra to Bundaberg in Queensland. After the capitulation of Japan, it served there for some time as a training unit for ex-prisoners of war from the ML-KNIL.
drs. A. Staarman
The rest only came into Dutch possession between October 1945 and March 1946.
Stationed
The Dutch P-51 were operated by the 120 (Biak, Nieuw Guinea) [6], 121 (Tjililitan, Batavia) [7] and 122 Squadrons (Polonia, Medan)[8] of the KNIL Army Air Corps (KNIL-ML).
When Indonesia became independent on December 27, 1949, its air arm (the Angkatan Udara Republic Indonesia, or AURI) was slated to receive two squadrons of P-51D Mustangs from the departing Dutch.
In June of 1950, the Netherlands East Indies Air Force was officially disbanded and the surviving Mustangs were transferred to the Indonesian Air Force.
Indonesian Mustangs participated in several internal conflicts and remained in service with the IAF until replaced by Russian fighters in 1959. [9]
Notes