Revell 1/32 North-American P-51D Mustang Late Version # 03838

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is a single-seat, long-range fighter and fighter-bomber that saw action in World War II, the Korean War, and other conflicts.

The Mustang was created in April 1940 by a North American Aviation (NAA) design team led by James Kindelberger in response to a British Purchasing Commission need.

North American Aviation was approached by the Purchasing Commission to construct Curtiss P-40 fighters for the Royal Air Force under licence (RAF).

Instead of building an older design from another business, North American Aviation proposed designing and manufacturing a more modern fighter.

The prototype NA-73X plane was unveiled on September 9, 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed, and it flew for the first time on October 26. 

The Allison V-1710 engine was used in the Mustang, which had restricted high-altitude performance in earlier versions.

The aircraft was first used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a tactical reconnaissance and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I).

The P-51B/C (Mustang Mk III) type was created by replacing the Allison with a Rolls-Royce Merlin, which improved the aircraft's performance at altitudes over 15,000 feet (4,600 m) (without sacrificing range), allowing it to combat with the Luftwaffe's fighters.

The P-51D was equipped with six.50 calibre (12.7 mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns and was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the two-speed, two-stage supercharged Merlin 66.

The USAAF's Eighth Air Force used P-51Bs and P-51Cs (supplemented by P-51Ds from mid-1944) to escort bombers in raids over Germany beginning in late 1943, while the RAF's Second Tactical Air Force and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force used the Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, roles in which the Mustang helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944.

Allied aviation forces deployed the P-51 in the North African, Mediterranean, Italian, and Pacific theatres.

Mustang pilots claimed to have shot down 4,950 enemy planes during WWII.

The Mustang, renamed the F-51 at the start of the Korean War, was the United States' primary fighter until jet aircraft, such as North American's F-86, took control; the Mustang subsequently became a specialist fighter-bomber.

The Mustang remained in service with various air forces until the early 1980s, despite the introduction of jet fighters.

Mustangs became popular civilian warbirds and air racing aircraft after the Korean War.