Author: Stan Spooner
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780964234
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 189
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Book Description
The North American P-51 Mustang had a humble genesis as a British request for single engine escort fighters but became, arguably, World War II's most important fighter aircraft. It had incredible endurance, fantastic maneuverability and excellent high-altitude performance, and served throughout World War II and beyond. This aircraft is one that holds a great deal of interest for many modellers around the world. This book takes the modeller from the aircraft's beginnings to the ultimate manifestation of this elegant and deadly bird, the F-82 G/H Twin Mustang. Special attention is paid to painting both both interiors and exteriors, with a wide range of different schemes used.
Author: Michael O'Leary
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781580071901
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
The P-51 Mustang holds a fascination unlike any other World War II aircraft, and countless books have been written about nearly every aspect of the Mustang's colorful history. However, the story of manufacturing the airplane itself is usually contained only in the opening chapters of these books. Now, for the first time, here is a major work devoted strictly to telling the story of how this legendary airplane was designed and built using rare original factory photographs, documents, and unique engineering information. The author uses 397 original photos culled from his personal archive of official North American and USAAF images, many of which have never before been seen in any publication whatsoever. This paperback book will provide a vital "missing link" in the saga of this famed World War II aircraft, and is sure to become a valued addition to the libraries of P-51 modelers, historians, enthusiasts, and pilots in both the United States and England.
Author: Paul A. Ludwig
Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing
ISBN: 9781903223147
Category : Mustang (Fighter plane)
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Not just another book on the P-51 Mustang, this detailed and controversial book forms an investigative analysis into the often - and little-known - troubled design and development history of America's premier piston-engined fighter aircraft. Supported by hundreds of rare photos and superb color artwork, author Paul Ludwig weaves a carefully crafted story.
Author: James William "Bill" Marshall
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472839641
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 354
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Book Description
During World War II, the United States Army Air Corps was led by a cadre of officers who believed implicitly that military aviation, particularly fast heavy bombers at high altitude, would be able to destroy strategic enemy targets during daylight with minimal losses. However, by 1942 the Flying Fortress was proving vulnerable to Luftwaffe fighters. This title charts the United States Army Air Force's struggle to develop a Long-Range Escort which would enable them to achieve the Combined Bomber Objectives and gain mastery of the skies over the Third Reich. The commitment of the USAAF to the Mediterranean and European theatres saw an increasingly desperate need to find a fighter escort, which reached crisis point in 1943 as losses suffered in the Tidal Wave offensive and Schweinfurt-Regensburg-Munster raids emphasised the mounting strength of the Luftwaffe. The USAAF leaders increasingly accepted the probability of bomber losses, and the deployment of the P-51B Mustang solved the problem of Germany's layered defence strategy, as Luftwaffe fighters had been avoiding the P-47 Thunderbolt and P-38 Lightening escort fighters by concentrating their attacks beyond the range of the Thunderbolt and Lightning. The P-51B duly emerged as the 'The Bastard Stepchild' that the USAAF Material Division did not want, becoming the key Long-Range Escort fighter, alongside the P-38 and P-47, that defeated the Luftwaffe prior to D-Day. As well as the P-51B's history, this title explores the technical improvements made to each of these fighters, as well as the operational leadership and technical development of the Luftwaffe they fought against.
Author: Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1524563420
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 576
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Book Description
Bud Anderson is a flyers flyer. The Californians enduring love of flying began in the 1920s with the planes that flew over his fathers farm. In January 1942, he entered the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program. Later after he received his wings and flew P-39s, he was chosen as one of the original flight leaders of the new 357th Fighter Group. Equipped with the new and deadly P-51 Mustang, the group shot down five enemy aircraft for each one it lost while escorting bombers to targets deep inside Germany. But the price was high. Half of its pilots were killed or imprisoned, including some of Buds closest friends. In February 1944, Bud Anderson, entered the uncertain, exhilarating, and deadly world of aerial combat. He flew two tours of combat against the Luftwaffe in less than a year. In battles sometimes involving hundreds of airplanes, he ranked among the groups leading aces with 16 aerial victories. He flew 116 missions in his old crow without ever being hit by enemy aircraft or turning back for any reason, despite one life or death confrontation after another. His friend Chuck Yeager, who flew with Anderson in the 357th, says, In an airplane, the guy was a mongoosethe best fighter pilot I ever saw. Buds years as a test pilot were at least as risky. In one bizarre experiment, he repeatedly linked up in midair with a B-29 bomber, wingtip to wingtip. In other tests, he flew a jet fighter that was launched and retrieved from a giant B-36 bomber. As in combat, he lost many friends flying tests such as these. Bud commanded a squadron of F-86 jet fighters in postwar Korea, and a wing of F-105s on Okinawa during the mid-1960s. In 1970 at age 48, he flew combat strikes as a wing commander against communist supply lines. To Fly and Fight is about flying, plain and simple: the joys and dangers and the very special skills it demands. Touching, thoughtful, and dead honest, it is the story of a boy who grew up living his dream.
Author: Robert Jackson
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526759918
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 269
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Book Description
An illustrated history of the renowned fighter aircraft, ideal for modelers and aviation enthusiasts: “Highly recommended.” —AMPS Indianapolis The North American P-51 Mustang was one of the most successful and effective fighter aircraft of all time. It was initially produced in response to a 1940 RAF requirement for a fast, heavily armed fighter able to operate effectively at altitudes in excess of 20,000 feet. North American built the prototype in 117 days, and the aircraft, designated NA-73X, flew on October 26, 1940. The first of 320 production Mustang Is for the RAF flew on May 1, 1941, powered by an 1,100hp Allison V-1710-39 engine. RAF test pilots soon found that with this powerplant the aircraft did not perform well at high altitude, but that its low-level performance was excellent. It was when the Mustang airframe was married to a Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin engine that the aircraft’s true excellence became apparent. Possessing a greater combat radius than any other Allied single-engine fighter, it became synonymous with the Allied victory in the air. During the last eighteen months of the war in Europe, escorting bomber formations, it hounded the Luftwaffe to destruction in the very heart of Germany. In the Pacific, operating from advance bases, it ranged over the Japanese Home Islands, joining carrier-borne fighters such as the Grumman Hellcat to bring the Allies massive air superiority. Yet the Mustang came about almost by accident, a product of the Royal Air Force’s urgent need for new combat aircraft in the dark days of 1940, when Britain, fighting for survival, turned to the United States for help in the island nation’s darkest hour. This is its story, including plentiful photos and information for modelers.
Author: Peter Blackert
Publisher: Motorbooks
ISBN: 0760361657
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 192
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Book Description
How to Build Brick Airplanes puts the power of the world's most fearsome jets in your hands—learn how to build the SR-71, the P38 Lightning, the B2 bomber, and more, from LEGO bricks. Grab some bricks, because it's time to get building! How to Build Brick Airplanes is loaded with clear, easy-to-follow designs for creating contemporary and classic jets, warbirds, bombers, and more using nothing more than bricks found in many common LEGO sets. More than just simple, generic recreations, the planes here are all scale models of their real-world counterparts. How to Build Brick Airplanes opens with simpler designs, before working up to more detailed builds. This vivid, user-friendly, and fun title is sure to bring hours of joy and airborne wonder to LEGO fans across the globe, whether you're an aviation enthusiast, LEGO lover, or looking for a project to share with little ones of your own. LEGO is the world's #1 toy company. The adults who grew up building LEGO City and Spaceports are now passing their old sets on to their children—and a new generation of LEGO builders has emerged, along with a rabid online community and celebrated custom builders.
Author: John M. Fredrickson
Publisher: Zenith Press
ISBN: 162788808X
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 227
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Book Description
Explore the WWII history of the company that later became a part of Boeing and made more aircraft from 1938 to 1944 than any other company in the United States. During World War II, Los Angeles was the ultimate boom town. By the end of the war, the L.A. area had produced 17 percent of all of America's war needs. North American Aviation, Inc. (NAA), operating out of their main Inglewood, California, plant, which is south of and adjacent to the city, was a key player in that work. From 1938 to 1944, NAA built over 40,000 aircraft, more than any other company in the United States. The bulk of them were of three iconic types designed by NAA: - The P-51 Mustang, arguably the best fighter of WWII. - B-25 Mitchell medium bombers, which saw worldwide combat. - Two-seat military pilot trainers, such as the AT-6 Texan. This is a fascinating story of a remarkable time in aviation history, when American businesses helped fund the arsenal of democracy that helped defeat the Axis powers. Warbird Factory tells this story with over 200 photographs, many of which come directly from the NAA/Boeing archives, where they have resided since WWII. This is an essential book for anyone interested in warbirds, aviation, Boeing/NAA, WWII, and/or the history of Southern California!
Author: Jarrod Cotter
Publisher: Haynes Publishing UK
ISBN: 9780857338594
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
The North American P-51 Mustang holds an important place in US aviation history as its finest fighter aircraft of all time. During the Second World War it was the only Allied fighter capable of flying to Berlin and back from Britain without refueling. Read about the Mustang's illustrious combat history and take a close-up look at how it is constructed. Discover what it takes to own and fly this classic fighter, and find out how engineers keep it airworthy. Centrepieces of this manual are co-author Maurice Hammond's Second World War-vintage Merlin-engine P-51Ds - Janie and Marinell.
Author: Robert Forsyth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472829573
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 81
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Book Description
Arguably two of the finest fighters built during the course of World War II, the Me 262 and P-51 Mustang heralded new dawns in aircraft performance. Making its operational debut in the summer of 1944, and powered by the Jumo 004 jet engine, the Me 262 outclassed Allied planes in terms of speed and firepower ratio, offering a formidable punch with four 30 mm MK 108 nose-mounted cannons. However, in the P-51, fitted with the Rolls-Royce (Packard) Merlin engine and drop tanks, the USAAF finally had a fighter that had the 'legs' to escort its heavy bombers deep into Reich airspace and back. If flown to its strengths, the P-51 was more than capable of taking on the feared Me 262 on an equal footing, despite the differences in power and top speed. Indeed, the Mustang proved to be the Luftwaffe fighter arm's nemesis. When the P-51D sortied over Germany from the summer of 1944 onwards, it shredded through the ill-trained and depleted Gruppen of the Luftwaffe's defence wings. This book examines the two fighters in detail, exploring their history and development and containing accurate descriptions of the combats between the P-51 Mustang and the Me 262 in what were some of the most bitter and large-scale aerial actions fought over Europe in 1944–45.
