P-51 Mustang! Trivia Quiz

Answer: North American Aviation

At the time of the P-51 contract NAA was only producing SNJ trainers and B-25 bombers.

Answer: Manufacturing P-40 Warhawks

Self originally approached NAA with a deal to produce P-40 fighters under license from Curtiss. At the time these were the only US fighters even close to European standards. At any rate, the NAA officials told Self that they could design a new fighter.

Answer: True

This is one of the shortest design periods of all time. More amazing is that the P-51 was designed in such a short period and was an amazing aircraft. The Army Air Corps were so impressed by the new aircraft that it ordered two examples for itself.

Answer: Laminar-Flow Wing

The Laminar-Flow wing was designed to take advantage of the aeronautic phenomenon known as laminar flow. Simply put, a laminar flow occurs when two or more air streams run parallel to each other, creating an area of smooth air. Turbulent, or non-parallel air is known as "rough".

This is why cigarette smoke flows up when there is no breeze. The design of the wing to take advantage of the flow gave the P-51 extremely low drag.

Answer: Decreasing performance above 15,000 feet

The Mustang I was a very good airplane. However, due to the Allison V-1710 engine, performance rapidly dropped off at 15,000 feet. This stopped the aircraft from being exceptional. The Mustang I was not the airplane that would be immortalized.

Answer: A-36 Apache

The A-36 Apache was a ground attack version of the P-51. It featured six M2 machine guns (which would become standard armament for all Mustang aircraft) and the ability to carry two 500-lb bombs. It saw combat in North Africa, becoming the first USAAC Mustang variants to see action.

Answer: Packard Merlin V-1650

Rolls-Royce testers began experimenting on Mustangs. They settled on the Merlin 61 engine for an experimental Mustang known as Mustang X. The engine boosted the top speed and high altitude performance. Packard was licensed to build the engine under the name V-1650. With this engine, the true Mustang was born.

Answer: 15

The P-51B and C models were able to escort bomber formations deep into Europe. With its long range and high speed, it proved to be the perfect escort fighter. 15 fighter groups where equipped with the fighter.

Answer: Thomas McGuire

Thomas McGuire - P-38 ace who fought in the Pacific.
Chuck Yeager - flew P-51s over Europe, scored 11.5 victories
Bud Anderson - Pilot of the famous "Old Crow", scored 16 1/4 victories making him a "triple ace"
Robin Olds - P-38 and P-51 pilot, later known for his exploits in Vietnam

Answer: Armament, bubble canopy

The D model started as an attempt to cure the phenomenon of P-51s spinning uncontrollable at low speed and altitude. The problem was cured but a clear bubble canopy was added and the armament was increased to 6 M2 machine guns, the same as on the A-36 Apache.

Answer: It was faster

P-51B/C was slightly faster than the P-51D. This may have been because of the "razorback" design, but the P-51B/C was almost 30 mph faster than the D model.

Answer: Down a jet fighter

Chuck Yeager flew his P-51D (Glamorous Glen III) for most of the war. He suprised a Me-262 on its landing approach and shot it down. Yeager scored 11.5 kills in total over the course of the war. He was later known for breaking the sound barrier in the X-1, named Glamorous Glennis.

Answer: V-1s

Since the P-51B/C was much faster than standard P-51Ds, they where modified to use high-octane fuel to chase down and destroy V-1 bombs over England.

Answer: Vulnerbility of the cooling system

The Mustang had a liquid cooling system that would be knocked out of commission by one hit by small arms fire. The problem became more apparent when more Mustangs where pressed into ground-attack action. This problem was never really cured and continued to be a disadvantage into the Korean War.

Answer: 6:1

Overall, in the ETO Mustang pilots claimed 4,950 aircraft destroyed in the air and 4,131 destroyed on the ground for a total loss of 850 aircraft. Suprisingly this is not the highest kill ratio. The F6F Hellcat got a higher kill ratio and more pilots became aces on the Hellcat than any other aircraft.

Answer: H

The P-51H was developed from experimental Mustang versions. This plane utilized the new V-1650-9 engine. The plane ended up being one of the fastest propeller driven aircraft of all time, reaching 487 mph or Mach 0.74.

Answer: Range

Multiple F-51s were called out of storage to fight the Communist forces in Korea. Flown from Japan, the F-51s were used to hit long distance targets that the F-80's could not hit. The F-51 was as always easily damaged by a hit to the cooling system, but it soldiered on throughtout the war in the face of heavy loses.

Answer: F-82

The F-82 was a design featuring two P-51s coupled in the center. The aircraft was used as a replacement for the P-61 Black Widow. Unlike most other coupled designs, the F-82 was a great plane and downed the first three aircraft in Korea. Other spin-offs where the Cavalier Mustang (a civilian modified Mustang with increased performance) and the PA-48 Enforcer (a version of the Cavalier Mustang for COIN operations).

Answer: FJ Fury

The FJ Fury was created by marrying the laminar flow wings to a jet engine. The aircraft was later modified for swept-wings but the P-51 design directly influenced the Fury. Later, the F-86 Sabre was based off the FJ Fury. In this way, the P-51 was a direct ancestor to the F-86 Sabre.

Answer: Saudi Arabia

Israel received P-51s from the US. China also had some before it was Communist and there were reports of Cuban P-51s during the Rio Pact.