na73

North American P-51C-10-NT Mustang 44-10947 "...SOC at Searcy Field, Stillwater, OK. Sold by War Assets Corp to Paul Mantz Feb 19, 1946 as NCX1202. Won 1946 and 1947 Bendix trophy races, placed second in 1948 Bendix trophy race. Registered as NC1202, placed 3rd in 1949 Bendix trophy race. Set coast to coast speed records in both directions in 1947. Purchased by Charles Blair and prepared for round the world record attempt as Excalibur III. Attempt pre-empted by Korean War. Set record New York-London time of 7 hr 48 min Jan 31, 1951, which still stands for piston-engined aircraft. First trans-polar flight from Norway to Fairbanks, AK May 29, 1951, winning Harmon Trophy. Now with Air and Space Museum as Excalibur III. Reported in 1990 as on display in Museum of Science and Industry, Los Angeles, CA" - J. Baugher

Simple to current times, but so ahead of its time then.

The XP-51 (an actual production Mustang - 2 were given to the USAAF from the first batch of Mustang Mk Is being built for the RAF) was a "down-stream" derivative of this aircraft. This is P-509, a proposal for the USAAC, drawn in the late 1930s and refined into a more final drawing in late 1939. The Mustang family of aircraft definitely were the result of this "concept" --- but the actual aircraft built were very different in size, armament, etc.

North America's development and production of their NA-73 design for the UK was approved after 2 examples were supplied to the USAAC as XP-51, but before that the US army had already contracted for the procurement of 150 additional aircraft for supply to the UK under lend-lease, designating these P-51 and they differed from the initial eight gun armament by having four wing mounted 20mm canon (as pictured) . From this batch 93 went to the UK becoming Mustang IA 55 went to the USAAF as F-6A's and the remaining 2 were also taken on by the USAAF and re-engined as XP-51B's. Not the first models to enter combat for the US, those were A-36A's in August 1943 (P-51 with dive brakes, bomb racks and six 0.50in) which saw service in the Middle East and in the invasion of Sicily

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called P-51 Mustangs, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Forgotten Mustangs, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called AQUELLAS MAGNÍFICAS MÁQUINAS VOLADORAS , and we'd love to have this added to the group!