1944 P-51 MUSTANG FIGHTER AIRPLANE AVIATION PHOTO -WWII

1944 P-51 MUSTANG FIGHTER AIRPLANE AVIATION PHOTO -WWII

BEAUTIFUL SLEEK P-51 MUSTANG FIGHTER PLANE, CIRCA 1944! This would be a fantastic addition to your collection! It is an 8 x 10 inch glossy black and white real photo with white border. A reproduction made from the original 1940's photo. It is crisp and clear and perfect focus. In mint condition. You will love it! I will ship in a photo mailer for safety. (Note: ONLYCLASSICS-WEB-IMAGE print-does not appear on product-only on scan). In other words-the photo you get has no writing on it. Check out my other auctions for other great special interest, auto racing and motorcycle prints, posters and photos. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------THE HISTORY--------------------------World War II: It was decided by Allied commanders that a full time strategic bombing campaign would cripple the enemy over time and allow ground troops the advantage they needed to first stop the advancing German Army and then push them back into Germany. This included the practice of daylight bombing raids on German targets. The 1st daylight bombing mission by a US unit was on 4th July, 1942. Two out of the six RAF A-20s were lost. On 17 August 1943, 60 out of 183 American bombers were lost! Almost all the losses coming beyond the range of the bomber escort. In October of 1943, another 60 were lost in a single day. The bombers of these daylight missions were taking very heavy losses each day from Luftwaffe pilots until an escort fighter could stay with them deep into enemy territory and home again. Enter the North American P-51 Mustang. The bomber crews nicknamed them their "little friends." It all started in 1939, when the British needed more fighter aircraft. They showed interest in the Curtiss P-40 Warhark and the Bell P-39 Aircobra amoung others. Neither were their first choice, but that was the best that the Americans had and the British could not wait for any new designs. They decided the P-40 would be the one. James H. "Dutch" Kindelberger, president of North American Aviation, was approached by the British to build the P-40 at the North American production facility because Curtiss Aircraft was at full capacity. Kindelberger told the British that it would take 120 days to tool up for the P-40. North American Aviation was under contract to produce training aircraft for the British. Then Kindelberger somehow, with no real evidence that it could be done, convinced the British that North American Aviation could design and build a new fighter that was better than the P-40. The new fighter would fly faster, higher, farther, be more maneuverable and pack more firepower. The British took NAA at their word because they had performed well with British orders for the NAA Harvard trainer. British approval by letter of intent was given on 10th April 1940. Shortly after, 23 May, a contract order was placed by the British for the first 320 aircraft designated NA-73. NAA vice-president Lee Atwood was sent to Curtiss Aircraft to pick up the wind tunnel data of the Curtiss XP-46 that NAA purchased for $56,000 at British request. Kindelberger put Edgar Schmued in charge of the new design. Others who worked with Schmued included Ed Horkey, Raymond Rice , Larry Waite and Art Chester. After 78,000 man hours and 102 days later, the prototype, NA-73X, rolled out of the hangar - without an engine. 18 days later, the Allison V-1710-39 was ready and on 26 October 1940, NX19998 took to the skies for its maiden flight with test pilot Vance Breese at the controls. On 9 December 1940 the British Purchasing Comission sent a letter to North American Aviation stating that the NA-73 airplanes have been given the official designation of "Mustang". Back in 1938, Kindelberger had visited the German aircraft factories of Heinkel and Messerschmitt and used what notes he took to help in setting up an extremely efficient production line. At peak times NAA produced 857 P-51s in one month! Production was so good that there were rows of completed P-51Ds at the NAA factory in Inglewood, CA just waiting for delivery pilots. Part of the US approval for export to Britain was that 2 examples of the Mustang would be turned over to the USAAF for evaluation. The US was very slow to evaluate the new fighter designated XP-51. After evaluation they were also slow to place orders, but interest picked up and orders were placed by the US which included the A-36 Apache. The A-36 was a P-51A set up for dive-bombing ground attack. In all over 15,000 P-51 Mustangs of all types were built from 1940-1945. Significant design changes came about when the Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 was used in the P-51B/C and then when the bubble canopy P-51D/K was introduced. The P-51D was the most produced model and was favored among most pilots. The P-51H was a redesigned version but entered service to late to make an impact on WWII. The P-51 Mustang is credited with providing very effective long range bomber escort. The Allied daylight bombing campaign proved extremely successful by strangling the support lines of the enemy and nearly stopping the production of war-time machinery. The P-51 Mustang and the men that flew them saved lives in the skies and on the ground. Thanks for looking!..p1043

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