Here's part of an article by William Dehon, pilot of "Knocked-up Nell" in the 354th FG. His description of taking off in the P-51 is great.
"A maximum effort 48 aircraft mission...
The lead squadron was lined upon the active runway behind the flagman, with the other two squadrons lined up on each side around the perimiter taxiway.
Taxiing the P-51C was hazardous, as the long nose and tail-dragger landing gear necessitated continuous "essing". The big Merlin would load up if idled below 1300 rpm and to compound the problem the airplaine was equipped with mulitple disk brakes. Standard operating procedure demanded intermittent tapping as continuous pressure would cause over-heating and subsequent seize-up of the brakes after takeoff roll.
The landing upon return was affected adversely.
To prevent more taxi accidents, our crew chiefs would ride on the wingtip and signal the position of the plane in front of us. He was then also available for any last minute attention to the airplane before takeoff.
The ships were heavily laden with all up armament and full integrated fuel tanks as well as drop tanks. In a formation takeoff the wingman must stay well up on the wing of his leader - to drop back into his prop wash was fatal.
On my first combat mission... I turned on the active runway in trail of my element leader. Determined not to be left in his turbulance, I rounded onto the runway and blasted the throttle.
The stick began banging back and forth sidways uncontrolably. Widly seeking the cause of this serious malfunction, my eyes came to rest on the tip of the left wing. There hanging onto the leading edge with his arms, vigorously and purposefully kicking the aileron with his feet was a rather wide-eyed Sergeant Earle Osborne.
I have a better appreciation for those fighter pilots.
