I LOVE THE BIRD CAGE!!!: These were the first models to be fitted with the Merlin engine and four-bladed propeller. The original conversion was made in Great Britain by Rolls Royce by the installation of the Merlin 61 engine in the Mustang II. The success of the conversion was such that steps were immediately taken by North American to redesign the P-51 to take the 1,520 hp Packard V-1650-3 (Packard built Merlin 68 with two-stage supercharger and aftercooler) which was at that time going into production in the United States. The airframe was strengthened to take the new engine, the radiator installation was redesigned, new ailerons were installed and streamline racks for long-range fuel tanks or two 500-lb bombs were added under the wings. The bomb load was later increased to two 1000-lb bombs. The new design was originally given the designation XP-78 but this was later changed to P-51B. The P-51B and P-51C were put into production in 1943, the P-51C at North American's Dallas plant and the P-51B at the Inglewood plant.
The first Merlin-engine Mustangs were delivered to the 354th Fighter Group of the 9th Air Force in Great Britain on December 1, 1943. The P-51B first went into action as a fighter on December 17, 1943 and on January 15, 1944 P-51Bs with drop tanks made their first long-range mission as fighter escort to heavy bombers of the 8th Air Force over Germany. A modification which had no bearing on the designation was the introduction of the "Malcolm Hood", a backward-sliding bubble canopy intended to improve visibility on a variety of P-51B, P-51C and F-6A models. This modification was first undertaken by the RAF, but was subsequently adopted by the USAAF as well.
SpecsTYPE: Single seat, long-range escort fighter.
(This aircraft modified with a rear seat)
DIMENSIONS: Length 32 feet 3 inches; span 37 feet;
height 12 feet 2 inches
ENGINE: One Rolls-Royce(Packard) Merlin liquid-
Cooled V-165O-7 engine developing 1,49O HP
WEIGHT: Empty 7,635 pounds, maximum loaded 12,1OO
Pounds.
ARMAMENT: Four Colt-Browning M2 .5O-inch machine guns
with a total capacity of 1,OOO rounds;
external mounts up to 1,OOO pounds of bombs
or six High Velocity Aerial Rockets.
PERFORMANCE: Maximum Speed: 5O5 miles per hour,
Cruising speed: 362 miles per hour,
Service Ceiling: 41,6OO feet;
Range: 1,OOO miles
Sources:
http://www.354thpmfg.com/FighterAircraft_P51Mustang.htmlhttp://redtail.tempwebpage.com/media/docs/P51C%20Specs.pdf
