This is not the document I was talking about, Im still looking for it. If I recall that document was for a ~1944 field modification that did have a 10-rocket capacity, but I'm still looking...
However, this one technicaly supercedes it and adds a lot of clarity to the debate on this issue. How HiTech and Pyro wish to proceede with this information is their complete discretion, as usual... but one can assume they are aware of this information.
USAAF HQ Technical Order #01-60JE-27
October 18, 1945
http://p51h.home.comcast.net/~p51h/sig/TO/01-60JE-27.pdfFigure 2, 5 and 12 within are of key interest.
This is from October '45, after the war, but still, it is an order issued by the USAAF to NAA Inglewood and Dallas factories to set the (and a very familiar) standard. Prior, all rocket kits were installed by USAAF crews after delivery.
This doucmentation seems to proove, although not affirmatively due to being issued post-war to the factories for installation prior to further deliveries, what the USAAF standard is/was as intended or otherwise. It implies (Figure 2) that 1000lb
AND 110gal Combat Drop Tanks (with a whopping 1/2" clearance
), in combination with a standard load of
six (6) post-type rockets (5" HVAR). Maybe more importantly is what this diagram shows a definitive lack of, and that is any wiring or fire control system capacity for more than 6-rockets total.
NOW!... let's have a look at the wiring diagram for this instalation (Figure 5)... we have, to each wing - 1, 2, and 3 circuits - with 6 total. This does not include the bomb control switches and relays that drop the eggs and tanks (and that - looking at this diagriam and some of the AP ordnances Chalenge showed in the first post of this thread - alone was developing to be more complicated (salvoed or chemical weapons). Further down you will see that only hardware was provided and described for the instalation of 6 rockets (3 each wing).
So... now we know what the army standard for new mustangs was.. in October of 1945...
so what IS the standard!?!?!... field kits and, as was likely a problem, a wide array/vareity of field modification kits. I'm pretty sure one was for 10-rocket, but how sure (and how common, and when), I don't know for certain yet.
If the 6-rocket standard IS THE standard, I wish the use of 1000lb bombs and 110gal combat drop tanks were retained/included for consistency. If a change is decided though, to go with a much wider and vaster variety of field modifications as was done during WWII (it seems), I think it will mean a lot more changes/time will need to spent on it.