Author Topic: Why was the P-51 called "Cadillac of the Sky"?  (Read 919 times)

Offline oboe

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Why was the P-51 called "Cadillac of the Sky"?
« on: July 25, 2023, 11:21:58 AM »
Just occurred to me the P-47 was bigger, heavier, and much more expensive to purchase than the Mustang, all of which seem more in line with the nickname "Cadillac of the Sky".  In fact, the Thunderbolt was the biggest, heaviest and most expensive single engine fighter of WWII, all characteristics of Cadillacs compared to other vehicles of the day.   Wonder how the Mustang got the nickname?


Offline Devil 505

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Re: Why was the P-51 called "Cadillac of the Sky"?
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2023, 01:11:52 PM »
On the 1938 Cadillac Sixty Special

“There has never been a car like the Cadillac Sixty Special,” they(automotive writers) enthused. “A car with such definite modernity of line, yet so obviously right in taste … a precedent-breaking car prophetic of motor cars not yet on other drawing boards, yet a car wholly devoid of freakish trappings.” https://amazingclassiccars.com/cadillac-history-introduction-1940/

Seems that enthusiasm could be applied to the P-51 more so than any other Allied fighter in the war.
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Offline oboe

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Re: Why was the P-51 called "Cadillac of the Sky"?
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2023, 11:10:48 PM »
On the 1938 Cadillac Sixty Special

“There has never been a car like the Cadillac Sixty Special,” they(automotive writers) enthused. “A car with such definite modernity of line, yet so obviously right in taste … a precedent-breaking car prophetic of motor cars not yet on other drawing boards, yet a car wholly devoid of freakish trappings.” https://amazingclassiccars.com/cadillac-history-introduction-1940/

Seems that enthusiasm could be applied to the P-51 more so than any other Allied fighter in the war.

Yes, those very words could apply to the Mustang!