Photo: Boschung GlobalMietek Tybruski/Richard Paver Hangar 10
Say Mustang today and the mind immediately connects that with Ford. That’s because the horse by that name has long been surpassed in fame by the four-wheeler, and almost nobody remembers first hand the exploits of the Mustang name in the skies above the world’s battlefields in the Second World War.
There’s little doubt when it comes to the origins of the Mustang name in the Ford portfolio. Even if there are still some who say it honors the American horse, the car was actually named after the North American Aviation P-51 fighter-bomber of WWII.
The P-51 Mustang made its first flight in 1940, and was to be deployed starting 1942 in the Air Forces of the U.S., UK, New Zealand, and Canada. More than 15,000 of them were made and used well into the peace years following 1945.
There were several versions of it produced, but the one that saw most action was the P-51D. Powered by a Rolls-Royce Packard engine and packing things like six .50 caliber Browning machine guns, the airplane helped aces like Chuck Yeager, for instance, achieve their many kills in the skies over Europe. His airplane had the nickname Glamorous Glen, and that should ring some bells.
The Mustang became after the war one of the pillars of Allied Air Forces, and stayed in use well into the end of the 1950s. A good part of those who survived continued their work in the military, and later in civilian clothes, just like the one we have here.
Born as a single-seat P-51D in 1944 (we are not being told if it saw action during the war), the airplane entered service with the Air Force Reserve. It went on to be employed by the New Jersey Air National Guard, and in 1996 became part of the civilian market, and it got converted to a two-seater.
Now located in Germany, the P-51 Mustang is for sale, and is going on a specialized website for 3.3 million euros ($3.9 million at today’s exchange rates). That may seem a lot, but the extensive, 2-year restoration performed on it must have played a big part in setting the price.
The P-51 Mustang made its first flight in 1940, and was to be deployed starting 1942 in the Air Forces of the U.S., UK, New Zealand, and Canada. More than 15,000 of them were made and used well into the peace years following 1945.
There were several versions of it produced, but the one that saw most action was the P-51D. Powered by a Rolls-Royce Packard engine and packing things like six .50 caliber Browning machine guns, the airplane helped aces like Chuck Yeager, for instance, achieve their many kills in the skies over Europe. His airplane had the nickname Glamorous Glen, and that should ring some bells.
The Mustang became after the war one of the pillars of Allied Air Forces, and stayed in use well into the end of the 1950s. A good part of those who survived continued their work in the military, and later in civilian clothes, just like the one we have here.
Born as a single-seat P-51D in 1944 (we are not being told if it saw action during the war), the airplane entered service with the Air Force Reserve. It went on to be employed by the New Jersey Air National Guard, and in 1996 became part of the civilian market, and it got converted to a two-seater.
Now located in Germany, the P-51 Mustang is for sale, and is going on a specialized website for 3.3 million euros ($3.9 million at today’s exchange rates). That may seem a lot, but the extensive, 2-year restoration performed on it must have played a big part in setting the price.
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