3. The P-51 Mustang fighter plane
“Go in close, and when you think you are too close, go in closer.” Major Thomas B. ‘Tommy’ McGuire, USAAF
Thousands of the long-range, single-seat fighter known as the North American Aviation P-51 Mustang were produced to aid the Allied war effort. Production began in 1940 and by 1945 each plane cost $50,985, North American Aviation decided on creating a new design rather than building from an old design. The vehicle was extremely adaptable and served across all the theatres of the war.
The first combat action the Mustang fighters participated in took place on 10th May 1942, when RAF pilots flew them against the Luftwaffe. By the end of the war, the 15,000 Mustangs that had been produced had claimed 4,950 enemy aircraft. The main role of the Mustang was to help escort bombers on raids into the Nazi-held territory, but they were also valuable in the China-Burma-India theatre as well, where they operated in both ground support and bomber escort.
By the end of 1944, 14 out of 15 groups of the U.S. Army 8th Air Force contained Mustang fighters. Chuck Yeager, later to become the first pilot to have exceeded the speed of sound, shot down a German Me 262 jet fighter in his Mustang fighter, making him the first American to shoot down a German jet fighter. The Mustang helped ensure Allied air superiority across Europe in 1944. With control of the air, the land forces could be protected as the Allied armies pushed deeper into the Nazi-controlled territory. Chief Naval Test Pilot Eric Brown had this to say about the Mustang, “The Mustang was a good fighter and the best escort due to its incredible range, make no mistake about it. It was also the best American dogfighter.”
After the Second World War, Mustangs continued to serve in the military, they were the main propeller-driven fighter of the U.S. Army Air Forces, remaining in service in 30 countries around the world and also serving in the Korean War.