2. The P-51 Mustang fighter plane
The North American fighter plane was certainly something to behold. A long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, the P-51 model planes were used by the US Eighth Air Force after 1943, helping to escort bombers in German raids, while Merlin-powered Mustangs served the Allied efforts as fighter-bombers. Not only were 15,000 built during wartime, but they claimed over 4,950 enemy aircraft.
While the North American Aviation (NAA) designed the Mustang, its construction was a response to a request from the British Purchasing Commission for license-built Curtiss P-40 fighters. The Mustang made a name for itself on various occasions. It was the first single-engine plane from Britain to penetrate Germany, especially reaching Berlin. Also, the first to be flown by heavy bombers over the Ploiesti oil fields in Romania, and first to make a major-scale, all-fighter sweep specifically to hunt down the dwindling Luftwaffe.