Most people when they hear ‘P-51 Mustang’ think of the iconic, bubble canopy P-51D, which to many became a symbol of the Second World War. However, for me, since I was a kid, THE Mustang was always the Malcolm hood P-51B Mustang III of the PSP (Polish Air Force), which, while not nearly as popular, did most of the heavy lifting, gradually establishing the air superiority over Germany in 43/44.
About the aircraft
The history of the P-51 development is one of the most legendary in aviation history. It was born out of the RAF's need for a US-made fighter, with the British industry struggling already to deliver the necessary amounts of the Spitfires and Hurricanes. The Brits came to the North American Aviation company, seeking the possibility of license production of the Curtiss P-40. Instead, NAA offered to develop a brand new fighter, superior to the P-40. Despite the very limited experience of NAA with fighter design, the RAF placed an order for 320 fighters on 29 May 1940. Just 102 days later, on 9 September 1940, the NA-73 prototype was rolled out, taking to the sky on 26 October. However, even though the aircraft proved to be everything that was promised and then some, it did not achieve much recognition in the RAF and was delegated to secondary tasks. The main reason for that was the changing situation in Europe, which called for high-altitude fighters. The P-51A Mustang I, while possessing exceptional low-level performance, due to the single-stage Allison V-1710 engine, above 4600 meters was no match for the Luftwaffe types. As a result, the aircraft quickly fell into obscurity and almost became just a footnote in aviation history. Everything changed in 1942 when the Luftwaffe introduced the Fw-190. With the Spitfire Mk. V struggling, RAF was looking for a fighter capable of bringing back the balance, with Rolls-Royce’s two-stage, two-stage supercharged Merlin 60 series being the intended powerplant. While this later resulted in the creation of Spitfire Mk. IX, at the same time, Rolls-Royce’s test pilot Ronald Harker developed a keen interest in P-51. The initial crude calculations indicated that the Mustang equipped with the Merlin 65 engine would outperform all fighters of both Allies and Axis. Out of this idea, the Mustang X prototype was born in October 1942, quickly proving to be the fastest high-altitude fighter of the war. NAA developed their own variant of the Mustang powered by the Packard Merlin V-1650-3/7 engine (license version of the Merlin 68), which was named P-51B/C (for the Inglewood and Forth Worth factories, respectively). The first P-51B reached Europe in October 1943, in the middle of the ongoing crisis of the 8th Air Force, which was facing huge losses to its heavy bombers, losing in the bombing raids up to 25% of its attacking forces. Mustangs, together with P-47 Thunderbolts, were rushed to provide the long-range escort, with the outstanding range of the former, enabling it to operate on almost all of Germany’s territory. With the introduction in early 1944 the Doolittle’s doctrine of ‘air supremacy’, the situation over III Reich changed rapidly, and today Merlin Mustangs are credited with nearly 6000 kills, nearly all scored on the European theatre in 1944/45. Of this, nearly half was scored by the Mustang III. After producing 1990 P-51B and 1750 P-51C, NAA switched production to P-51D Mustang IV, which reached the frontline in the summer of 1944. But this is a completely different history.
About the building process
Actually, I have always preferred Mustang over Spitfire, but I was struggling to figure out how to build it. I had an idea for the Malcolm hood, which was a canopy modification introduced by the RAF to enhance visibility, but that was it. Finally, one evening I was just trying different things and something started to emerge. The lines of the front section turned out to be the biggest headache; the rest of it proved to be rather straightforward, maybe except for the underbelly intake area, which took a bit of tinkering. I actually completed the whole model quite a while back, but there was something bothering me with the wings. After taking a closer look, it turned out that I had made a few errors in my calculations, and the wing area turned out to be about 10% too big. The rebuild, along with waiting for my bricklink orders, took quite some time, and then I had to redo the stickers. Still, the final result was worth it.
About the model
The model represents the North American P-51B Mustang III in 1/33 scale. The camouflage is based on the JZ HB868 aircraft flown by Polish ace Jan Zumbach in late 1944, who was a commander of the 2nd Polish Air Wing, No. 133 Wing, the famous Squadron 303. Over the II World War, Zumbach was credited with 12 confirmed kills, 5 probables, and 1 damaged, with the last kill (Fw-190, probable) scored in this very aircraft. Similar to my Spitfire Mk. XVI, the model features a fully retractable landing gear (including the tail wheel), movable flaps, and a working horizontal tail. In addition, the rear scoop of the intercooler can be opened.
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