North American P-51-D Mustang

Fighter

Airworthy - On Display

Designed in 1940 as a replacement to the P40 Kittyhawk, the P-51 Mustang was originally powered by an Allison V-1710 V12 but when the RAF swapped the Alison to the much more powerful Rolls Royce Merlin, the Mustang was found to be an excellent high altitude fighter and along with its speed, manoeuvrability and (most importantly) range, made it the only fighter at the time with the ability to escort the Allied bombers over occupied Europe (a role which it excelled at).

The Mustang also proved to be an excellent ground attack fighter bomber and high altitude fighter making it the most sought after aircraft by fighter units for the Allies during the war.  Thirty Mustangs were operated by the RNZAF Territorial Squadrons during the 1950s.

Our aircraft is painted in the colour scheme of NZ2415 from No. 3 Squadron (Canterbury) of the Territorial Air Force (TAF), flown in the early 1950’s by Squadron Leader Ray Archibald.   It passed through a number of owners before it was imported into New Zealand in 1984 by Sir Tim Wallis and first flew here in January, 1985.

Country of Origin: United States of America
Engine: Packard Merlin V-1650, 1450 Hp, V12 Supercharged Piston Engine
Length: 9.83m (32ft 3in)
Height: 4.08m (13ft 4.5in)
Wing Span: 11.28m (37ft 0in)
Cruise Speed: 362mph (582kmh or 315 knots)
Maximum Speed: 437mph (703kmh or 380knots)
Range: 1105 miles (1777 kms) on internal tanks
Service Ceiling: 41,900ft (12,800m)
Armament: 6 x M2 Brownings (0.5 calibre) machine guns, up to 1000Ib of bombs, 6 or 10 × 5.0 in (127 mm) T64 HVAR rockets