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P51 tank buster6/3/2023 Highly Detailed Cockpit Interior and landing gear.Ryan incorrectly regarded the P-51 Mustang as Tank Busters, P-51 Mustangs are. Fully Engraved Panel Lines & Rivet Detail. Captain Miller makes reference to 88s knocking out Sherman tanks.Throughout the war STUKA production was repeatedly ordered to end, only to be restarted since there were very few aircraft so specialized to take its place. Hans Ulrich Rudel, the most decorated Luftwaffe pilot of the war, claimed 519 Russian tanks. The JU-87G-1 version carrying two 37mm flack cannons in underwing pods. In 1942~45 its main work was close support in the Russian Front where it was an exceptional tank killer. Ukraine’s former president Petro Poroshenko has said that he inherited a decrepit armed forces when he came to power in 2014, which was transformed by western aid. Cheers Steve Like: 1 - List reactions 26 G Greyman Tech Sergeant 1,767 1,384 stona said: No RAF or USAAF aircraft were good tank busters, even those modified for that role. But, During the Battle of Britain, the slow STUKA with its fixed landing gear was slaughtered by Allied fighters and was withdrawn to attack targets which were not heavily defended. The P-51 was intrinsically a very good aeroplane which meant that in a ground attack/tank busting role it was inferior to some but better than most. In Poland, the Low Countries and France the JU-87 was terribly effective and it repeated its success in Greece, Creat and parts of the Russian front. Production of the Mustang was thrown into high gear and the first American P-51 units arrived in Europe towards the end of 1943.The JU-87 STUKA(the word for dive bomber) flew for the first time in 1935, and it entered production in 1937 with large trousered landing gear and full equipment for dive bombing, including a heavy bomb crutch that swung the missile well clear of the fuselage before release.ĭuring the Spanish Civil War, without serious enemy fighter opposition, the JU-87 proved ideal for the mission, able to dive very steeply at relatively slow speeds with an automatic pull-out device, yielding excellent accuracy. The Mustang’s top speed leapt to well over 400 miles per hour, and it no longer suffered from performance drop-off at higher altitudes. In the fall of 1942, the Americans and British experimented with Mustangs by adding British Rolls-Royce Merlin engines to the air-frame. While the American-built Allison engine was fine at lower altitudes, it suffered a drastic drop-off in performance at higher ones. ![]() The British accepted the plane into service, and gave it its famous “Mustang” nickname. It was an astonishing accomplishment for North American: they had delivered a brand new, prototype aircraft in a mere 102 days and flew it weeks later. The P-51 prototype was ready on September 9, 1940, and it first flew October 26, 1940. Instead of P-40s, North American offered to design a new fighter which became the P-51 Mustang. Empty Weight: 7,125 lbs Gross Weight: 11,600 lbs Top Speed: 437 mph Service Ceiling: 41,900 ft. So, why was the P-51 such a game changer? Where did this world-class aircraft come from? In early 1940, the British asked North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 Warhawks because they desperately needed planes as the Germans were rampaging across Europe. North American P-51 Mustang Specifications Wingspan: 37 ft. Post-P-51, the Allies established complete control of the air, and drove the Germans from the skies of Europe. Pre-P-51, the Allies were losing-and losing badly. One of the most important operations of the war, the strategic bombing campaign against Germany, can be broken down into two phases: pre-P-51 and post-P-51. ![]() ![]() While the Mustang was in Europe and the Pacific, its impact on the strategic situation in Europe cannot be understated. The North American P-51 Mustang is the gold standard for WWII fighters. Gift In memory of Isaac "Ike" Bethel Utley, 2012.019.243 Top Image: P-51 Mustang fighters on the way to their base on the recently captured Japanese island of Iwo Jima, 1945.
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