Later in WWII the Allied bombers were flying deep into Germany but suffered tremendous
losses because of the lack of range the fighter escorts had. German fighters would wait
beyond the range of the Allied fighters and then attack the vulnerable bombers. Once the P-
51 called Mustang by the British had the Allison engine replaced with a British Merlin it
possessed the high performance that had been lacking. With drop tanks the P-51 had the
range to escort bombers all the way to Berlin and back.

The RAAF No. 76 Squadron was formed on March 14, 1942 and spent part of WWII fighting
in Italy. At the end of the war the squadron returned to Australia and in September 1945 they
traded in their P-40 Kittyhawks and were re-equipped with Mustangs Mk. IV. During WWII
the 76th Squadron earned the name the “Hydraulic Squadron” because they were known to
lift anything they needed to keep their aircraft operating. The 76th along with two other
RAAF squadrons became part of the British Commonwealth Air Force (BCAIR) that was part
of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF). In February 1946 the squadrons
were transferred to Borfu, Japan and in February 1948 the 76th moved to Iwakuni, Japan.
While in Japan the BCAIR main tasks were to locate and track vessels suspected of
smuggling or transporting illegal immigrants. The RAAF squadrons were also responsible for
surveillance flights over the area of Japan that the BOCF was assigned. These flights were
surveillance patrols to help locate leftover weapons and ordnance. On October 29, 1948 the
76th Squadron was officially disbanded only to be reformed in 1949.

Specifications for the North American Aviation P-51D Mustang

Tasks – Dive-bomber, bomber-escort, ground-attack, interceptor, photo recon

Number Produced All Variants – 14,819

Dimensions
Wing Span – 37 ft   (11.27 m)
Length – 32 ft 3 in   (9.82 m)
Height – 13 ft 8 in   (4.16 m)

Weight
Empty – 7,125 lb   (3,232 kg)
Gross – 10,100 lb   (4,581 kg)
Maximum Take-off – 11,600 lb   (5,262 kg)

Performance
Engine – Packard Merlin two-staged supercharged V-1650-7, 12 cylinder V engine 1,695 hp.
Maximum Speed – 437 mph   (703 km/h)
Ceiling – 41,900 ft   (12,771 m)
Range – 950 miles   (1,529 km)
Maximum Range – 2,300 miles   (3,701 km)

Armament
6 x .50 caliber MG
Maximum External Bomb Load – 2,000 lb   (907 kg)
Or
4 x .5 inch rockets.

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