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.

J.C. Meyer joined the USAAF in 1939. By 1943 he was a Major and CO of the 487th Fighter
Squadron of the 352nd Fighter Group Stationed in Bodney, England. With the nose of their
aircraft painted blue the 352nd became known as “The Blue-nosed Bastards of Bodney”. On
November 26, 1943 Major Meyer scored the first 487th victory against a Me-109. In 1944 Meyer
became a Lt. Col. and finished WWII with 24 air-to-air victories, 13 ground victories. He was
awarded three Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, the
Distinguished Flying Cross with five oak leaf clusters, the Air Medal with 15 oak leaf clusters, the
Purple Heart, the French Croix de Guerre, and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. During the Korean
War Meyer was CO of the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing and earned 2 MiG-15 victories. He later
became a four-star General and held many posts and commands, too numerous to list. One such
role was Vice Chief of Staff of the USAF. On July 1, 1974 General Meyer retired from the military
as Commander in Chief of SAC.

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

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