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.

P-51D Mustang 464076 c/n 122-31802 was built in the North American Aviation Inglewood plant.
The aircraft was assigned to Lt. Jacques E. Young who named the Mustang “Jumpin’ Jacques”.
During 1945 Lt. Young was with the 5th Air Force, 5th Fighter Command, 3rd Air Commando
Group, 3rd Fighter Squadron that was based in Leyte, Philippines in November 1944. In January
1945 they moved to Mindoro, Philippines and then on to Luzon, Clark Field, Philippines in April
1945. The Allies pushed toward Japan’s mainland and Jumpin’ Jacques’ group moved to
Okinawa in July 1945.

Specifications for the North American Aviation P-51D Mustang

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

Number Produced– 1,500 with RAF receiving 594 they named Mustang Mk. IVa

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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