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.

During WWII Major Donald Strait was assigned to the 361st Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter
Group, 8th USAAF. During his 2 combat tours Strait flew 122 missions scoring 13.5 victories
making him the 356th FG top Ace. 10.5 victories were scored in a P-51 Mustang. The P-51 Major
Strait is best known for was his “Jersey Jerk” 44-15152. In late 1944 he became the CO of the
361st FS. After WWII he joined the New Jersey Air National Guard and became a Squadron
Commander and Wing Commander. His other achievements were graduating Air War College,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the AF Reserve and ROTC Affairs, retired as a Major General in
1978. He was decorated 9 times and the final honor was induction into the New Jersey Aviation
Hall of Fame.

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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