Mustang D-FPSI
Year built
1945
Aircraft
P-51D-25NA
Base
Bremgarten Airport
On February 13th 1945 the mustang was accepted by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and delivered 3 days later. In March 1945 it was ferried to South Italy where it served until August 28th 1945 before being ferried back to the US where it was put into storage.
After a number of years in storage the mustang was reactivated and in 1951 delivered to the USAF Tactical Air Command, 131st Fighter Squadron at George Air Force Base in California where it served until 1953.
In June 1953 it was delivered to the Air Material Center in Norton Air Force Base in California before joining the 182nd Fighter Squadron of the Texas Air National Guard at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio in 1954.
In May 1958 the mustang was delivered to Nicaragua as GN 120 where it served up until 1963 when it was first bought by a private operator and received the civil registration N12066.
Between 1963 and 1988 the aircraft changed multiple owners in the US before being ferried to the UK on May 17th 1988 where it received a new civil registration G-SUSY.
Between 1988 and 2005 G-SUSY remained in the UK regularly changing the owners before being sold to Anthony & Ann Smith in early 2005 where she became G-CDHI.
In 2007 the Mustang was sold to Meier Motors in Germany where it received a new civil registration D-FPSI, a new paint job and the name"Darlin Ann".
Between 2007 and now the D-FPSI changed owners multiple times and in 2014 received a temporary paint job as a Swiss J-901 to celebrate 100 Years Swiss Air Force before returning to the USAAF colours in 2016 becoming the Red Noser, "See Me Later".
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North American P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a design team headed by James Kindelberger of North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission. The Purchasing Commission approached North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Rather than build an old design from another company, North American Aviation proposed the design and production of a more modern fighter. The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed, and first flew on 26 October.
The Mustang was designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance in its earlier variants. The aircraft was first flown operationally by the RAF as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter bomber (Mustang Mk I). Replacing the Allison with a Rolls-Royce Merlin resulted in the P-51B/C (Mustang Mk III) model, and transformed the aircraft's performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft (4,600 m) (without sacrificing range), allowing it to compete with the Luftwaffe's fighters. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the two-speed, two-stage-supercharged Merlin 66, and was armed with six .50 calibre (12.7 mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns.
From late 1943, P-51Bs and P-51Cs (supplemented by P-51Ds from mid-1944) were used by the USAAF's Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany, while the RAF's Second Tactical Air Force and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force used the Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, roles in which the Mustang helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944. The P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean, Italian, and Pacific theatres. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft.
At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang, by then redesignated F-51, was the main fighter of the United States until jet fighters, including North American's F-86, took over this role; the Mustang then became a specialized fighter-bomber. Despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After the Korean War, Mustangs became popular civilian warbirds and air racing aircraft.
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