North American P-51H Mustang
P-51H
| 2370000 Price |
| 340 Survivability |
| 3380 kgWeight |
| 222.8 Damage |
| 1711.8 Airspeed |
| 750 km/hTop Speed at Sea Level |
| 750 km/hTop Speed at Best Altitude |
| 2500 mOptimum Altitude |
| 880 km/hMaximum Dive Speed |
| 144.4 m/sRate of Climb |
| 140 km/hStall Speed |
| 504 km/hOptimum Airspeed |
| 85.4 Controllability |
| 11.1 sAverage Time to Turn 360 deg |
| 150 °/sRate of Roll |
| 1234.8 Maneuverability |
Tech Tree
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VIII
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VIII
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IX
Modules
Airframe
| Tier | Airframe | Survivability | Weight, kg | Price, |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VII | XP-51F | 340 | 2390 | 74000 |
| VIII | 360 | 3070 | 145000 |
Wing-mounted weapon
| Tier | Machine gun | Caliber | Muzzle Velocity, m/s | Damage | Rate of Fire, rounds/min | Weight, kg | Price, |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VII | 12.7 mm MG-53-2 (W) | 12.7 | 1160 | 52 | 800 | 60 | 24500 |
| VIII | 12.7 mm MG-53HB (W) | 12.7 | 1200 | 65 | 800 | 60 | 24600 |
| VIII | 12.7 | 1200 | 65 | 800 | 60 | 24600 |
Engine
| Tier | Engine | Engine Power, hp / Thrust | Type | Weight, kg | Price, |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIII | V-1650-7 | 1695 | water-cooled | 750 | 95000 |
| IX | V-1650-9 | 2220 | water-cooled | 780 | 150000 |
| IX | Merlin 145M | 1910 | water-cooled | 780 | 135000 |
Player Opinion
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Fantastic service ceiling. Excellent boost duration. Great climb rate due to horsepower, especially with top engine.
- Amazing speed, can catch an Me 262, especially when diving down on one.
- Top guns are actually a credible threat from a mustang vs heavy fighters, can slowly tear even some GAs up at close range.
- Retains ludicrously long burst duration of previous 2 mustangs.
- Fairly good durability for a fighter, slightly above-average turn radius, can take advantage of this even at high altitude.
Cons:
- Will get trounced in most turn and burn fights against japanese, british, russian, and even some german fighters.
- Painful stock grind.
- Still lacks any form of autocannons, don't expect a heap of critical hits.
- While top guns have better max range than stock guns, they still have a woeful damage falloff.
- Despite its fantastic performance, the engine is vulnerable.
Historical Info
Note: this page will cover the history of the development and service history of the “lightweight” Mustangs as well as covering the legacy of the entire P-51 family
For the history of the initial development of the P-51 Mustang family and the Allison powered Mustangs: https://wiki.wargaming.net/en/Plane:P-51a
For the history of the later Merlin power versions that serve the USAF: https://wiki.wargaming.net/en/Plane:P-51
For the service history of all variants of Mustangs in non-USAAF/RAF service:
For the history of the Mustangs that served the RAF:
Development:
the development of the “lightweight” mustangs began as a proposal by North America to redesign the P-51D which was accepted by the USAAF. upon being accepted North America got to work at implementing the modifications which included a new wing design, new types of airfoils to reduce drag, a simplified undercarriage with smaller wheels and disc brakes, a larger canopy, and unlike the P-51D/K was armed with four .50 Browning machine guns as well as including a new engine option to compliment the Packard V-1650’s, the Merlin RM 14 SMs. these modifications made the aircraft now designated as XP-51F (if it used a V-1650) or XP-51G(if it used the Merlin RM 14 SMs) 1,600 lbs lighter than the P-51D. A small number of these aircraft were also given to the British under the designation Mustang Mk V for testing, however, none of them made it to the production lines. a third variant was also made, the XP-51J which was meant to use the Allision V-1710-119 but the engine was insufficiently developed by the time the XP-51J was ready so it was loaned to Allison for engine development, it to never saw mass production.
P-51H the last mustang:
development of the P-51H began after the XP-51 F/G program, embodying the experience learned from the XP-51 G/F and the P-51D the P-51H came with same type of modifications the XP-51 F/G received along with receiving a new engine, the Packard V-1650-9 which carried a Simmons automatic boost control and water injection, which allow the aircraft to have capable of producing power as high as 2,270 hp (1,690 kW) in case of an emergency, while carrying the same armament as the P-51D. these improvements made the P-51H the fastest of the P-51 family and one of the fastest prop fighters ever developed.
Service History
The Mustang that never fought a war:
upon its introduction the P-51H was intended to supplement the P-47N for Operation Downfall, the plan invasion of Japan however it was cancel when Japan surrender after the atomic bombings causing the USAAF and other customers to cancel all orders for P-51H and other lightweight mustangs that have not been delivered yet, this included all the orders for the P-51L which was similar to the P-51H but utilized the Packard V-1650-11 engine though with all the orders cancelled none where built, and its Dallas-built version, the P-51M, or NA-124, which utilized the V-1650-9A engine of which one was built by the time all the orders where cancelled(serial number 45-11743). after World War II most P-51H’s went into reserved status while some were sent to active duty squadrons, though also during this time period the P-51H airframe was used in the creation of the F-82 twin Mustang. when the Korean war happened despite being more faster and nimbler than the older P-51D’s the P-51H was not sent to fight in Korea due to lack of spare parts, lighter structure, small numbers and the fact that the P-51D had a proven track record. after Korea, the P-51H like the rest of the remaining mustangs will be replaced in the US inventory by the new jet fighters entering service.
Legacy of the Mustangs:
The P-51 Mustang especially the Merlin powered variants are consider by many to this day to have been the best Prop Fighter in the USAAF and is usually listed in lists regarding which World War II fighter was the best along with other iconic aircraft such as the Supermarine Spitfire, Messerschmitt Bf 109, Nakajima Ki-84 Frank, Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Grumman F6F Hellcat, and the Yakovlev Yak-3. As for its legacy in the realm of aircraft development, it’s for the time rather revolutionary design elements such as using conic sections to loft a fuselage mathematically was soon adopted as the standard for the aviation industry.
as for the Lightweight Mustangs, despite never seeing combat and having a very uneventful service history the innovations made in the development of the P-51H and the lightweight mustangs in general carried over to the new generation of Jet Fighters that were entering service at the same time such as the F-86 Sabre and FJ-1 Fury. a prime example being the P-51H influence on the wing shapes of the FJ-1 and the design of the unbuilt preliminary prototypes of the F-86.
And finally, in terms of pop-culture, the P-51 Mustang became an American icon of World War II along with other aircraft such as the B-17 and F4U Corsair and has remained so ever since.
Variants (Lightweight):
XP-51 F(G)/Mustang V/ NA-105: a modified P-51D that was lighter than the standard P-51D and either used a V-1650 engine or a Merlin RM 14 SMs and was armed with four .50 in (12.7mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns. (Authors note: the exact numbers created are unknown to me but I guess around less than 15 where produced )
XP-51J: a variant of the XP-51 F/G that used the Allison V-1710-119 engine, about 1 was produced
P-51H: Final mustang variant that went into production, featured design elements of the XP-51 F/Gand P-51D, used the Packard V-1650-9 engine and war armed with six 0.50 caliber (12.7mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns, six or ten × 5.0 in (127 mm) T64 H.V.A.R rockets, and/or up to 1,000 lbs of ordnance. about 555 aircraft where built
P-51L: a variant of the P-51H that was ordered for the USAAF but was cancelled after the end of World War II, similar to the P-51H but instead used the Packard V-1650-11 engine. none where built
P-51M: a variant of the P-51H that was ordered for the USAAF but was canceled after the end of World War II, similar to the P-51H but used the Packard V-1650-9A engine which lacked water injection making it less powerful than the parent V-1650-9 engine the P-51H used. only one aircraft was built
F-82 Twin Mustang: a variant of the P-51H, more information here: https://wiki.wargaming.net/en/Plane:P-82b, about 272 where built.
Specifications (P-51H):
Crew: 1
Length: 33 ft 4 in
Wingspan: 37 ft 0 in
Height: 12 ft 8 in
Empty weight: 6,585 lb (2,986 kg)
Loaded weight: 9,530 lb (4,322 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 12,100 lb (5,490 kg)
Maximum fuel capacity: 419 US gal (349 imp gal; 1,590 l)
Powerplant: 1 ×Packard Merlin V-1650-9
Maximum speed: about 487 mph at 21,200 ft
Range: 1,930 mi with external tanks
Service ceiling: 44,300 ft
Power/mass: 0.20 hp/lb (330W/kg)
Armament: six 0.50 caliber (12.7mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns, six or ten 5.0 in (127 mm) T64 H.V.A.R rockets (P-51D-25, P-51K-10), and/or 1,000 lbs worth of bombs on two wing hardpoints
Historical Inaccuracy:
- the P-51H as shown in Wowp is actually a combination of the historical XP-51F and P-51H
- The P-51H historical armament was the 0.50 caliber (12.7mm) AN/M2 Browning machine gun, it never used the MG-53-2 which was most likely added for balance purposes
- One of its historical armaments, the 5.0 in (127 mm) T64 H.V.A.R rockets and the 250 lb (110 kg) 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs are missing
- the P-51H max speed in real life was 786 km/h, not 780 km/h, this is likely done for game balance
- no lightweight mustang ever used the Packard V-1650-7 engine, this is probably added for gameplay purposes
- the rate of climb of the historical P-51H was 26.77 m/s, not 148.6 m/s as shown in game, this is most likely there for balance reasons
