P-51 Mustang Combat Missions - Hardcover

Few combat aircraft have gained such a fine and enduring reputation as the P-51 Mustang. Developed in the late 1930s by North American Aviation, initially for RAF use, it quickly caught the attention of the USAAF. Once the Allison powerplant was swapped for a Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin, the P-51 became one of the best-arguably the best-American fighters of World War II, capable of taking on any machine the Luftwaffe could throw at it. P-51 Combat Missions not only provides a vivid historical and technical exploration of the Mustang in the European Theater of Operations (ETO), it also delivers an absorbing insight into the life of the P-51 pilot. Whether locked in high-G struggles with Luftwaffe fighters over the Reich, or relaxing in London on R&R, the pilot and his daily experience are revealed through more than seventy first-hand accounts, giving the book a unique authority, both tactical and personal. Feature articles and boxes reveal some of the less well-known aspects of combat life, from ditching in the Channel to recording guncamera footage. Illustrated with more than 300 archive and commissioned photos, the book remembers all those who flew and fought in this exceptional aircraft.