Description
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter & fighter-bomber used during World War II & the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a design team headed by James Kindelberger[5] 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 & 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, & first flew on 26 October. P-51 Mustang
