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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. P51 Mustang - CHino Airshow 2014 (14349568311): Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 2. A-36 Mustang: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
- 3. Cavalier Mustang: Kogo· GFDL 1.2
- 4. North American F-82 Twin Mustang: U.S. Air Force· Public domain
- 5. North American P-51D Mustang: Pete Markham from Loretto, USA· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 6. "Bottisham Four" - Four P-51 Mustangs fighters in flight (cropped): USAAF, photographed for a series of U.S. 8th Air Force publicity pictures for widespread distribution (photos were taken from B-17G bombers of the 91st Bomb Group)· Public domain
- 7. 336 NA P-51 Mustang Guatemalan Air Force (7468458898): Aeroprints.com· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 8. Cavalier Mustang: Bzuk at English Wikipedia· Public domain
- 9. MUSTANG RCAF 9221: Corsair133693· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 10. Mustang III at Hucknall 1943 (cropped): Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP)· Public domain
what is it?
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 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kindelberger of North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a request from the British Purchasing Commission. The commission approached NAA to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force (RAF).
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11.3 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 86 years ago, in 1940.
- Top speed is 5.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 11.3 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Range of 2,656 km: 15× Amsterdam to Brussels.
- Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1940-10-26
- introduced
- 1942
- retired
- 1984
- status
- retired
- number built
- 16,974
- role
- fighter
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- North American Aviation
- engines
- 1× Packard (Rolls-Royce) V-1650-7 Merlin
- crew
- 1
- length
- 9.8 m
- wingspan
- 11.3 m
- height
- 4.1 m
- max take-off weight
- 5,490 kg
- top speed
- 708 km/h
- cruise speed
- 582 km/h
- range
- 2,656 km
- ceiling
- 12,771 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q192075, Wikipedia: North American P-51 Mustang (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.