Today on The Incoming Press, I, the Dog Fighter, will tell you about the p-51. The p-51 was an American plane that was designed by Edgar Schmued. He was a primary engineer during WWII for North American Aviation, also known as the NAA. He is most remembered for his designs for the p-51 and f-86. The NAA were some of the people who flew the p-51s. The p-51s’ tactics were to fly up were the Luftwaffe, the Germans, could not reach them; then they would swoop down on the Luftwaffe and shoot them down. The p-51 went on bombing missions as an escort to protect the bombers. The attacks that the p-51 flew on were mostly successful. The one thing that they could change is the engine of the plane, which they did at the end of the war. Here’s a little more information.
Edgar Schmued was born in Germany in 1899. One day as he was walking down the block when he was eight, he saw an airplane. He decided right then and there that he wanted to become an airplane designer. He taught himself how to become an engineer. He then served as an apprentice in a small engineering factory. After the First World War, he moved to America. When he arrived, he quickly joined the Aircraft Corporation of America. There he began his career as an aircraft designer.
The P-51 was flown by pilots from many countries. The first country to fly the plane was England. The Royal Air Force, also known as the RAF, flew it during WWII. The RAF needed to train pilots. Because of the bombing by the Germans, the RAF training during World War II was not in Britain but the United States, Canada, India, and six other countries. Since England was under attack, they did not have the planes, air space, or pilots to train the people that volunteered for the RAF. So England was forced to rely on other countries to train their fighters.
The P-51 flew in too many battles to name them all. The p-51 was made because the Allies were starting day bombings of Germany, so they needed to make an airplane to shoot down the Luftwaffe so the bombers could get to their targets safely. The Allies started day bombings, because if they did night bombings they could not see the targets that they were trying to hit. The p-51 did its job well. It was a good plane and was used by the military of many countries for over seventy years.
The basic design of the plane was so good, that they only needed to make small adjustments to the design. There were thirteen design changes made on paper, but only seven of them actually saw combat. The p-51d, or the fourth design, was the pilots’ favorite and that was the version they produced the most of. The main design improvements were the addition of a Rolls Royce Merlin V-12 engine and a bubble canopy. The bubble canopy allowed the pilots to see their surroundings better. The design made it the easiest to handle airplane of the war.
The p-51 was a very good airplane. The p-51 shot down 4,000 enemy planes during WWII. It was a very good bomber escort. It was so good that today it is still considered the best American low combat plane. Some of the p-51 planes still in existence today fought in four different air forces before they were retired. I think that Edgar Schmued made a very good design.
