Howdy, This is gonna be a small tutorial on the do’s and don’ts of the p51’s (Ranging from the 3.7-6.7)
This will mainly focus on what the vehicle is, how it operates, and what you should do with it. If you want to know just how to play it, look after the armament/equipment section.
(This is just a guideline on what you should be able to do with it)
First, A short history of what it is and where it came from.
The P-51 Mustang is an American long-range fighter mainly used during WW2 and the Korean War
The Mustang was designed in 1940 by James H. Kindelberger of the North American Aviation (NAA) company in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission. (BPC)
The BPC approached NAA to build more Curtiss P-40 fighters for the Royal Air Force.
Instead of building an old design from another company, NAA proposed the design and production of a more modern fighter. The first prototype NA-73X (P51) was completed on 9 September 1940, 102 days after contract signing, achieving its first flight on 26 October.
In its early stages, it had the Allison V-1710 engine. This engine had no supercharger, limiting its high altitude performance. This lead to the Rolls-Royce Merlin65 two-stage inter-cooled supercharged engine, able to provide excellent performance at altitude without sacrificing the range of the plane.
Armament and Equipment:
Spoiler
On every P51, You’ll comes across the 12.7mm M2 Browning Machine guns, either with 4 or 6 separate guns. (With 1 exception)
These Machine guns have excellent long range accuracy and enough ammo to make any enemy you face a pin cushion. This however comes at the cost of stopping power, usually having to use hundreds of rounds on a single target.
These also have different ammo belts to choose from. Many are used for more specific roles but they generally act same. These usually come down to preference on how you use your plane.
Now the weapon exception.
This certain p51 Mustang uses 20mm Hispano Mk.2 Cannons.
These baby’s are very good at taking apart any enemy you come across in only a few short bursts.
And while these cannons are good at destroying, they don’t have the range or the ammo of the 12.7mm’s. This eventually leaves the p51 out of ammo if they aren’t careful with their trigger finger.
A few of these p51’s also come with bombs and rockets, allowing for moderate ground assault capabilities.
General Use/Best position:
Spoiler
Using your p51’s. This plane is designed as a long range high altitude fighter.Basically being better built for high speeds and keeping your energy. This means that it is made for Boom and Zoom / Boom and extend tactics.
While it does have the capability to fight near the ground, this will almost always lead to turn fighting and eventually losing the fight.
For the best use, You’ll need to climb to an altitude higher then your opponents and get to your cruising speed (The max speed while not using wep) (General altitude: 3k-6k alt. General speed: around/above 280mph)
After this, Your gonna want to dive onto the highest enemy below you, then extend away after your run. This will keep your enemies having to waste energy to avoid you, and not have enough to chase you.
When extending, you will either extend out in a straight line, creating distance between you and your enemy OR You will extend upwards, forcing your opponent to try to either climb to you and stall themselves out, or prep themselves for another run. Both of these have drawbacks though.
Extending out will create a lot of distance, but will give the enemy the ability to get their energy back to either chase you down or get the energy advantage. Use this if you don’t have enough energy to climb back up and if you have team mates near by.
Extending upwards comes with a lot of risk but a lot of reward.
If your enemy has more energy then you after you start extending, they can and will chase up after you at a close distance.
This results in you needing to waste your energy to avoid their attack while they close the distance while also stalling yourself, Leaving you dead in the water. If you arn’t confident about your opponents energy state, extend outwards before you leave yourself open.
Keep in mind!!! The p51 is designed to start a fight at these altitudes, not from the airfield. You will be at a disadvantage due to needing to climb to these altitudes. This goes for every p51.
Performance at BR:
Spoiler
Were gonna go up sections of the tree, reviewing their p51’s and their use. Though generally having the same use, they differ in terms of their maximum potential.
First the Br 3.7-4.0 p51’s
These first p51s you come across at rank 2 and 3 are basically pure BNZ fighters. While some of them differ in armament or ordnance, These are generally the same.
The major downside to these plane are their engine and turn performance.
With the low engine performance along with the airfield start, you’ll generally need to spend upwards of 5-10 minutes climbing to get your best position while also keeping your head on a swivel for any enemies around you. (Above or below)
Now the 5.0 and 6.3 p51’s.
These are some of the best p51’s. Offering better engine performance and generally better turning performance, these end up with having enough wiggle room to turn fight some of the competition with enough speed and energy.
Here are 2 replays from different p51’s.
(Will put later, once i get good replays)