- Yes
- No
Hello! and welcome to my suggestion for the next installment of Mustangs in british Service (aka P-51), this time I bring to you another Unique variation of the Mustang, the Mk.III. I feel this could come to game as a potential 3.7 fighter to provide an alternative playstyle to the Spitfires at the same rank.
History
Spoiler
As the Mustangs gained popularity in the allied forces it became apparent that the engine of the older P-51s, the Allision V-1710-39, was not powerful enough to enable the Mustang to be competitive against newer Axis fighters, whilst it could outrun almost anything at sea level, at altitude it suffered immensely with performance dropping sharply above 4,500m. This lead to a few interesting designs such as the British Mustang Mk.X testing the Merlin engine.
After the Mk.X came the XP-51Bs which were a more concrete redesign over the conversions of the Mk.X, the inclusion of the larger Merlin engine required a total redesign of the Engine cowling and other aspects of the design. soon this new design was to be accepted into service with the US as the P-51B and C, the newer engine paired with the drop tanks introduced on the earlier Mustang Mk.IA made this new variant ideal for bomber escort due to its improved high altitude performance and extremely high range for a single engined fighter.
This new variant wasn’t without its flaws however, many pilots complained of poor visibility within the cockpit, especially for looking behind the aircraft, this was a rather serious issue as when in dogfights pilots needed to know exactly where an enemy was if they got behind the Mustang, Another issue was that the hinged canopy of the B and C models was almost impossible to open whilst flying at high speeds, making bailing out almost impossible. Whilst the Americans would solve these issues with the introduction of a bubble canopy on the P-51D, the British opted for a more direct approach.
Now a bit of backstory, the British Canopy manufacturer R Malcolm & Co had come up with the idea of a bulging cockpit canopy, allowing for greater all round visibility, First used on the Supermarine Spitfire, to rather high success rates, it allowed for both Pilots to both see what was around them more clearly and also as it slid back it allowed for Pilots to open the canopy with ease in the stressful situations of bailing out, something that was quite common over the skies of Europe.
This lead to the idea to mount these canopies (dubbed Malcolm Hoods) to the newly arrived Mustang Mk.IIIs, taking an already good aircraft and removing one of its main drawbacks in aerial combat gave it an edge over its American Counterparts and proved superior in both Dogfights and in reducing Pilot casualties. Many of these Malcolm hood fitted P-51s would also serve in the Polish Squadrons within the RAF such as 315 (Polish) Squadron with squadron leader Eugeniusz “Dziubek” Horbaczewski, scoring 1 1/2 kills of Axis fighters and several kills of V-1 Rocket bombs throughout the war
Images
Spoiler
A Mustang Mk.III outfitted with two Wing fuel tanks
An unpainted Mustang Mk.III at an airfield in the UK
A Mustang Mk.III shortly after delivery to the UK, still with the standard canopy
Ace pilot Eugeniusz “Dziubek” Horbaczewski beside his Mustang Mk.III
Several Ground crew members around Horbaczewski’s Mustang
Mustang Mk.IIIs from Gravesend flying in formation in 1944
A Bristol Beaufighter being escorted by a Mustang Mk.III from 315 (Polish) Sqn
Specs/ Armament (pretty much identical to the P-51C in game)
Spoiler
Performance
Crew: 1 (Pilot)
Engine Packard V-1650, 1,590 hp
Max Speed: 437 mph (703 kph)
Range 950 km (1 529 miles)
Length: 9.83m (32 ft 3 in)
Span: 11.29m (37 ft 1 in)
Height: 2.64 m (8 ft 10 in)
Empty Weight: 3,232 kg (7,125 lbs)
Max T/O Weight: 5,262 kg (11,600 lbs)
Armament
Guns:
- 4 x 12.7mm (.50 calibre) Machine guns
Rockets:
- up to 8 RP-3 rockets
Bombs:
- up to 1000lbs bomb under each wing
Fuel tanks:
- 2 x 280L (62 imp gal) fuel tanks
OR
- 2 x 320L (71 imp gal) Fuel tanks
Place in game
Spoiler
I feel this could come to the british tree to provide an alternative to the Spitfires at 3.7, it would provide a gameplay style currently quite empty at the lower ranks of the British tree which focuses more on Turn fighting and manoeuvrability over speed and armament, is 4 x 12.7mm would offer a change to the normal 8+ x 7.7mm machine guns or the mix of 7.7 and 20mms found on other aircraft at that rank.
This would also be unique in the sense that the Canopy would provide greater visibility in cockpit view, whilst this wouldn’t provide much in Arcade or Realistic battles, it would provide a welcome addition to any sim players, as it would make identifying and following targets much easier over the American P-51C.
Sources
Spoiler
North American P-51 Mustang - Wikipedia
North American P-51 Mustang variants - Wikipedia
North American P-51 Mustang
https://armahobbynews.pl/en/blog/2022/02/24/the-legendary-mustang-pk-g-of-s-ldr-dziubek-horbaczewski/
The South African Air Force
Noth American RAF Mustang Mk.III
Mustang III For RAF
