North American Mustang Mk.IV: A Different Approach to A Common Issue

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North American Mustang Mk.IV

Hello and welcome to my next installment of suggestions for the North American Mustang (AKA P-51) in UK service! I feel these could come to game to give the UK a high performance fighter to provide a different playstyle to what most aircraft in the British Tree have. I highly recommend reading my previous suggestion on the Mustang Mk.III for some context on what I will talk about in this suggestion.

History

Spoiler

The RAF had tried to fix the issues with the Mk.III however it was clear that a more effective solution was needed, even with the Malcolm hood it was still difficult for Pilots to check their six, and by this stage of the war, its armament of only 4 12.7mm machine guns was quite lacking compared to the newer german fighters and their multiple 20mm and 30mm cannons. This lead to the improved P-51D variant, incorporating a new ‘Bubble’ canopy and an improved armament of two more 12.7mm guns alongside a variety of various other improvements.

Of this new variant, 292 were sent to the RAF with them being dubbed the Mustang Mk.IV, this variant was a massive upgrade over the P-51s the RAF already had, it provided greater armament than ever before, better visibility than most RAF fighters and flight performance that outperformed many Axis fighters. These attributes paired with its incredible range made it ideal for escorting Allied bombers from the UK in raids over Europe, where the Mustang Gained its fame.

Another improvement over the Previous Variants was the improved Ordinance capability, the Wing attachments had been strengthened allowing for bomb loads of up to 1000 lbs under each wing, making the Mustang even more of a Multirole wonder when used in the Army Cooperation role the RAF often placed them in.

The Mustangs served in a variety of places with the British, ranging from southern Italy, Africa, the Middle east and even as far flung as the Far east and New zealand. they were also sent to several Commonwealth nations including Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Overall although supplied through lend lease, many of the Mk.IVs and Later Mk.IVAs would go on to serve as far as 1947 under Fighter command instead of being returned at the end of the war like most aircraft.

Images

Spoiler

One of the Earliest P-51Ds, transferred to the RAF for evaluation, its original USAAF serial was only partially removed

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Several Mustang Mk.IVs in flight over Southern Italy, 1946

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One of the Mustangs of the RNZAF

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A line of Mustangs in Israel, 1945

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An Image showing the Machine gun layout of the Mustang Mk.IV, the inner pair had more ammo than the outer guns

Specs/Armament (effectively identical to the early P-51D in game)

Spoiler

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
  • Wingspan: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
  • Height: 13 ft 4.5 in (4.077 m) tail wheel on ground, vertical propeller blade
  • Wing area: 235 sq ft (21.8 m2)
  • Aspect ratio: 5.83
  • Airfoil: NAA/NACA 45–100
  • Empty weight: 7,635 lb (3,463 kg)
  • Gross weight: 9,200 lb (4,173 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 12,100 lb (5,488 kg) 5,490
  • Fuel capacity: 269 US gal (224 imp gal; 1,020 L)
  • Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0163
  • Drag area: 3.80 sqft (0.35 m²)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Packard (Rolls-Royce) V-1650-7 Merlin 12-cylinder liquid cooled engine, 1,490 hp (1,110 kW) at 3,000 rpm; 1,720 hp (1,280 kW) at WEP
  • Propellers: 4-bladed Hamilton Standard, constant-speed, variable-pitch), 11 ft 2 in (3.40 m) diameter

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 440 mph (710 km/h, 383 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 362 mph (583 km/h, 315 kn)
  • Stall speed: 100 mph (160 km/h, 87 kn)
  • Range: 1,650 mi (2,660 km, 1,434 nmi) with external tanks
  • Service ceiling: 41,900 ft (12,800 m)
  • Rate of climb: 3,200 ft/min (16 m/s)
  • Lift-to-drag: 14.6
  • Wing loading: 39 lb/sq ft (190 kg/m2)
  • Power/mass: 0.162 / 0.187 hp/lb (0.266 / 0.307 kW/kg) (without / with WEP)
  • Recommended Mach limit 0.8

Armament

Guns:

  • 6 x 12.7mm Machine guns (500 rpg on inner pair, 270 rpg on outer four)

Rockets

  • up to 10 HVAR unguided Rockets
  • Possibly RP-3s (was fitted to previous RAF Mustangs but no proof on the Mk.IV)

Bombs

  • Up to 1000 lbs of bombs under each wing

Place in game

Spoiler

In game the Mustang Mk.IV would be very similar to the P-51D perhaps only with British Ordinance instead of American, it would most likely sit around the same BR of 4.0 and would offer a different playstyle to the Spitfires that sit at that BR, as most British Aircraft at prop tiers are more geared towards turn fighting and this would provide a different and interesting playstyle with a High performance Boom and Zoom fighter capable of retaining energy in a vertical rate fight.

Sources

Spoiler

North American P-51 Mustang - Wikipedia
North American P-51 Mustang variants - Wikipedia
P-51 Mustang Variants - RAF - MustangsMustangs.com
North American P-51D Mustang
North American (P-51D) Mustang Mark IV
https://www.skytamer.com/NA-122_Mustang_IV.html

3 Likes

Which P-51D is this? Is this a P-51D-5 or something like a D-20? I’m pretty sure the RAF used both.
If its supposed to be a P-51D-5, might I suggest changing it to be a D-20, since the CA-17 Mk 20 is basically a P-51D-5 and it was used (and produced) by the Australians and can take that spot?

4 Likes

Im not entirely sure to be honest, i did some research but it seems to have come up empty handed, what im planning on doing is changing this to being the D-20 version and making a suggestion for the Mk.IVA in its place (P-51K)

That way it give britain a P-51 at 5.0 as there isnt really a need for one at 4.0 with the Mk.I and III just before it

2 Likes

I mean. The D30 is not bad to fly out once in a while. Like I even bought the market skin for mine. It’s really not top dog though. As for the D5,10,20. Well…If you can make them work then fine I guess. They should really fix the stupid loss of yaw control for all mustangs at high speeds though.

+1 hopefully for researchable tech tree

1 Like

would be nice to see the merlin mustang in the nation it was built for, having the alison mustang as a premium is nice but a merlin powered one would represent the planes history better, seeing as it was designed for the RAF

1 Like

I mean the Allison engined ones were built for the UK whereas the later models were technically US orders diverted to the UK So i would like to see both in game, especially the Mk.I considering it was the First Mustang variant and was developed purely for the british

1 Like

British had Merlin Mustangs running on 84 inHG, which would mean somewhat notable power increase over P-51D-30.

3 Likes

YES! GIVE ME MORE MUSTANGS!! Mustangs on top baby!!!

1 Like

I’d like to see more British Mustangs in the UK aviation tech tree! +1

2 Likes

gib

It’s a D-30