- Yes
- No
Background
Spoiler
On October 17th, 1943, the initial group of eight P-51B Mustang fighter planes arrived at Wujiaba Base in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. These aircraft belonged to the 76th Squadron of the 23rd Group of the 14th Air Force of the U.S. Army, marking the first deployment of Mustang fighters in the Chinese airspace. Subsequently, on November 25, the 341st Group of the 14th Air Force of the U.S. Army and the 1st Group of the Sino-American Mixed Wing dispatched a total of 14 B-25 bombers, 8 P-51, and 8 P-38 fighters to launch a surprise attack on Hsinchu Airport in Taiwan, China. Continuing the operations, on December 1st, the Chinese and US air forces jointly initiated a large-scale assault on Hong Kong, with eight P-51Bs once again serving as escort aircraft. However, during the return journey, one P-51B was shot down by enemy aircraft over Zhongshan County, Guangdong. Later, on December 24th, six P-51B and twenty-four P-40N fighters from the 14th Air Force of the U.S. Army departed from Guilin to provide cover for twenty-eight B-24 heavy bombers of the 308th Group of the 14th Air Force of the U.S. Army as they conducted airstrikes on Wuhan Tianhe Airport.
At the onset of 1944, the Mustangs of the 311th Fighter Group of the 10th Air Force also commenced operations in Burma, providing support to paratroopers engaged in disrupting Japanese communication lines.
The Chinese Air Force received its first P-51B aircraft from the U.S. military in November 1944. Subsequently, a significant number of these aircraft were delivered after February 1945. Initially, they were assigned to the 3rd and 5th Battalions of the Sino-US Mixed Wing. In November 1944, Captain Zheng Songting of the 28th Squadron of the 5th Group became the first Chinese pilot to fly the P-51B Mustang. Additionally, they were also supplied with P-51C, D, and K models, which possessed enhanced performance capabilities.
During the period from 1943 to 1944, approximately 100 P-51B/Cs were provided to the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF).
Technical Data
Specifications
Crew - 1
Length - 9.829 m
Height - 4.167 m
Wingspan - 11.282 m
Empty Weight - 3,168 kg
Gross Weight - 5,125 kg
Powerplant - 1 x Packard V-1650-3 Merlin Inline Engine (1096 kW)
Max Speed - 707 km/h (At 7,620 m)
Cruising Speed - 583 km/h
Service Ceiling - 12,771 m
Combat Range - 1,215 km
Armament
4 x 12.7mm AN/M2 Machine Guns (1,260 rounds total)
2 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs
2 x 250 lb AN-M57 bombs
2 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs
Images
Spoiler
Sources
Spoiler
https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/FT-Briefing-to-AFA-20211014-sm.pdf
(Book) Encyclopedia of Chinese Aircraft, Vol.1 - Page 63 - 64