North American P-51B-5 Mustang - 'B' Variant with a Malcolm Hood

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North American P-51B-5 Mustang

   Hello everybody. I’d like to suggest the North American P-51B-5 Mustang for US aviation in War Thunder. The P-51B-5 was the subsequent subvariant of the P-51B-1. Like the P-51B-1, the B-5 still had a smaller fuel capacity, and this subvariant had seen more actions in early 1944 over Europe. It also received a new field modification to enhance the cockpit view - the Malcolm Hood.

TL;DR:

An initial Merlin-powered P-51 variant of the B-5 block variant with a smaller fuel capacity, alternate air source grill on each side of the nose, a Malcolm Hood, and access to M8 rocket launchers.

History

After the successful test flights of the Merlin-powered XP-51B, orders for 400 P-51B-1 had already been placed, and the production of P-51B/Cs began at the end of January 1943. While the demand for more Merlin-powered Mustangs increased, the US Army Air Forces issued a contract for an additional 2,200 P-51Bs in production.

Once the 400 P-51B-1s were produced, the production started a new line for the subsequent P-51B-5 blocks. This block came with an alternate air source grill on each side of the cowling with filtered air and provisions for cold weather operations, which the P-51B-1 lacked. 800 P-51B-5s were assembled on the production line. Earlier P-51B-5s were not incorporated with extra fuel behind the pilot’s seat, which benefited flight performance and directional stability but suffered decreased range during the escort missions.

It was not until August and October 1943 that the P-51Bs and P-51Cs started to arrive in Britain and were issued to among the first P-51-operated 354th Fighter Group, 357th FG, and 363rd FG.

The 354th FG flew their first cross-Channel sweep mission with the P-51Bs on December 1, 1943, and scored their first victory on a mission to Bremen on December 16, 1943. They would eventually start their first long-distance escort mission in January 1944.

With the P-51B-1s being reinforced by the P-51B-5, they would be continuously modified in the field throughout their service with the USAAF. The most notable field modification was a perspex canopy known as the Malcolm Hood manufactured by the British company R Malcolm & Co. It offered spacious headroom and improved visibility and allowed the pilot to slide rearward without difficulty. It was crucial to bail out of the aircraft in an instant, unlike the poor view and cramped hinged canopy.

The P-51B-5s also received the addition of an 85-gallon fuselage fuel tank as a field modification to enable them to reach and escort the bombers to Berlin and much of central Europe from Britain. The P-51B-5s and later Mustang models were called into service as escorts to the daylight bombing missions in January 1944 and spring 1944.

In March of 1944, The P-51Bs and P-51Cs began to accompany B-17 Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers to Berlin. These escort fighters had an important ability to accompany bomber formations to their targets and still counter-intercept enemy fighters after jettisoning their nearly empty drop tanks, rendering the Luftwaffe air defenses almost useless. The bombers were much relieved to have them as their escorts.

Summer 1944 marked the turning point for the American daylight bombing offensive when the German fighters posed little or no threat to the bombers since the P-51Bs and P-51Cs were sent into fighter sweep in advance to destroy enemy fighters in the air and on the ground.

Most razorback P-51B/C Mustangs were assigned to the 8th and 9th Air Forces in Britain, and some were operated with the 12th and 15th Air Forces in Italy. The razorback Mustangs remained the predominant Mustang variant in service from December 1943 until March 1944, when the bubble-topped P-51D began to arrive. However, the razorback Mustangs remained in service until the end of the war. Even as late as the last month of the war, 1,000 of the 2,500 Mustangs serving in Europe were the P-51B/Cs.

The best-known P-51B-5 aircraft were “DING HAO!” P-51B serial 43-6315 and “Shangri La” P-51B serial 43-6913.

The “DING HAO!” P-51B-5 was flown by the first P-51 ace, Major James H. Howard of the 354th Fighter Group. He got an ace with six aerial victories over Asia with the Flying Tigers of the American Volunteer Group and another ace with six victories over Europe. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his courage when he single-handedly counter-intercepted a formation of more than 30 German aircraft that were attacking a formation of American B-17 bombers, destroying 3 of 6 German aircraft on January 11, 1944. He is the only fighter pilot in the European Theater to have received this Medal. His P-51B-5 also later featured the Malcolm Hood canopy.

The “Shangri La” P-51B-5 was flown by ace Major Dominic Gentile of the 4th Fighter Group. He had flown the Spitfire Mk V and P-47C before and scored aerial victories in both aircraft. He transitioned to the P-51B at the end of February 1944. He had his first victory flying the P-51 on March 3, 1944, when he claimed to shoot down a Do 217 in the Wittenberg. He would build a tally of 15.5 additional aircraft destroyed between March 3 and April 8, 1944. He shot down the last three more aircraft on April 8 before he crashed his P-51 on April 13, 1944, while he buzzed the 4th FG’s Debden airfield for a group of press reporters. The next month, he was ordered back to the United States and became a test pilot at Wright Field until after the war. His initial claim of 30 aircraft destroyed was later reduced to a final tally of 19.83 aerial victories.

Specifications

North American P-51B-5 Mustang (Early w/ Malcolm Hood)

General Characteristics

  • Crew: 1 (Pilot)
  • Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.8 m)
  • Height: 13 ft 8 in (4.16 m)
  • Span: 37 ft 0.25 in (11.28 m)
  • Wing Area: 233 sq ft (21.6 sq m)
  • Propeller Type: 4-bladed Hamilton Standard propeller
  • Propeller Diameter: 11 ft 2 in (3.4 m)
  • Powerplant: Packard V-1650-3 supercharged inline water-cooled engine
    → 1,620 hp (1,191 kW)
  • Internal Fuel: 180 US gal. (681 L)
  • Oil Tankage: 13 US gal. (49.2 L)
  • Empty Weight: 7,200 lb (3,266 kg)
  • Gross Weight: 9,300 lb (4,218 kg)
  • Max. Takeoff Weight: 11,300 lb (5,126 kg)

Performance

  • Power-to-Weight Ratio: 0.17 hp/lb (0.28 kW/kg)
  • Airspeeds:
    • 363 mph @ 5,000 ft (584 km/h @ 1,524 m)
    • 394 mph @ 10,000 ft (634 km/h @ 3,048 m)
    • 425 mph @ 16,800 ft (684 km/h @ 5,121 m)
    • 422 mph @ 23,200 ft (679 km/h @ 7,071 m)
    • 440 mph @ 30,000 ft (708 km/h @ 9,144 m)
  • Wing Loading: 39.9 lb/sq ft (194.8 kg/sq m)
  • Rate of Climb:
    • 3,600 fpm(18.3 m/s) @ S.L.
    • 3,570 fpm @ 5,000 ft (18.1 m/s @ 1,524 m)
    • 3,540 fpm @ 10,000 ft (17.98 m/s @ 3,048 m)
    • 2,915 fpm @ 20,000 ft (14.8 m/s @ 6,096 m)
  • Time to Altitude:
    • 1.8 minutes to 5,000 ft (1,524 m)
    • 3.6 minutes to 10,000 ft (3,048 m)
    • 7 minutes to 20,000 ft (6,096 m)
  • Service Ceiling: 42,000 ft (12,802 m)
  • Combat Range 550 - 810 miles (885 - 1,304 km)
  • Max. Range: 2,200 miles (3,540 km) w/ drop tanks

Armament

  • Guns:
    • 4 x 0.50-cal. M2 Browning machine guns (1,260 rounds)
  • Bombs:
    • 2 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs
    • 2 x 250 lb AN-M57 bombs
    • 2 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs
  • Rockets:
    • 6 x M8 rocket launchers
  • Drop Tank:
    • 2 x 75 gal drop tanks
Diagrams

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Cockpit

Images

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Conclusion | Why it should be in the game

   I made this suggestion to request more World War II-era vehicles for War Thunder. The P-51B-5 was another important and historical subvariant of variant B. It should feature a Malcolm Hood canopy and represent a razorback Mustang with a bubble-type canopy in the game for US Aviation. The P-51B-5 has an external visual difference with an alternate air source grill air source grill on each side of the nose, unlike the P-51B-1, so it should make the P-51B-5 unique enough from the suggested P-51B-1.

   Performance-wise, it should perform the same as the P-51B-1 I suggested before since it uses the same V-1650-3; it should perform better than the in-game P-51C-10 because the early P-51B-5 I am suggesting does not include a field modification of an extra fuel tank behind the pilot’s seat, which significantly lightens itself and enhances flight performance with better directional stability. Additionally, the sim players would enjoy this faster razorback Mustang with the Malcolm Hood, as it provides a wide view in their rear and augments their situational awareness.

   Thus, I am fond of the P-51B with Malcolm Hood, and I think this model is a perfect candidate as either a battle pass trophy, event, premium, or squadron aircraft. The P-51B-5 would be a welcoming addition to the P-51 family for the dedicated completionists.

See Also - Other P-51 Variants

Sources

Thank you for taking the time to read my suggestion! 😃

1 Like
2

You certainly have my support for yet another suggestion!
Remember that the P-51 was not North American Aviation’s only fighter.
They had two low-cost fighter versions, based on the T-6 Texan trainer.
The two versions he had were these.
NA-50
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This one, which was sold to Peru, and which even saw combat in a small war fought here in South America.

NA-68 / P-64
1728696388489.png

And this one was going to be sold to Thailand, but the sale was cancelled, and they ended up being destined for advanced trainers in the US Air Force.
Note that it has smaller wings than the T-6.
But that’s a topic for another thread.