- Yes
- No
Introduction
P-51D 2305 was one of the most unique airframes in service with the Israeli Air Force during the early 50’s as it was the only Mustang in the IAF that was modified to use 20mm cannons instead of the standard .50 caliber guns. While not much is known about the history of this airframe it’s worth discussing it thanks to it’s non standard armament setup.
This photo is the earliest known photo (that I could find) of Mustang 2305. At the time this photo was taken, which appears to be before it was modified, both S-199s, Spitfires and P-51 Mustangs would sometimes share the same 2 number suffix to their serial designation. To avoid confusion within the 101st squadron which operated all three types it was decided that the P-51 Mustangs would have their 2 number designations start from 40 in serial order, which is why Mustang 2305, the 5th Mustang acquired by the IAF, uses the number 44 in this photo. You can however see that just under the horizontal stabilizer it is still marked as 2305, confirming it’s identity.
Acquisition and modification
Unfortunately, unlike some other specific Mustang airframes that served in the IAF, the pre-acquisition history of Mustang 2305 was not recorded in any registry I looked through, it is however known thanks to it’s serial which marks it as the IAF’s 5th Mustang that it was the first Mustang to be acquired by the IAF after the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli war had concluded, and so it is very likely that was an airframe smuggled illegally out of America and arrived sometime during 1949, joining service with the 101st First Fighter Squadron. At the time, before it’s modification, it’s 2 number serial was designated as 44 in order to avoid confusion with other airframe types that served in the squadron that had similar serial suffixes.
Relatively parallel to this airframe’s arrival in Israel, on the 29th of September 1949, the IAF laid out a series of development requirements for it’s engineering department to test the potential feasibility of improved armament options for the aircraft that were in the IAF inventory at the time. One of these development requirements resulted in the Israeli Spitfires’ unique air to ground rocket setup that is already present in-game in War Thunder, however more relevant to this suggestion was the requirement to test the potential installation of four 20mm cannons in the P-51D Mustang’s wings instead of the six .50 caliber guns. In order to do this the IAF used Mustang 2305 as the test bed and turned to Fokker, the Dutch aviation company, to help with the design of the installation of the 20mm cannons. The modification was completed and tested by June of 1950, however it was decided to abandon the rearmament project soon after, and so Mustang 2305 remained the only Mustang carrying these guns in the IAF.
It isn’t specified in any source which specific 20mm cannons ended up being used, however it’s safe to assume considering the types of 20mm cannons the IAF had access to at the time that they used the same Hispano Mk.II cannons that were also found on their Spitfires, potentially with the same amount of rounds per gun.
Mustang 2305 after it’s crash on the 16th of June 1953. At the time of it’s crash the 2 digit serials of the P-51 Mustangs in the IAF was changed such that 2305 was now marked as 05. Note that in the photo it’s possible to barely see the 20mm cannon installation on the left wing, where the two 20mm cannons are spaced much further than the standard three .50 caliber gun setup. The guns also appear to significantly protrude out of the wing, similar to how the same guns are installed on the Mustang Mk.IA that exists in the British tech tree in War Thunder, though their integration with the leading edge of the wing appears to not include any covering.
Service and it’s unfortunate end
Mustang 2305 continued to serve with the 101st squadron even after it’s modification as a standard fighter aircraft, though it was noted that the ground crews hated the aircraft due the trouble the unique armaments gave them when tending to the aircraft. It isn’t known if Mustang 2305 participated in any combat sorties, however there were several air patrol missions and low intensity combat sorties that P-51s of the 101st squadron took part in from 1950 to 1953 that Mustang 2305 could have potentially been used in.
Regardless of whether it ended up being used in combat or not, on the 16th of June 1953 Mustang 2305 met it’s end when it performed a crash landing during a training sortie. The pilot of the crash, Adam Tsivoni, testified that the reason for the crash was that the engine idled after the 2nd pass he and his wingman did during the sortie. He reported this had happened in the comms and directed his aircraft for a belly landing at Wadi Hayon where he managed to land the aircraft relatively intact with the canopy thrown off and damage to the propeller. Despite this, because of the remoteness of the location and the lack of capable means to transport the damaged aircraft out of the river valley it was decided to strip the aircraft of all it’s useful parts and armaments and leave the rest of the frame. Over time people who passed through the area such as nomadic Bedouin Arabs took metal scraps from the aircraft leaving behind only scattered pieces. There are likely no remains of the aircraft left in the area today.
In the photo are the parts that remained from Mustang 2305 roughly one year after the crash when oil drillers stumbled upon it in 1954.
Potential in War Thunder
P-51D Mustang 2305 in many ways would likely parallel the British Mustang Mk.IA that sits as a premium aircraft in the British tech tree, except based on the better P-51D airframe. This could generally help bolster Israel’s currently thinly populated 4th rank and present the tech tree with a useful side-grade to the already useful P-51D-20-NA.
Specifications
Type: Single-seat fighter aircraft
Country of origin: USA
Wing span: 11.27 meters
Length: 9.75 meters
Height: 4.16 meters
Powerplant: Packard V-1650-7 engine rated at 1,590 hp
Max speed: 700 kph
Max altitude: 12,700 meters
Range: 3,200 km
Weight: Empty - 3,230 kg, Fully loaded - 5,260 kg
Armaments: 4x20mm Hispano Mk.II cannons with an unknown number of rounds per gun (likely 135 rpg like the Spitfire totaling at 540 rounds). Based on photographic evidence the aircraft had the same rocket and bomb mounts as other Mustangs in the IAF allowing it to use 5 inch rockets, 80mm rockets, 250lbs bombs, 500lbs bombs, 1,000lbs bombs and incendiary bombs in various configurations.
Sources
Spoiler
https://www.amazon.com/Fighter-Squadron-LEGENDARY-SQUADRONS-ISRAELI/dp/9657220084
https://www.amazon.com/-/he/Shlomo-Aloni/dp/1898697485/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UJUI3PU6HHIH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TF_85suwY4iCS8jgUxktApFe7hJk4951-Umk-iBHbyY1BwZDYbMnWQFQ1_MUce5-ATuRqLHUGbPsC1g6ib3YoQ.Tsnc-pAyOoU9ZP-yZlx9L6F0uQGK2PkOq9knX4AFVio&dib_tag=se&keywords=wings+over+suez&qid=1726750549&s=books&sprefix=wings+over+suez%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C197&sr=1-1
וידי אדם מתחת כנפיהם - תולדות המערך הטכנולוגי בחיל האוויר 1948-1973
אדם צבעוני - מסיפוריו של חלוץ טייס - הקשר הרב דורי
https://www.iaf.org.il/182-16762-en/IAF.aspx?indx=1