Production of the P-51 Mustang began in 1940 at the request of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) to replace its outdated, and out-gunned, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. The earliest P-51s were powered by ...

-The P-51’s durability and firepower, with six .50 caliber machine guns, made it a formidable opponent. -Mustang pilots shot down nearly 5,000 enemy aircraft, with over 250 achieving ace status.

A P-51 Mustang flies alongside an F-16 at the National Cherry Festival Air Show 2022 in Traverse City, Michigan. Some consider the F-16 to be the Mustang's modern equivalent.

The P-51 could also be fitted with 10 5-inch rockets or 2,000 lbs of bombs when used for bombing runs — it could even drop its external fuel tanks as bombs. That wasn't its primary function, but ...

A P-51 Mustang flies over Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., during a 2015 event. (A1C Philip Bryant/Air Force) For the Allied forces, the skies over Europe from 1942 to 1943 brought ...