Mustangs to the Rescue

Field Marshal Hermann Göring, the head of the Luftwaffe, reportedly told Allied interrogators that when he saw the Mustangs accompanying American B-17 bombers over Berlin, he knew "the jig was up." For the first time, the deadly German fighter planes would no longer have clear runs at the bombers but would face a superior adversary. Getting the leadership of the Army Air Force to adopt the Mustang as the bombers’ principal fighter escort, however, was its own struggle.

The P-51 (P was the designation for all fighters and based on their designation as "pursuit" planes in the 1930s) was designed, ironically, by a brilliant German immigrant, Edgar Schmued. The British government requested American companies submit plans for a new fighter to complement the estimable Supermarine Spitfire. North American Aviation, Schmued’s company, produced the plans and a mock-up for the Mustang (named by the British) in about three months. The plane was beautiful. To this day it looks completely modern as a version hangs in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The P-51 test version performed as well as it looked. It eventually could fly faster than 400 miles per hour, climb 2,300 feet per minute, and fly over 2,080 miles before refueling, all outperforming any German fighter.