North American P-51 Mustang: boeken - historie en inzet

P-51 Mustang - Missions de combat

"P-51 Mustang, missions de combat" embarque le lecteur aux commandes de l'un des meilleurs chasseurs de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Les tactiques des pilotes de chasse américains sont ici décrites, faisant revivre la violence et la tension présentes lors des missions sur le théâtre des opérations européennes.

Contenu:
- Plus de 70 témoignages de pilotes de P-51 Mustang, parmi lesquels des as renommés.
- Des comptes-rendus détaillés de chaque type d'opération du P-51, depuis les missions d'escortede bombardiers à haute altitude volant au-dessus du Reich jusqu'aux mitraillages d'aérodromes de la Luftwaffe en France occupée.
- Des explications officielles sur le développement et les caractéristiques techniques du P-51.
- Plus de 300 photographies d'archives.

P-51 Mustang - Rare photographs from Naval Archives (Images of War)

Today, the Mustang is a living legend and is remembered as probably the finest long-range single-seat piston-engined fighter ever built.
Here, in words and images, the esteemed aviation historian Martin Bowman tells the story of an aircraft that continues to provoke enthusiastic praise.
We look at the Mustang's involvement in the Second World War and the Korean War, as well as other conflicts and engagements.

This new addition to the Images of War series serves as a tribute to an aircraft with a particularly impressive wartime record, the legacy of which is still felt today.

P-51 Mustang vs Fw 190 - Europe 1943-45 (Osprey)

Discover the history of a classic duel as the finest American and German pilots are pitted against each other in the war-torn skies over Europe, in two of the most advanced fighter planes of the age, the P-51 Mustang and the Fw 190.

This book describes the design and development of these rivals and analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of each fighter through an examination of the key elements of airframe, engine, armament and flying characteristics.
Also explored is the training the combatants received, providing an insight into the lives of the pilots. Cockpit digital artwork allows the reader to relive the thrill and terror of a dogfight as these two evenly matched opponents battled for supremacy in the skies above Europe.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Strategic situation: A discussion of the situation facing Nazi Germany and the Allies in the final three years of the war - Design & Development - Technical Specifications - Combatants - Combat: A review of specific combat actions accompanied by biographical detail, first-hand accounts and photographs - Analysis: Statistical data showing the numbers of P-51s and Fw 190s lost in battle - Conclusion - Bibliography and further reading list.

Me 262 vs P-51 Mustang : Europe 1944-45 (Osprey)

Arguably two of the finest fighters built during the course of World War II, the Me 262 and P-51 Mustang heralded new dawns in aircraft performance. Making its operational debut in the summer of 1944, and powered by the Jumo 004 jet engine, the Me 262 outclassed Allied planes in terms of speed and firepower ratio, offering a formidable punch with four 30 mm MK 108 nose-mounted cannons.

However, in the P-51, fitted with the Rolls-Royce (Packard) Merlin engine and drop tanks, the USAAF finally had a fighter that had the 'legs' to escort its heavy bombers deep into Reich airspace and back.
If flown to its strengths, the P-51 was more than capable of taking on the feared Me 262 on an equal footing, despite the differences in power and top speed.
Indeed, the Mustang proved to be the Luftwaffe fighter arm's nemesis. When the P-51D sortied over Germany from the summer of 1944 onwards, it shredded through the ill-trained and depleted Gruppen of the Luftwaffe's defence wings.

This book examines the two fighters in detail, exploring their history and development and containing accurate descriptions of the combats between the P-51 Mustang and the Me 262 in what were some of the most bitter and large-scale aerial actions fought over Europe in 1944-45.

Mustang Aces of the Eighth Air Force (Osprey)

Unquestionably the best American fighter of World War 2, the North American P-51 Mustang served in large numbers with the USAAF's Eighth Air Force from late 1943 until VE Day, and was the mount of most aces in-theatre.

Charged with the responsibility of escorting huge formations of B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers on daylight raids deep into Germany, the P-51 pilots of the various fighter groups within the 'Mighty Eighth' went head to head with the cream of the Luftwaffe's fighter squadrons for control of the skies over the Third Reich.

Contents: Merlin's Reach - New Blood - A Wilder Pony - Outclassed - Mission Completed - The Bluenosers - Appendices.

Mustang Aces of the Ninth, Fifteenth Air Forces and RAF (Osprey)

Although best remembered for its exploits with Eighth Air Force units, the Mustang, in its various marks, actually made its combat debut firstly with the RAF in the Army co-operation role, and then with the USAAF's tactically-optimised Ninth and Fifteenth Air Forces.

Seeing action in Western Europe and the Mediterranean, pilots like Glenn T Eagleston, John J Voll and Samuel J Brown notched up impressive scores flying P-51Bs and Ds with the 354th, 31st and 52nd Fighter Groups. Rarely given the exposure enjoyed by their high-scoring brethren in the 'Mighty Eighth', this volume at last sets the record straight on Europe's remaining Mustang aces.

Contents: Tactical Recon - Army Mustangs Over Europe - RAF Mustangs in North Africa and Italy - American 'Stuka' - The Fighting 'Red Tails' - The 354th FG - Appendices.

Very Long Range P-51 Mustang Units of the Pacific War (Osprey)

These pilots called themselves the 'Tokyo Club'. It was a simple task to become a member. All you had to do was strap yourself into a heavily loaded P-51 Mustang, take off from Iwo Jima, fly 650 miles north over the sea - often through monsoon storms - in your single-engined aircraft to Japan, attack a heavily defended target and then turn around and fly home despite a shrinking fuel supply and perhaps battle damage as well. Do it once and you earned membership in the club. Do it 15 times and you earned a trip home. But make one mistake or have one touch of bad luck, and you had a very good chance of ending up dead.

This book tells the little-known story of these brave men and their efforts to defeat the aerial forces defending Japan.

Contents: Getting Their Feet Wet - Little Friends - Down To Earth.
Appendices: Groups and Squadrons, with commanders - Aerial Victories List - Combat Losses.

F-51 Mustang Units of the Korean War (Osprey)

By the time the Korean War erupted, the F-51 Mustang was seen as obsolete, but that view quickly changed when the USAF rushed 145 of them to the theatre in late 1950. They had the endurance to attack targets in Korea from bases in Japan, where the modern F-86 fighters and other jets did not.
Rather than the interceptor and escort fighter roles the Mustang had performed during World War 2, in the Korean War they were assigned to ground attack missions - striking at communist troop columns advancing south.

This is the chronicle of the Mustang units that fought in the Korean War, detailing the type's involvement in a series of intense actions, its successes and its considerable losses. Drawing on meticulous research and gripping first-hand accounts from aircrew, this book explains how the faithful Mustang was able to roll back the years, fight, and prove itself in a new era of aerial warfare.

Contents:
- The very early days of the war with a make-shift unit out of Clark Air Base and the arrival of 145 Mustangs from the states
- Mustang numbers become large enough to slow down the North Korean advances on the Pusan Perimeter
- Breakout from Pusan and the Inchon Landing
- The war becomes stagnant and the Mustangs range all the way up to the Yalu River hunting for targets. The South Africans attach their F-51 squadron to the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing.
- USAF winds down its Mustang operations and slowly converts the squadrons over to new F-86F fighter-bombers
- Republic of Korea Mustang operations in the war
- Appendices.