The P-51 Mustang is one of the greatest warplanes of all time.
Developed as a private venture, it was seized upon by the British as
the answer to their shortage of fighter aircraft in the early months of
World War Two. Early Allison-engined Mustangs lacked performance at
high altitude, but the great promise of the airframe was clear, and
when fitted with the Rolls-Royce Merlin the Mustang became one of the
best pistoned-engined fighters ever built. Not only was its
performance on a par with the best British and German fighters of the
era, but it was the first single-engined fighter with range sufficient
to accompany bombers from Great Britain to Berlin and back. This new
history of the Mustang tells the full story of its development,
technical features and operational history, and also looks at its long
post-war career as warbird and racer. Malcolm Lowe also dispels many
of the myths that have grown up around the Mustang.