Tamiya Aircraft Models 1/72 Scale #49 U.S. Fighter North American P-51D Mustang

THE NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION P-51 MUSTANG IS AN AMERICAN LONG-RANGE, SINGLE-SEAT FIGHTER AND FIGHTER-BOMBER USED DURING WORLD WAR II AND THE KOREAN WAR, AMONG OTHER CONFLICTS. THE MUSTANG WAS DESIGNED IN APRIL 1940 BY A TEAM HEADED BY JAMES H. KINDELBERGER OF NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION (NAA) IN RESPONSE TO A REQUIREMENT OF THE BRITISH PURCHASING COMMISSION. THE PURCHASING COMMISSION APPROACHED NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION TO BUILD CURTISS P-40 FIGHTERS UNDER LICENSE FOR THE ROYAL AIR FORCE (RAF). RATHER THAN BUILD AN OLD DESIGN FROM ANOTHER COMPANY, NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION PROPOSED THE DESIGN AND PRODUCTION OF A MORE MODERN FIGHTER. THE PROTOTYPE NA-73X AIRFRAME WAS ROLLED OUT ON 9 SEPTEMBER 1940, 102 DAYS AFTER THE CONTRACT WAS SIGNED, AND FIRST FLEW ON 26 OCTOBER.