![]() War Horseį-82s stationed in Japan and Okinawa became the first American warplanes to respond to the Communist invasion of South Korea in 1950. F-82 Mustangs were the first Allied warplanes to fight in the Korean War. 27 voyage, which took just over 14 hours to complete, still holds the world record for the longest non-stop distance travelled by a piston-engine fighter. This was demonstrated by the Air Force in 1947 when a single F-82 rigged with fuel pods flew non-stop from Hawaii to New York - a distance of more than 5,000 miles. The Twin Mustang was ideal in both roles, in no small part from its astounding operational range. coasts safeguarding the continent from the threat posed by new Russian bombers like the Tu-4 Bull – Moscow’s reverse-engineered copy of the Boing B-29. Radar equipped variants operating with the Air Defense Command patrolled both U.S. The Air Force envisioned the new aircraft serving as a fighter escort for any future long-range bomber strikes against the Soviet Union. The first operational Twin Mustangs, re-designated as the F-82, entered service with Strategic Air Command (SAC) fighter wings in 1948. (Image source: WikiCommons) Homeland Security The P-82/F-82 was the USAF’s principle fighter of the early Post-War period. Air Force bought 250, making the plane the last USAF piston-engine fighter ordered into production. With jet-powered aircraft still under development in the opening year of the Cold War, the Pentagon recognized the Twin Mustang as a useful stopgap that could hold the line until more advanced fighter technology were brought online. However, escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow changed all that - America needed newer warplanes, and fast. military in the offing, the P-82 seemed destined for mothballs. And with the post-war draw down of the U.S. World War Two ended by the time the Twin Mustang was ready for production. A USAF F-82 equipped with an under-mounted radar pod. Hardpoints on the outer wings allowed each plane to carry 25 air-to-ground rockets or up to 4,000 pounds of bombs – roughly the same payload as a World War Two medium bomber. 50 caliber machine guns mounted in a single bank on the centre wing gave the Twin Mustang a lethal kick. made Allison V-1710-100s) provided the P-82 with a top speed of nearly 500 mph (750 km/h). Its twin counter-rotating Rolls Royce Merlin Engines (which after the war were later switched out for lower-powered U.S. P-51s), the Twin Mustang was a fast and nimble dogfighter. (Image source: WikiCommons) Pure Fighter, Solid Bomberĭespite its ponderous size and weight (the plane was as heavy as two conventional 12,000-lb. P-82s were fast enough to cross swords with frontline fighters, but large enough to carry a heavy bomb load. In later models, the port fuselage was exclusively for a pilot, while starboard side was outfitted for a dedicated radar operator. This allowed crews to alternate control of the aircraft on marathon endurance flights. Initially, Twin Mustangs carried a pair of pilots - one for each cockpit. ![]() The new plane’s astonishingly long legs, not to mention its remarkable 40,000-foot service ceiling, would have enabled it protect American B-29s Stratofortresses on deep strike missions over Japan. By comparison, conventional P-51 Mustangs were limited to roughly 1,600 miles (2,700 km). Here’s the story of this remarkable fighter plane.ĭesigned in 1943 as an extremely long-range, high-altitude bomber escort, the P-82 could fly distances of more than 2,300 miles (3,600 km) - even farther with drop tanks. The plane’s innovative airframe featured two slightly elongated P-51 fuselages connected by a shared centre wing. WORLD WAR TWO ended before one of the most improbable piston-engine fighter planes ever designed had the chance to see action - the North American P-82 Twin Mustang. (Image source: WikiCommons) “The plane’s innovative airframe featured two slightly elongated P-51 fuselages to offer additional fuel capacity.” You’re looking at a prototype of a twin fuselaged Mustang. Seeing Double? This is NOT a photoshop trick.
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