North American P-51 Mustang

143 Pages·2009·137.265 MB·English

by  Malcolm V. Lowe

North American
Mustang
·1
Othertitles in th rowood Aviation erie
Avro Lancaster Ken Delve
Avro Vulcan Kev Darling
Blackburn Buccaneer Kev Darling
North American
Boeing 747 Martin W. Bowman
Boeing B-29 uperforrre s te ePa
Bristol Beaufighter Jerry utt
Briti h Experimental TurbojetAircraft BarryJone
Concorde K v arling
Con olidated B-24 Liberator Martin W. B wman
Curtiss B2 Helldiver P t r . mith
De Havilland omet K v Darling
De Havilland Twin-Boom Fighters BarryJone u s a n
Douglas Havocand Bo ton ottThompson
English Electric Lightning Martin W. Bowman
Heinkel HIll Ron Ma kay
Lockheed F-104 tarfight r Martin W. Bowman
Lockheed P-38 Lightning Jerry cutts
Lockheed R-71 Bla kbird teve Pace
Messerschmitt Me 262 David Baker
NieuportAircraftofWorld WarOne Ray anger
Petlyakov Pe-2 Peshka Peter . mith
upermarine eafire Kev Darling
Vicker Vi countand Vanguard Malcolm Hill
V-Bomber BarryJones
Malcolm V. Lowe
1)~CI
The Crowood Press
Firsrpublishedin2009by
TheCrowoodPressLrd
Ramsbury, Marlborough
WilrshireSN82HR
Contents
www.crowood.com
©MalcolmV. Lowe2009
Allrighrsreserved.Noparrofrhispublicarion Introduction and Acknowledgements 6
maybereproducedorrransmirred inanyformor Foreword 9
byanymeans,elecrronicormechanical,including
phorocopy,recording,oranyinformarionsrorage
1 CREATING A LEGEND 11
andretrievalsysrem,wirhourpermissioninwriring
from rhepublishers. 2 FROM PROTOTYPE TO LOW-LEVEL SUCCESS 30
3 THE FIRST AMERICAN MUSTANGS 52
BririshLibraryCataloguing-in-PublicationDara
4 DEVELOPMENT OF A THOROUGHBRED 69
Acaraloguerecordforrhisbookisavailablefrom
rhe BririshLibrary. 5 LONG-RANGE ESCORT 85
6 FAR EAST BATTLEGROUND 133
ISBN978 1861268303
7 POST-WAR SERVICE AND LIGHTWEIGHTS 149
8 TWINS, CAVALIERS AND ENFORCERS 166
9 RETURN TO THE FRONT LINE 185
10 BUILDING THE MUSTANG 198
11 EXPORT AND FOREIGN-OPERATED MUSTANGS 215
12 AIR RACERS, WARBIRDS AND NEW PRODUCTION 243
Appendix I Mustang Specifications 254
Appendix II Mustang Production 256
Appendix III RAF Mustangs 259
Appendix IV Mustangs in Europe 261
Appendix V Air National Guard Mustangs 263
Abbreviations 265
Further Reading 267
Selected Websites 268
Index 269
TypeserbyServisFilmserringLrd,Srockporr,Cheshire
Prinredandboundin IndiabyReplika Press
5
hased on the study oforiginal documen Richard Haigh,latterlyoftheRolls-Royce these excell nt facilities. This depository
tation and the thorough investigation of HeritageTrust. holdsacon iderableamountofdocumen
dcdicated individual noted below. Help has come from all corners ofthe tation concerning the British purchasing
globe in the form of information, photo effort in the U A from 1939 onward.
graphs and background information on There ar many letters and other docu
Introduction and AcknowledgeDlents the Mustang in its many guise and areas ments relating specifically to the birth
Acknowledgements
of service. Particular individuals include of the Mustang in the ar hive at Kew,
As ever, it is a pleasant exercise to Graham Lovejoy in ewZealand; recko and the e also confirm the name of the
acknowledge friend and colleagues Bradic in erbia; Miroslav Khol and body that Britain e tabli hed in the A
whose as istance and advice have made Pavel Jicha in the Czech Republic; a in late 1939 to pelform the buying of
Introduction the superlative, British-designed Rolls of the excellent Merlin with the basic such an invaluable contribution towards large numberofAmerican friends includ war material, the Briti h Purchasing
Royce Merlin engine was mated during Mustang airfram created a warplane of the piecingtogetherofmuch ofthe infor ing Bob Avery, cott Hegland and Jack ommission.
Few warplanes can have had uch a sig 1942 to the basic Mustangairframe. In its extraordinary capability and perform mation and photographic content ofthis McKillop, together with Ron Kaplan of A number of veterans' association
nificant impact in warfare,orgained uch initial production versions the Mu tang ance that literally b ame a ignificant, hook. A number of specialist in th ir the U ational Aviation Hall ofFame, also provided great help and advice.
enduring popularity, as North American was powered by the successful if unspec ome would say vital, tool in the Allied particular field were especially helpful, and ancy Parri h of the Wings Acro The e include the 339th Fight r Group
Aviation' beautiful P-51 Mustang. tacular Allison V-I710 piston engine, ar enal a World War Two wor on. Yet mcluding Richard L. Ward, Jerry cutts, America organi ation in remembrance of A sociation ( tephen C. Ananian), the
Created as a private-venture project by intended for low- to medium-level oper it i int re ting to note thatoriginally the Chris Ellis and Mark Rolfe. Dick Ward women pilots in the USA during World 20th Fighter Wing Association (Arthur
a company that was not officially rec ations. With this engine installed the Mustang's own 'local' arm d for es in the was particularly supportive in pointing War Two; Jean-Jacques Petit in France; E. evigny) and that ofthe 55th Fighter
ognized in its own country as worthy of Mustang began life as a workhorse at low U A had little or no intere t in the type. my ever-growing number of enquiries in Peter Walter, 'Misty', and colleague in Group (Russell Abbey). Unfortunately
designing fightcr aircraft, the Mu tang to medium levels, and at altitudes bel w This delayed the Mu tang's introduction the right directions, and in his great Germany;andmymanyfriendsin anada, some veterans' groups are not 0
grew out of Britain' overwhelming need 15,000ft (4,600m) it became a depend intoservice with AAFfront-line units assi tance with photographs and illustra including William Ewing, Patrick Martin willing todeal with Briti h hi torians, but
for large quantities of modern high-per able if unspectacular (and perhaps more by at least a year, if n t longer. Once tions. Considerable help was Similarly andparticularlyR.W.(Bill)Walker,whose the aforementioned are excellent organi
formance fighters in theearlystagesofthe importantly, unsung) warplane that wa the aircraft wa finally in ombat use rendered by John Batchelor, with infor knowledge of Royal anadian Air Force zations with a sense of the significant
Second World War. It was not, as incor nevertheless much appreciated by many with the U AAF during 1943 it did not mation, photographsand sources. (RCAF) Mustangs isencyclopaedic. Also history that they represent.
rectlyclaimedbymany publishedsource, of its pilots and ground crew. Alii on- take American pilot long to realize the A veryspecial word ofthanks isdue to e pecially helpful in the latter country A special 'thank you' must be made
the product of a Briti h requirement or ngined Mu tangs went into operational Mustang's xcellent capabilities, which Jcrry Day ofOklahoma City in the A. was Ron Dupas, who assisted with many to apt Eric Brown, who contributed
specification. Rather, it was one of the service with Britain's Royal Air Force must have led many of them to wonder Jerry and his team look after the famous lead and photographic sourc s through the foreword for this book. Rightly on
very few succes ful warplane in hi tory (RAF) in 1942, a full year before the why the RAF had already operat d the racing MustangMiss Americaon behalfof his website www.l000aircraftphotos.com. of Britain' most renowned pilot of the
that was conceived without an official USAAF ever used the type in combat. Allison-enginedMustangforawholeyear Dr Brent Hisey, and Iparticularly express Iam similarly indebted toChristopherC. World War Two era, apt Brown has a
specification ever being raised before its The RAF succe fully flew the Allison before the U force took the type into thanks to Jerry, Dr Hisey and the whole larke, whose father, FitLt Fred 'Freddie' uniqueknowledgeoftheMustang, having
creation. Indeed, it was born as the result Mustang operationally, albeit in dwin combat. omeofthe i u relatingtothat Miss America team for their invaluable Clarke, was involved in th air battle te t-f1own examples ofthe aircraft at the
of amicable and unofficial negotiations dling numbers, right up to the end ofthe delay are explored in thi book, but it i help, not just with background material on 19 August 1942 near Dieppe, during time.Alongwiththe upermarine pitfire
between North American'scompanyoffi war in Europe in May 1945. The Allison part ofa debate that will no doubt con on racing Mustangs, but also on many of which Fg Off Hollis Hill of 414 Sqn, and the Focke-WulfFw 1900-9, he con
cials and Briti h government representa Mustang was an excellent warplane in tinue for many years into the future. the technical aspect ofthe Mustang and RCAF, hotdown the first enemyaircraft sidered the Mustang one ofthe top three
tives in the U A. The end result wasone its own right, and deserves much more Thisbookend avours brieflyto tell thc its operation. Jerry Day was additionally evercredited to a Mustang. fighters ofthe econd World War.
ofhistory's greataircraft, which became a fanfare than it hasever received. Mu tang's story, in addition to touching ofgreat help withcheckingMustangfacts I am indebted to everal historians ad to relate, during the writing of
vital element ofthe growing and eventu There are also myths about how long on ome of the 'myths' about the type, and figures in my text. who maintain web site on the Internet this book three per onalitie pa ed away
ally overwhelming Allied aerial domina it took orth American to design and whileexploringtechnicalandoperational From among my 'local' circle of aero that are a valuable re ource of genuine who were each very much a part of th
tionas theSecond World Wardrew to its build the first Mustang, whose idea it a pects thatare oftenoverlooked in other nautical colleagues, special mention research and photography relating to the Mustang story in their own particular
ultimatelysuccessful conclusion. was originally to mate the Merlin engine published source. Some publi ations in must go to Tony Blake, Tony Brown, history ofthe Mustang. In particular, my respects. All three were assisting with
The first Mu tang was completed in a with the Mu tang airframe, and so on. the past have followed each other' lead Dave Clark-Wheeler, Ian laxton, Pete Swiss friend Martin Kyburz made avail this proj ct, which makes their pas ing
very short time, less than 120 day, and Perhaps one of the great injustice done on some of the establi hed 'fact' about Clifford, Derek Foley, John eale, Jim able to me his extensive knowledge of all the more regrettable. They were the
it proved to have a performance better to the Mustang over the year is the the Mustang, which have passed into the mith,Andy weetand liffordWilliams. wiss-operated Mustang, in addition to famous historian Roger A. Freeman,
than most, if not all, of its European spreading ofthe extraordinary myth that aircraft's mythology while in truth not Particularly helpful was an expert local the wealth ofinformation that he has on whose writing on the U AAF in World
counterpartsofthe time, flying faster and the Mustang's design was based on that beingcorr ct in the first place. The myth to me on many aspects of the United manyotheraspect oftheMustang'sdevel WarTwo is legendary; PaulCoggan, who
carrying more fuel. It has passed into the of the antiquated Curtiss P-40, or even, of the 'British 120 days r quirement' for tates Army Air Corps (USAAC) and opment and service. Hi web ite www. was the mo t knowledgeable resear her
popular mythology of World War Two quite unbelievably, that the Mustang was the creation of the Mu tang prototype, USAAF, Gordon Stevens, who opened swissmustangs.ch is a fantastic resource on Mu tang restoration and the 'warbird'
that Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring, a derivative ofGermany' Messerschmitt often repeated in publi hed ources, falls his vast archive of -related informa for Mu tang enthusiast and historians. cene relating to Mustangs; and BrigGen
the chief of Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe, Bf109. Manyofthe epointsare explored into thiscategory,asdoe so-called'infor tion and photograph specially for this incere thanks mu t also go to Peter Robin Olds, Mustang fighter pilot from
claimed thatwhen hesawMustangsoper in the coming pages, but one statement mation' on foreign-operated Mustangs. It project. Several friends from elsewhere in Randall, whose xcellent web site www. the 479th Fighter Gr up and econd
ating freely over Berlin he knew that the that cannot be disputed concerning the is amazing, for example, tosee how many the UK were also involved wit~assisting littlefriends.co.uk contains a goldmine of World War and Vietnam War veteran.
war was lost for Germany. Yet there are Mustang is the kill, determination and published sources follow each other in this project, including Mick Gladwin of d tailed informationon US Eighth Army All three aresadly missed.
a number of myths and half-truths about courage of tho e who took thi superb claiming that the Italian armed forces www.airrecce.co.uk, and ick troud of Air Force fighter units and their aircraft Theworkofwritingthisbooktookplace
the Mustang that have grown to become aircraft into battle, and the quiet behind operated forty-eight Mu tangs after the Aemplane MOllthly magazine, who also and pilots. Petergenerouslysupplied pho over more than three years, and during
established 'facts'. Perhaps one of the the-scenes profe ionali m of those who econd World War, when the reality, as liaised with former RAF Mustang pilot tograph and much background informa that timeconsiderablea istancewa ren
most obvious is the virtual writing-off workedon the aircraftand prepared them explained in this book, is that th Italians Colin Downes on my behalf. Les Wells tion on this fascinating subject. dered with the checking oftext and facts
by many historians of the early, Allison for combat, often in the most appalling operated approximately 173 Mu tangs at of the IPMS-UK Eighth and Ninth Air A great deal ofthe reseal' h relating to byLucyMaynardand bymyfather, Victor
engined Mustangs. Certainly it is true conditions 'in the field'. This applied to one timeoranother! It is therefore hoped Force Special lntere t Group similarly the creation of the Mustang wa under Lowe,himselfanaviationhistorianoflong
that the Mustang changed from being both the Allison- and Merlin-powered that thi book represents the most up-to supplied excellent information and reF taken in the ational Archives at Kew, tanding. imilarly deserving ofthanks is
a workhorse into a thoroughbred when Mustang, but without doubt the mating date, genuine research on the Mustang, erences. pecial thanks must also go to London, and thanks go to thi body for the staff of my publi her, The Crowood
6 7
INTRODUCTIO AND ACKNOWLEDGEME T
Press, for their patience and very profe otherwise noted. The titles of US Army in thi b ok' urth r Reading section),
sionalassistanceduringth preparationof Air Corps, US Army Air Force, and U which ar imil rly t k n from official
this book. AirForce unitsare taken from the official ource, n th in d viate in some
As always, constructive reader input US government documents relating to ca es from h m whct more 'populist'
on this volume would be most welcome. unit activations, nomenclature and dates and less w II h k d information quoted
Foreword
Comments, information, suggestions and of service, as condensed in the official bysome U writ r .
photographscan becommunicated to the reference books edited by Maurer Maurer Where po ible, II pia n mes reflect
authorat20,EdwinaOrive, Poole,Dorset, and referred to in the Further Reading localspellings, butiti a kn wi dged that
BH17 7JG, England. ection at the end of thi book. The some location have hang d th ir name
unit name quoted in this book therefore subsequent to th tim th t Mu tangs
Malcolm V. Lowe. sometimesdifferfrom thosegiven insome werea sociat d with th m.Th re arealso By Captain E.M. 'Winkle' Brown CBE, in time to provide effective escort for airshows and competing in pylon racing.
o
Poole, Oor et,June 2009. published sources, but those quoted here limitation withinth printin proce sfor C, AFC, MA, R the daylight bombers striking the Third It has therefore generated a number of
are absolutely correct as given in official the reproduction f om ~ reign letters Former Commanding Officer, Aero Reich. books, butnoteverya pectofitsstoryhas
documents for the times and dates under and charact r. om pe ifi locations, dynamics Flight, RAE Farnborough I flight-tested virtually every Allied been covered. The author f this book
discussion. for example ox' Bazar in India, have and enemy fighter in World War Two, has set out to fill in some ofthe gaps and
Author's note
The aerial scores achieved by fighter rejoiced with more than on pos ible and rated the Mustang latermodels in the whetourappetite withasomewhatdiffer
All prices in the text that are quoted 'aces'oftheU servicesare thosegivenin spelling (in this case, an alt rnative i Mustang: a word evocative of a wild top three alongside the pitfire and the entapproachtothesubject,whichreaders
in dollars ($) refer to US dollars unle the book by Frank Olynyk (again quoted Cox'sBazaar). creature with unbridled speed and power. Focke-Wulf Fw 1900-9. I certainly con shouldfind much totheirliking. 1waspar
The aeroplane of that name was born sidereditthefinestescortfighterofWorld ticularly delighted to find some data on
in California in 1940, having been con WarTwo.WhatdistinguishedtheMerlin the Twin Mu tang as well, as this aircraft
ceived by orth American Aviation and engined Mustang was its performance has always intrigued me. That is the kind
fathered by a British necessity. In its in the transonic region of flight, which ofbook it is. Enjoy it'
early life it showed great promise at low enabled it to give effective high cover to
altitude, but needed an engine transplant the high-flying B-17 Flying Fortresses. Captain E.M. Brown
and a considerable mak -over to convert Obviou Iy there is still a great deal of WestSussex
it into the magnificent Merlin-engined interest in the P-51 Mustang, which is August 2008
laminar-flow-winged fighter it became, even nowflying in significant numbersat
8 9
CHAPTER 1
Creating a Legend
C
73
2
~'--------~re=- Many superlatives have been written Historical Perspectives
about orth American Aviation' P-51
Mustang. At the time of its greatest It could all have been very different.
momentsinthelatterstage ofthe econd At several significant stages the whole
World War, and in the decades following project that led to the Mu tang could
that time, itcame to be regarded asa war have been derailed or even ended alto
plane virtually without equal. Celebrated gether. Indeed, were it not for individual
hy many, and with a war record that fcw initiative, forward thinking, and at times
other combat aircraft of its own time downright audacity, the Mu tang might
or ince have been able to match, the never have been created, or developed
Mustang tends to stand head and shoul into the excellent aircraft it became. To
der above many of it contemporarie, put the story of the Mustang into his
and was undoubtedly on a par with the torical perspective from the outset, the
vcry best of its breed. It wa an aircraft creation of this excellent aircraft had
that proved capable of effectively per many of it roots in developmel,ts that
forming a variety of roles, and in some trace back to the accession to power of
of these tasks it truly excelled. Mated Adolf Hitler and the National ocialist
eventually with the equally admirable ThecompanysymbolofNorthAmericanAviation. ( azi) party in Germany during early
British Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, the Inc.NAA 1933. The Nazi rise to power was fol
Mustangevolved into probably the finest lowed by an unprecedentcd period of
escortfight I'ofall time,and proved to be military expansion in Germany' armed
agodsend to the very service that at first ers, the period from the mid to late 1930s forces. A significant part of this was the
had seen little use for it, the U AAF. It onward proved to bean age ofunrivalled rapid growth in Germany's air force, the
wa a remarkable aircraft, and imilarly opportunities,inwhichrapidlydeveloping Luftwaffe, a factor that had been forbid
It had an equally remarkable creation and expanding military requirements and den in the peace ettlement at the nd
and development, that in many respects massive production possibilities became ofthe Fir t World War. The existence of
went completely against the trends and a reality after years of comparative stag the new Luftwaffe wa publi Iy acknowl
customsofits time. nation ofmilitary orders in the post-Fir t edged in Mar h 1935, and it cam a
The Mustang became an indispensable World War period. The potential existed a very unwelcome developm nt for
partofthe Allied wareffortasWorld War during that era for aviation companies to many neighbouring European countries.
Two progressed, in what was probably growoutofall proportion to theirpre-war Indeed, Germany's significant military
fil
1---------------37'- SPAN the great st aerial struggle that the world size, and with that growth came substan expansion, coupled with an increasingly
has ever seen. Military aviation played tial increa e in the numbers of people aggressive foreign policy that was pur ued
-, a vital role in many diverse ways during employed in aviation-related activities, by the azi leader hip, led to a com
that immense conflicr. All of the major and the development of a highly-skilled pletely changed reality for the countrie
combatants fielded significant numbers and motivated workforce. That thiscame of Europe. The respon e of ome, par
ofcombat aircraft, and the indispen able about after the difficult times following ticularly Britain and France, was to fool
nature of military aviation was unques the economiccrises ofthe late 1920sand ishly indulge in the appea ement of the
tionably e tablished by the war's end. early 1930swaslittleshortofagodsendfor Nazi leadership and its aims. Fortunately
-.---- Warplane design and development, and the aviation bu iness. They were unprec th re were sufficicnt wise heads in both
- - ....#--.- manufacture, moved forward in leaps and edented times for the growth ofaviation, Britainand France who realized thatsuch
;' bounds during the war, continuing the and out of the world crisis that took the apolicyhad nochanceofsu s,and wa
lOlllCLEARANCE IO'-6"PROP. DIA.
2 i / 1 trend of te hnological advances in aero form ofthe econd World War manysig in any case absolutely morally and mili
--'----------.,---- -------jo-r dynamics, materialsand powerplanttech nificant aircraft types emerged. Some of tarily bankrupr. Reluctantly a policy of
-r-------~.
nology that had arisen during the 193 s. these have become legendary and rightly rearmament wa commenced during the
1-----142" ..! The Mustang in many ways represented hold a very special place in the hi tory 1930 bya numberofEuropeancountrie ,
the pinnacle of piston-engined fighter of military aviation. The Mustang is one but in most cases thi represented little
ThisveryearlyNAAdrawingfromthefirsthalfof1940.showingaproposedNA-73layout,illustratesmajorsimilaritieswiththeaircraftthatwaseventuallybuilt development, before thc jet-powered of those very special air raft, and it was more than a case of catch-up with the
andsomenotabledifferences.Particularlynoteworthyaretheverystreamlinedcockpitcover;theneatinstallationoftheAllisonV-1710inlineengine.keeping combataircraft tookoverforever. withoutdoubtasignificantcontributorto high quality (both in terms of numbers
frontalareatoaminimum;andthefamousunderfuselageairintakeforthemid-fuselageradiator.NAA For aircraft designers and manufactur- the final Allied victory in 1945. and increasing capability) ofrearmament
11
that wa rapidly taking place in azi to face the tide of a German aerial re ource. notherourcc of war mate relation. evertheless, some American totype Wright R-975 engined A-16, tate-of-the-art factory it If opened for
Germany. The achievem nt ofGerman assaultagainst Britain and her allies. The rial had to b found, to try and bridge companie were much les than willing to registration X-20 0, first flew on I April production in early 1936, and the AA
warplane and their skilled and highly Hurricane first flew in November 1935, rapidly the num ri al and quality gap deal with theforeign purchasingorganiza 1935. Its test pilot was Eddie Allen, who entry inJane's AllThe World's Aircraft of
motivated pilotsduring the panishCivil and wa well establi hed in RAF front that exi ted b tw en mu h of what the tions, and there were certainly many in laterfound fame performing flight testing 1937 pointed out that the plant covered
War, which concluded successfully for line service in September 1939 when the Western allic had in rvi e compared the USA who were unhappy at Ameri a for Boeing but tragically lost his life in an area of 172,000 square feet, although
the Fascist powers in March 1939, ilIus Second World War began. The Spitfire with th growing azi war machine. The being involved inany way with thedevel the crash of the second Boeing XB-29 this wasextended during 1937 to380,000
trated how far German aerial capability made its fir t flight in March 1936, and obvious and indeed the only substantial oping problems in Europe at that time. It uperfortre bomber prototype on 1 square feet and latersawfurther growth.
had come insuch a hortspaceoftime. begantoenterfront-linesquadronservice potential out ide ourc wa the USA. A was therefore somewhat fortunate that February 1943. In the event, AA was The move to California was an out
In Britain, the RAF embarked on an withtheRAFin thelatterhalfof193 .By number ofEur pean countrie , including the British purchasing representatives in not sub equently the front runner in the standing step forward for NAA. The
'expansion scheme' that aw a significant that time the Luftwaffe' Bf109 had b en Britain, establi h d official purchasing particular were able to develop excellent trainercompetition,which wa ine ence oftenfine weatherintheLosAngelesarea
influx of more 'modern' combat aircraft in service since 1937, and had proven it organization to vi it the A and work working relationships with everal key won by a contender from eversky. Th allowedmany uitableday offlighttesting
to replace the colourful but increasingly worth in combat over pain from 1937 along ide their exi ting diplomatic cover American armaments companies. It wa Sever ky design duly gained production that were not interrupted by bad weather
outmoded biplanesthatwere infront-line onward. Early modelsofthe Bf109 were to placeorder with American ompanie here that the story ofthe Mustang began order astheBT- ,andwasthefir taircraft (although evensouthernCalifornia is not
Britishservicewellintothe 1930s. Britain powered by the Junker Jumo 210 inline to upply war mat rial as oon a po ible. to takeshape. type specifically created a a ba ic train r immunetooccasionalfreak weather,such
in fact had everal important advantages piston engine, butjust coming into wide It must be tressed here that the shop One of the significant early purchases ~ r the U AA . However, significantly, asthesnowfall th rein 1944).Whenlarge
over many other countrie , not least of spread Luftwaffe service in 1939 was the ping listfor these pur ha ingagenciesdid ofaircraft that was made by British repre the con iderable influence of General orders were r ceived for later types such
these being a pool of talented aircraft Daimler Benz DB 601-powered Bf 109E, not just include Fighter aircraft. Britain sentativeswasamajororderfor theNorth Motor h Iped to give the A-16design as the P-51 Mustang, some final a sembly
designers who were notafraid to embrace thedeadlie tofthe breed up to thatpoint. was well behind by the later 1930s in American NA-16 trainer series. This nough wight to secure USAAC orders workwasactuallyperformedout ideinthe
progress and new concept in aircraft Britain, likeall other European countri s, rearmament in just about every military tandem two-seat training aircraft was an additional to the Seversky model. After open air, in addition to th bu ya embly
design and materials. This, coupled with was becoming acutely aware of her lack requirement, and combat aircraft of all early product ofa comparatively new U somedesign modification the initial pro lines within the factory complex itself.
advances that had been made by partici of significant numbers of fighter aircraft type, train r and second-line types, in company, North American Aviation, Inc duction derivative of the NA-16, called An increasingly well-trained and numer
pation and eventual overallsucces in the in depth that were capable of taking on addition to other war material including ( AA).Originallyformed in 192 simply BT-9 by the U AA , was Fir t flown by ous workforce was also readily to hand in
chneider Trophy contest from 1919 the Bf109,and thegrowingarrayofother armoured fighting vehicle and warships, as a holding company for other aviation te t pilot Paul Balfour on 15 April 1936. the Los Angele and southern California
to 1931, helped put Britain among the high-performance Luftwaffe aircraft that were a top priority. The whole idea of concerns, from 1934 NAA became a The ba ic d ign attracted significant area. It is little wonder that a number of
leaders in the field in everal key area of would be involved inanygeneralconflict. foreign delegation placing ord r with designer manufacturer in its own right, orders for the time, and AA's produc aviationcompaniesgravitated to thisarea
aircraft design and powerplant technol evertheless, ev n though Britain was American companies tosupply war mare and had started with the considerable tion facilities were already being trans whenthewor teffect ofthe financialdif
ogy. ew ways of building aircraft were faced with the need to catch up, particu rial was, however, omethingofacompli- weight of the General Motors organiza ferred from Dundalk to larg rpremi e in ficultie ofthe late 1920sand early 1930s
al 0 coming to the forc during the 1930 . larly in terms ofnumbers ofmodern war ated concept. tion behind it. The company's manufac southern California on the w t coa t of and the subsequent ecunomic depression
Important among these was the increa planes, she was far b tter placed than any On the one hand, Ameri an indus turingdivision hadoriginallytakenon th the USA. These took the form of major began to wearoff.
ingly widespread adoption of all-metal, other alii d country in Europe to take on try generally welcomed th considerable factory pacc of the formcr Bf] Aircraft factory space on the southeastern dge of The establi hment of NAA a an air-
stressed- kin construction in warplane theLuftwaffebecauseofth RAF'sgrowing financial opportunities that the e poten Corporation and Gen ral Aviation Mines Field, the Los Angeles Municipal raft producer in it own rightal 0 sawan
design and manufacture. Metal aircraft numbers of pitfires and Hurricanes. 0 tial orders represented. On the other Manufa turing Corporation organization Airport at Inglewood, on the out kirts influx of key high-level per onnel who
were not new even at that time, the first other We tern European country could hand, the U A did notofficiallyconsider at Dundalk, Maryland, which had been a of Los Angeles, which today is a part of were toshap the destinyofthe company
successful metal military monoplanes boast anything like either the pitfire or itself involved in what appeared as the part ofthe grouping from which the new the sprawling Los Angele International and it product in the coming years. At
havingflown duringWorld WarOne, but the Hurri ane in their inventorie , and 1930s wore on to be a European quab AAemerged. Airport. The company ucce fully nego the head of this developing team was
in several countrie the all-metal mono everal other key allies, such as France, ble.MuchisusuallymadeofAmerica'sso The first entirely original design from tiated an excellent deal for the lease of J.H. 'Dutch' Kindelberger, who became
plane fighter wa coming to the fore and were struggling to bring modern de igns called 'isolationism'duringthatp riod. In the new company wa an open-cockpit, the location (the whole ite eventually PresidentofNAAandgeneral managerof
sweepingaway the fabric-covered biplane to the fore afteryearsof tagnation inoffi fact the A's foreign policy was much tandem two-seat single-engine fixed covered some 20 acres), which was avail its manufacturing division. Kindelberger
fighter for ver. Other advances, uch cial specifications and long delays in the more complicat d than the often-quoted undercarriage train rmonoplane, builta ableforonly$600each y ar. Atfirst using was an astute businessman with an avia
as the adoption of retractable undercar creation ofmodern designs. The Munich 'isolationist United States'. President a private venture to meet a basic trainer an existing factory (known locally as the tion background that included work with
riagesandenclosedcockpits, were leading Agr ement of September 1938, which Franklin D. Roosevelt wa rather more requirement for the U AAC. The pro- Moreland building), the beautiful new two giants of the US aviation industry,
to warplanes of increa ed capability that ceded ignificantpartsofoneofBritainand level-headed than some members of the
little resembled the front-line types of France' allies, Czechoslovakia, to azi American ongress, and realized that the
just a few year previously. Reginald J. Germany wassuppo ed to end Germany' U A could not tayalooffrom thesignifi NorthAmericanAviation:aBriefCompanyHistory
Mitchell's beautiful, iconic upermarine territorial ambitions. The German take cantproblem thatweredevelopinginfar
pirfire and ydney Camm's rugged, pur over of the remainder of zechoslovakia awayEurop ,whetherthatwouldbeinthe Unfortunately, manyoftheworld'sgreataviationcom· started to become an important business in the USA World War Twocould trace its lineage back to 1928.
panieshavelackedlongevity.Althoughasmallnumber around the time of the First World War, when large Created in December of that year, the original North
po eful Hawker Hurrican (which admit in March 1939 showed that Munich was long-term intere toftheU Aornor.The
fromthepre-SecondWorldWarerasurvivetoday, few military contracts began to hold the promise of con American Aviation Inc. was born as little more than a
tedly till retained fabric covering in its simplyanotherdebacle,andevenBritain's U A in effect had global int r ts even
remain in their original or near·original form. One of siderable financial reward. True, the original aviation paperorganization. Its founderwas Clement M. Keys,
construction) were the be t that the free inept and weak government realized that at that time, with significant attention thosethathasnotsurvivedtothepresentis,regrettably, pioneerssuchasOrvilleandWilburWrighthadsought awealthyfinancierwhowasdevelopinganimpressive
world had to offer in response to German the game was up and the azi threat had being placed on the Panama anal Zone the dynamic company that created the P-51 Mustang, toselltheirnewcreations,butitwastheappearanceof portfolio of aviation companies within his expanding
rearmament that included the highly tobeconfronted. in entralAmericaand intheEacificarea although its lineagecanbe traced, albeittenuously, to shrewdbusinessmenwhoalsounderstoodthedevelop business empire. Rather than beingafaceless manof
important Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter. c ntred on Hawaii but also including th oneoftoday'saviationgiants. ingscienceofaviationengineeringthatledtothegrowth money,however.Keyswaswellknownforhissteward
Both the pitfire and the Hurricane were Philippines, to name but two significant North American Aviation, Inc. existed as a major ofaviationasapotentialmoney-spinner.Pioneerssuch shipoftheworld-famousfinancialpublication TheWall
powered by theRolls-Royce Merlin inline Supplies from areas of overseas concern. In reality the aircraft producer for only justover three decades, but asGlennCurtiss,DonaldW.Douglasandothersbecame StreetJournal.TheNAAthathecreatedin1928wasnot
engine, later to have such a significant the United States American government tended to turn a in that time itgave birth to someofaviation'sclassic veryimportantinthedevelopmentoftheaircraftindustry anaircraftmanufacturer,butwasmoreorlessaholding
impacton the tory ofthe Mu tang. blind eye to many ofthe activities ofthe aircraft. To understand the creation of this significant asasignificantbusiness in the USA, butbehindmany company for the various aviation concerns within his
company it is almost as important to comprehend the aviation pioneers were financiers who knew little of growing aviation empire. These included airlines with
The probl m for Britain was that both In reality, however, a large expan ion in foreign delegations thatspent an increas
workings of American corporate big business as it is aviation but understood much about making money. It namessuchasEasternAirTransport,Transcontinental&
the pirfire and the Hurricane were not Britain's armed forces, over and above ing amount of time in the late 1930
to haveaknowledge ofUS aviation history in general wasoutofthesecircumstancesthatNMfirstemerged. WesternAir,andWesternAirExpress,andaircraftman
necessarily going to be enough by them what was already being achieved, wa negotiating with some areas ofAmerican duringtheperiodbetweenthetwoworldwars.Aviation The company that eventually grew into the NM of ufacturerssuchasBerliner-Joyce. ForatimeKeyswas
selves, particularly in terms of number, likely to further overburden Britain' industry, and often striking up very good
12 13
CREATI GA LEGEND
CREATING A LEGEND
ThecompanythatwaseventuallynamedNorth
AmericanAviationcameaboutasaresultof AsiconictothejetageastheMustangistothe
eraofpiston-enginedfighters,thebeautifuland
corporaterestructuringandvariousmergers
highlysuccessfulNorthAmericanF-86Sabrejet
inthelate1920sandearly1930s.Thegrouping
fighterwasbuiltinavarietyofdifferentversions
outofwhichNAAwasbornincludedtheold
Berliner-JoyceAircraftCorporation,whichhad fortheUSAF,USNandmanyoverseasbuyers.
producedtheP-16/PB-1seriesoffightersforthe ThefirstflightwasmadeinOctober1947by
famousNAAtestpilotGeorgeWelch.Thetypeis
USAAC,typifiedbytheY1P-16/PB-1shownhere,
poweredbya600hpCurtissV-1570Conqueror representedherebythefirstproductionP-86A,
inlineenginewhichgaveitatopspeedof soonrenamedF-86A,47-605,anInglewood-built
F-86A-1-NApoweredbyaGeneralElectricJ47
some175mph1282km/h)at15,OOOft(4,570m).The
turbojetof4,8501bthrust.Itisshownhereon
originalprototypewasorderedin1929and,in
corporateterms,thisbiplanefighterwasthe anearlytestflight,stillwearingtheoriginal
predecessoroftheMustang. 'BuzzNumber'prefixfortheSabreof'PU',later
USAAFviaGordonStevens changedto'FU'.NAA
NorthAmericanAviationdesignedandproduced
asuccessionofhighly-successfulaircraft
typesthatbecamelegendsintheirownright.
OneofthesewastheTexanIHarvardfamily NorthAmericanAviationmadeaforayinto
ofmilitarytrainers,oneofthemostfamous jetbomberdesignwithitsB-45Tornado,the
trainingaircrafttypesoftheSecondWorld prototypeofwhichfirstflewinMarch1947.
War.Thisexamplewasiicence-builtinCanada Thetypewasnotagreatsuccess,itsfour
byCanadianCar&Foundryanddeliveredin 4,OOOlb-thrustGeneralElectricJ47turbojetsand
December1952totheRCAF.OfficiallyaNorth straightratherthansweptwingsresultingina
AmericanNA-186HarvardMk.4120454,GO-454), pedestrianperformancethatsawtheB-45soon
itservedwithvariousCanadianunitsincluding relegatedtoreconnaissancework.Themore
theFlyingInstructors'SchoolatMooseJaw powerfulreconnaissance-dedicatedRB-45C
t~
Saskatchewan,Canada,whereitisbelieved TornadoplayedausefulpartintheKoreanWar.
havebeenoperatingwhenthisphotographwas IllustratedisthefirstproductionB-45Cbomber,
taken.ItwasretiredinNovember1964,showing 48-001.USAF
thelongevityofmanyofNAA'sproducts.
RCNviaRonDupas
AcontenderalongsidetheSovietUnion's
Inmedium-bombertermstheNorthAmerican
MiG-19forbeingthefirstgenuinelysupersonic
B-25MitchellwasassignificantastheMustang
jetfightertoenterfront-lineservice,theNorth
wastofighteroperations,havingfighter-like
AmericanF-100SuperSabrewasahighly
speedandmanoeuvrabilitycoupledwithheavy
significantfighterinthedevelopmentofhigh
firepower.Builtinseveralversions,theMitchell
performancejetcombataircraft.Theprototype
wasagreatsuccessinWorldWarTwo,the
firstflewinApril1953,andexceededthespeed
designthatledtotheB-25havingflownforthe
ofsoundonthatfirstflight.Thefirstoftwo
firsttimeinitsoriginalformduringJanuary
YF-100prototypesisillustrated,showingthe
1939.IllustratedisaUSAAF-operatedB-25Gin
type'ssleekandpurposefullines.InitialF-100A
anti-submarinecamouflage.The'G'versionhad
productionexampleswerepoweredbyasingle
a75mmM4cannoninitsshort'solid'nosealong
Pratt&WhitneyJ57turbojetofsome15,OOOIb
withtwo0.5inmachineguns,the75mmbeingone
thrustwithafterburning,makingtheF-100oneof
oftheheaviestforward-firingweaponsmounted
thefirstsuccessfulusersofahigh-performance
inaproductionaircraftduringthewar.USAAF
afterburner-equippedturbojetengine.USAF
14
15
CREATING ALEGEND CREATING ALEGE D
Glenn Martin and Donald Douglas. He NAA. One of the first acquisitions of unconventional. Perhaps it was in some
alsoassociatedwithseveralbignamesincludingCurtiss the locals as Mines Field, in the Los Angeles suburb jeterasawthecompanyfullyengagedin thedevelop
had latterlyworkeda avice-presidentfor US-manufactured aircraft by British pur way appropriate that a de ign that was
and Douglas. Berliner-Joycewas acreatorand manu of Inglewood. This site in itself is one of the world's ment of anew jet fighter, the work beginning during
facturer of biplane fighters for the USAAC (P-161, and famous aviation locations.Selected inJune1928tobe thewaryears.InitiallyflyinginOctober1947,theXP-86 engineering with the Dougla company. chasing representatives during the later destined to become such an xceptional
observationbiplanesfortheUSN(OJ-21.Reorganization thenewLosAngeles MunicipalAirportfromashortlist prototype was the forerunner of the first operational Backing him up wa John Leland 'Lee' 1930s was a significant order for A-16 combat aircraft should come about in
of the Berliner-Joyce Aircrah Corporation aher it was ofcontenders, the airport grew from small beginnings swept-wingjetfighterinthewesternworld,thesuperb Atwood, who became vice-presid nt series aircraft to help Britain's expanding an extraordinary way. Indeed, had it not
takenoverbyNAAin1930hadcreatedtheB/JAircrah and limitedinfrastructureintooneoftheworld's major F-86 Sabre. Arguably as iconic as the Mustang, the and chiefofengineering for NAA; ef~ pilot training programme. This was some been for Britain's burgeoning need for
Corporation,withofficesat1775,Broadway,NewYork, airports. RenamedLosAngelesAirportinJuly1941 (but Sabre fought itsown successful war in the skies over tively he was Kindelberger's right-hand time before th outbreak of the Second fighter aircraft,and thecloseconnections
and manufacturing premises at Dundalk in Maryland. stillknown locallyfor manyyearsasMinesField,aher Korea intheearly1950s. Inaddition NAAproducedthe man and also played the role of assist World War, and again showed that some thathadgrown betweenNA and British
These times were not good for aircrah companies, therealestateagentwhonegotiateditssaletothecity first-everproductionjetbomberforUSservice,theB-45 ant general manager. Kindelberger sub personnel in Britain's military establish representatives in the USA, the Mustang
however,duetothefinancialdisastersofthelate1920s ofLosAngeles in the1920s1, itsawmassivegrowth in Tornado, which alsowenttowarover Korea, butas a
sequently assembled a talented team ment were considerably more far-sighted might neverhave beencreated.The tory
andthesubsequentDepression. the post-World WarTwo period. Aher being renamed reconnaissance aircrah. Anew division at Columbus,
of designers and engine r for the new and realistic than many Briti h politi really tartedwhen Britainbeganto earch
In 1933NAAwasmergedwithaseparateorganiza LosAngeles InternationalAirportin 1950,acompletely Ohio, produced some of the F-86 production run and
company, of whom the mo t important cians ofthe day, in realizing the need for for modern fighter aircraft to buy 'offthe
tion, theGeneralAviationCorporation(GACl, the latter newairportwasbuiltonthesiteinthe late1950sand workedonotherprogrammes,althoughGeneral Motors
being the holding company for the aviation interests early1960s,muchofwhichstillremains.Todayitisone eventuallypulledoutofNAAownership.Sosuccessfully would prove to be German-born Edgar rearmament with modern equipment. In helP in the U A. Thissearch wa not as
ofthegiantGeneral MotorsCorporation.TheGACcon oftheworld'sgreatairports. didNAAmaketheswitchtojet-poweredcombataircrah chmued,latertohavesu hamajorinflu the early month of 19 Britain signed easyas ithasbeen madeouttobe in many
tainedwithin itsownorganizationthe GeneralAviation When the NAA's manufacturing division relocated thatitalsocreatedtheF-l00SuperSabre,whichholds, enceon the design ofthe Mustang. for 200 A-49s, the first of ubstantial published sources. Although the A
ManufacturingCorporation(GAMCl,formerlytheFokker from Dundalk to Mines Field in 1935 it temporarily with theSovietUnion's Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19, the numbersof A-16-derivedtwo-seattrain was undoubtedlya potential majorsource
AircrahCorporationofAmerica.Soonthemanufacturing used astructure known as the Moreland building, but record forbeingthefirstsupersonicjetfighter toreach ersgiven the name Harvard in Britishand offighteraircraft(knownas'pursuit'types
parts of each business were consolidated at Dundalk, soon a new purpose-built and state-of-the-art factory operational service. Other NAA designs included the North American Aviation British ommonwealthservice.Officially in the SA at that time), unfortunately
Maryland, and the GAMC built some rather undistin was built there on land leased from the Los Angeles A3J/A-5 Vigilante carrier-borne supersonic strike and Grows in Strength these 200 initial Harvards, followed by fighter and fighter engine de ign had
guished designs such as the G.A. F-15 twin-engined Departmentof Airports. This new factory was running reconnaissance aircraft, the T-28Trojan trainer(a suc
200 more, had the AA charge number considerably lagged behind in the U A
monoplaneflying-boatfortheUSCoastGuard, andthe inearly1936,andconstructionofNA-16seriestrainers cessor to the ubiquitous AT-6 Texan/Harvard familyl,
otonlydid AA have a numberofkey A-49, but the lAA de ignation for during the 19 0 .There werea numberof
G.A.43single-enginedlow-wing ten-passengerairliner. soon took precedence. However, NAA was a young, the USN's T-2 Buckeye jet trainer, the OV-l0 Bronco
new personnel and a smart new produc them was NA-16-1E. The first aircraft, specificrea on forthis.An importantone
Thisarrangementdidnotlastlong,however,forin1934 ambitious company. Through the excellentrelationship light-attackandCOINaircrah, and the incredibleMach
a major reorganization took place, in which General that it developed with British purchasing representa 3-capable XB-70 Valkyrie bomber prototypes, the first tion centre, but the NA-16 that gained Harvard Mk I erial number 7000, was wa the increasingly entrenched attitude
Motors relinquished some of its hold on the whole tives over the acquisition by Britain of NA-16-series ofwhichinitiallyflewinSeptember1964.Thecompany orders ub equ nt to the U AAC trainer pa sed to the Aeroplane & Armament among manysenior SAA officers that
GeneralAviationorganization,which included bothair trainers, the seedswere sown that led to the creation also increasingly became involved with rockettechnol competition was a real winner. With Experim ntal Establishment (A&AEE) fast, well-defended bombers would always
linesandmanufacturingcapacity,duetoanewfederal of the Mustang. In addition, NAA developed a twin ogyasthe1950sprogressed,developingitsRocketdyne variou modificationsand refinementsthe atMartIe ham Heath in uffolk, England, get to their targets,obvia ing the need for
law that required manufacturers to be manufacturers enginemediumbomber,theNA-40,whichgrewintothe division and building the amazing X-15 air-launched basiclayoutspawnedaseriesofdeveloped in late 193 .Itwastheveryfirstofseveral anything but the smallest possible fighter
alone,and notoperatorsorairmailcontractorsaswell. highly successful B-25 Mitchell that saw widespread supersonicresearchaircrah. models that went on to meet a number thousand Harvards for British and British force. This mind-setbecamesowellestab
ThislehthewayopenforanewNorthAmericanorgani serviceinWorldWarTwo.SosuccessfulwasNAAthat, Unfortunately this success did not last for ever. On of USAAC needs. Eventually the type Commonwealth operation that included lished that officers who advocated to the
zation toariseasarelated butseparateentity. In1934 despite massiveexpansion, the capacityof the factory 22 September 1967 NAA merged with the Rockwell
easily outsold the Seversky BT-8 which production by NAA as well as licence contrary were often sidelined or retired
the new North American Aviation, Inc. was born, with at Mines Field was fast being outstripped bygrowing Standard Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to
had in e s nce beenofficially preferred in manufacture in Canada, by oorduyn from the ervicesothat theirviewswould
itsofficesintheoldB/JAircrahCorporation'spremises ordersatthe endof the 1930sand startofthe 1940s. create the North American Rockwell Corporation. A
the original U AA ba ic trainer com Aviation Ltd, of2,557 Mk Ilbs, the most not upset thedeveloping tatu quoofthe
at1775,Broadway, NewYork,andwith itsown manu So NAA developed two further production plants, one major reorganization took place in 1971, the corpora
facturingdivisionatthepreviousDundalkfacilityofB/J atKansasCity,Missouri,whichsubsequentlyprincipally tion being divided into several constituent parts, one petition. In addition, U avy (U ) numerou ingle markofthe breed. These bomber's invincibility.
andtheGAMC.TheGeneral Motors influencewasstill manufactured B-25s, and one at Dallas, Texas, where of which was the North American Aerospace Group. intere t in the A-16' capabilities and aircraft became a vital part of Britain's Money,ora lackofit, wa a further ig
highlyimportant.andthefirstchiefofthenewNAAwas AT-6 Texan/Harvard manufacture initially took place, This was replaced, in February1974, bytwo organiza potential was a reason for the mating pilot training system in World WarTwo, nificant factor in the A falling behind
aGeneralMotorsman,ErnestBreech. joinedbyoverspill productionofP-51slaterin thewar. tions, the NorthAmericanAircrahGroupandthe North of Pratt & Whitney's excellent R-1340 but equally significantly the Harvard wa in the procurement of what we would
Everythingwentverywell from thefirst forthenew TheDallassitewasnotinDallasitself,butwassituated AmericanSpaceGroup.Theformerdulycontinuedwork Wasp radial engine to the basic design, the start of the highly important rela nowadays call 'state-of-the-art' designs.
organization.Broughtinalmoststraightawaytobethe at Hensley Field in nearby Grand Prairie. Construction on a significant aircrah type that is still very much althoughtheoriginalNA-16designlayout tionship between Britain and NAA that The USAAC was just that, a component
newpresidentofNAAandgeneralmanagerofitsmanu ofthenewfactory began inthe latterhalfof1940,but with us, the B-1 Lancerswing-wing bomber(firstflight envisaged the installation of this engine eventually fostered the co-operation out of the US Army, and often encountered
facturingdivisionwastalentedbusinessmanandexperi thetransferofproductionoftheAT-6seriesfromMines December19741.The latterwas involved in significant
in addition to the Wright R-975. The ofwhich the Mustang was derived. considerabledifficultyinobrainingmoney
encedaviationmanagerJamesH.'Dutch'Kindelberger. FieldtoDallasseriouslyslowedaircrahproductionuntil space programmes, the most high profile of which
ingredi nt were then in place to produce Another of the many foreign buyers for the developmentand purchase ofnew
Under his guidance, together with the talented team the spring and summer of 1941. Nevertheless, NAA's was the development and manufacture of the Space
the superb and long-running AT-6/ ofthe NA-16 was Au tralia, which built designs, particularly if tho e types were
thatheassembledaroundhim,NAAgrewfromstrength factorieswere builtaroundthesuccessful, modernand Shuttle.
tostrength.Fromthefirst,thenewcompanyintendedto efficient moving production line, and large numbers of Sadly the name North American eventually disap J T xan series of trainer that proved the developed A-33 (NAA designa fighters. The Army was more interested
designand manufactureitsown, newdesigns assoon Mustangs, Mitchells,Texansand Harvardsweremanu peared. In February 1973 North American Rockwell invaluable and served 0 widely with tion A-16-2K) derivativeofthe A-16 in the Air orps operating cia e-support
as practical. Initially NAA builtthe 0-47 single-engine facturedduringthewar.ThismassivelyexpandedNAA's changed its corporate name in a further reorganiza forces during World WarTwo. However, line as the Wirraway light-combat and typesthatwould workcloselywithground
observation monoplane for the USAAC, which owed workforce, froman initial total ofsome180inthemid tion, becoming the Rockwell International Corporation. despite these domestic successes, AA training aircraft. Constructed by the forces, rather than high-flying fighters. It
someofitsdesigntotheperiodimmediatelybeforethe 1930stoapproximately91,000lateintheSecondWorld Nevertheless,theNorthAmericannamewasstillasso knew that, in addition to sales within Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation was not until a verycommandingperson
birthofthe newNAA. Thefirstentirelyoriginaldesign War. Laterin thewarthe unusual P-82Twin Mustang ciatedwithvarious programmesintothe 1980s,oneof the USA, the company needed to sell (CAC) in Australia from 1939 onward, alitytookoverastheheadoftheU AAC
ofthenewcompanywasanopen-cockpit,tandemtwo began to takeshapeatInglewoodasananswertothe these being the development of anew version of the its products abroad. With the required the Wirraway gave important service that thissituationstarted to change. This
seat single-engine fixed-undercarriage trainer mono needforavery-long-rangefighterescort.Thecompany's gunship family based on the Lockheed C-130 Hercules
export licences in place, the basic A-16 during the Second World War in the was Henry H. 'Hap'Arnold, who etower
planecalledtheNA-16,whichdevelopedandgrewinto wartime output was huge, the 30,OOOth NAA aircrah transport, the AC-130USpectre, thefirst conversionof
layout thatd veloped into the AT-6/SNJ Pacificarea,and wasoneofthe firstofthe ing influence was to 'play such an impor
the hugely successful AT-6 Texan/Harvard series of since the startofwartimecontracts in the summerof which flew in December 1990. By that time the NAA
T xanserie waseventuallysold inalarge NA-16lineto eeactualfront-Iineservice. tant role in the build-up ofth U AA ,
trainers that were so important to Allied pilot training 1940beingaKansasCity-builtB-25J It isall the more branchofRockwellhadfacilitiesinPalmdale,California,
in World War Two, and served worldwide in a large remarkable that all of these designs were exceptional and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Everythingchanged, however, in variety of gui es and configurations to a Later, CA wa to becom an important it development into the AAF in
number of air arms. Not long aher its creation, NAA machines, each one being the top of its respective December 1996. On 6December 1996 Rockwell was great many for ign buyers. part of the Mustang story, and again the 1941, and its central role in the air war
began to move its manufacturing premises from the combatroleandbetterthanitsUSrivals. purchased by aerospace giant Boeing for $3.1 billion. Significant among these were Britain A-16 had forged the link between this during the econd World War. Arnold
grey skies and limited growth potential of Dundalk to The success of the Mustang, AT-6 Texan/Harvard Interestingly,forashorttimeaherthisthenameBoeing and various British ommonwealth Australian organization and AA that took over as the chiefofthe U AAC in
theblueskiesandmassivegrowthpotentialofsouthern seriesandB-25MitchellpropelledNAAintotheranksof NorthAmericanwasusedforthenewly-createdentity, countries. Thus the A-16series became would becomesignificant in later year in eptember J93 , but even at that point
California. The choice of location for NAA was the America's premieraircrah manufacturers. The success but it was not long before North American Aviation's highly significant in the story of the the Mu tang tory. it wasstill a truggle to obtain funds, par
Los Angeles Municipal Airport, othervvise known to continuedaherthe endof thewar. Thecomingof the namewasgoneforever. Mustang, helping to e tablish impor The process that led to the creation ticularly because the annual S defence
tant connections between Britain and of the Mustang was, to say the least, budget wa even then influenced by the
16 17