P-51 Early Mustang

Including the A-36A, P-51 & P-51A to C
A Complete Guide to the USAAF’s Famous Fighter

by Richard A. Franks

Valiant Wings Publishing
Airframe and Miniature No. 6

Reviewed by Graham Carter

This is the second, updated edition of this volume released in 2013 and reviewed by Brad Fallon here on 30th May 2014 (q.v.). The additional material is reflected in the fact that the first edition contained 196 pages while this one has 272!

The book follows the familiar path with a stout glossy card cover adorned with one of Jerry Boucher’s illustrations , this time the P-5A ‘Mrs Virginia’ of Major Robert Petit duelling with Zero. The author’s approach to the bewildering variety and nomenclature of the P-51 series is explained in the notes opposite the Contents Page at the start of the book. 

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Beginning with a 24-page Preface explaining the role of the British in the early development of the Mustang idea and its eventual use by a large number of RAF units, followed by its adoption by the USAAF.

There follows a short Evolution of the NA-73X, Mustang Mk I, XP-51, Mustang Ia, P-51-NA and  F-6A, and then eighteen pages on the early Merlin-powered Mustangs illustrated with profile drawings and photos.

Test Airframes and Field Conversions fill Chapter 4 for twenty-five pages, leading to Camouflage and Markings occupying 35 pages and containing photos and colour profiles of the schemes carried by RAF, USAAF, French, Dominican Republic, Swedish, Russian, Swiss and even Luftwaffe users. These are by Richard J. Caruana and could inspire modellers to produce a range of nice models. Two colour pages illustrate the colourful nose patterns of USAAF units.

Chapter 6 is a review of kits of the NA A-36 Apache & Early P-51 in all of the major scales. It gives a brief summary of the features and accuracy of the main available kits and will help the modeller decide which kit to approach in his or her chosen scale. This is followed by Chapter 7 in which well-known and highly regarded modellers Libor Jekl and Steve A. Evans build a selection of 1/72 and 1/48 kits respectively. I always enjoy these as they are clearly explained and illustrated, along with any issues that need to be addressed.

Now for an issue! The next chapter is also Chapter 7!! This is then followed by Chapter 8, which is referred to as Chapter 9 on the Contents page. This should have been picked up in the proof-reading. Not a major error but, still!

The second Chapter 7 is Building a Collection and runs to 36 pages of annotated front port isometric drawings by Jack Jackiewicz illustrating all of the modifications and features of the major and some minor variants of this aircraft. These are helped by small B&W photos of the points being identified and are, I think, a useful addition to this section. 

The final text chapter covers In Detail hundreds of photos and drawings from maintenance manuals in B&W and colour showing various features of the airframes, inside and out. This fills fifty seven pages and is one of the very useful features of this series of books. The final twenty pages is made up of four Appendices: Kits of all vintages in the full range of scales, then Accessories,  Decals and Masks and, finally, a Bibliography of books, magazines and periodical articles about these early Mustangs. 

Inside the rear cover is a fold-out eight-page set of 1/48 drawings of the Apache and early Mustang types that will be most useful to the modeller and which could be reduced on a copier to suit the builder in the ‘one true scale’.

This is another magnum opus from Valiant and comes highly recommended to any modeller or technophile or military historian with an interest in the early developments of this iconic aircraft. With such a vast variety of variants and denominations there are possibly a couple of quibbles that are beyond this reviewer to unearth but this will not detract from the overall positive importance of this volume. If you missed the first edition some ten years ago then grab it while you can.

Thanks to Valiant Wings Publishing for the sample.

Review Copyright © 2024 by Graham Carter
This Page Created on 24 December, 2024
Last updated 24 December, 2024

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