P-51D-30

This page is about the American fighter P-51D-30. For other versions, see P-51 (Family).

P-51D-30

P-47N-15

P-51H-5-NA

360://https://wiki.warthunder.com/images/e/ea/Cockpit_p-51d-30_usaaf_korea.jpg

P-51D-30

P-47N-15

P-51H-5-NA

USA

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.7	5.0	5.3

Class:

Fighter

Research:46 000

Purchase:155 000

Show in game

Description

The P-51D-30 Mustang is a rank IV American fighter with a battle rating of 4.7 (AB), 5.0 (RB), and 5.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.33.27.0.

The P-51D was a further development of earlier Allison-engined P51s in that it received the excellent Rolls-Royce Merlin engine which gave it excellent high-altitude performance. This, combined with excellent endurance, made the P51 well-suited for bomber escort duties.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 6 400 m721 km/h

Turn time20 s

Max altitude12 700 m

EnginePackard V-1650-7

TypeInline

Cooling systemWater

Take-off weight5 t

In-game, the P-51D-30 runs a 75" boost that allows it to outspeed nearly every single vehicle at 5.0 BR. It possesses an excellent climb rate and good high-speed handling which makes it extremely well suited for Boom and Zoom. Additionally, bombs and rockets can be carried making the P51 a good ground striker in Ground RB.

Use this plane as a Boom & Zoom fighter. Altitude and speed are your biggest friends while in combat. The P-51D has a laminar flow wing, hence it is fast and very agile at high speeds. The laminar flow wing reduces drag especially when going fast, which means that the aircraft turns best at high speeds. The P-51D out-dives nearly all opponents at 5.0, and is also very agile at high speeds. The plane has great endurance with its 1,880 rounds of ammo and 31 minutes of fuel minimum. Use this to your advantage.

It has a very high stall speed. You'd be better off to not stall in this plane. Only do it when necessary and when you know you're safe to do it. The P-51D-30 is not a turn fighter but is definitely manoeuvrable enough to dogfight at high speed. Optimal climb speed is 280 km/h IAS with WEP and should be decreased by 5 km/h every 1,500 m altitude. The flaps are so strong you can deploy them in pretty much any situation in a dogfight. And even at 600+ km/h IAS, it takes a little bit of time for your flaps to break, takeoff flaps can be deployed at up to 510 km/h IAS.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 6,400 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	689	672	12700	21.1	21.8	18.3	18.3	396
Upgraded	754	721		19.1	20.0	28.8	22.7

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
910	281	644	512	265	~11	~5

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 500	< 300	< 500	> 400

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
2,400 m	1,580 hp	1,959 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
6,400 m	1,370 hp	1,699 hp

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural910 km/h

Gear281 km/h

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass in front of the pilot.
• 19.05 mm Steel plate in front of the engine.
• 6.35 mm Steel plate between the engine and pilot.
• 15.87 mm Steel plate behind the pilot.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB1 901 → 2 509

RB4 606 → 6 079

SB6 651 → 8 779

Total cost of modifications40 400

78 200

Talisman cost1 400

Crew training45 000

Experts155 000

Aces820

Research Aces440 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

80 / 200 / 410 %

160 / 160 / 160 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 1 600 Cost: 3 100 155 Radiator Research: 1 600 Cost: 3 100 155 Airframe Research: 2 300 Cost: 4 400 220 Compressor Research: 2 300 Cost: 4 400 220 Wings repair Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 900 195 Engine Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 900 195 Cover Research: 3 300 Cost: 6 400 320 Engine injection Research: 3 300 Cost: 6 400 320 G-suit Research: 3 300 Cost: 6 400 320		bmg50_belt_pack Research: 1 600 Cost: 3 100 155 Mk78 Research: 1 600 Cost: 3 100 155 FSBC mk.1 Research: 1 600 Cost: 3 100 155 Rocket Launcher M10 Research: 2 300 Cost: 4 400 220 FSBC mk.5 Research: 2 300 Cost: 4 400 220 bmg50_new_gun Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 900 195 FRC mk.2 Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 900 195 FMBC mk.1 Research: 2 000 Cost: 3 900 195 FLBC mk.1 Research: 3 300 Cost: 6 400 320

Armaments

Offensive armament

The P-51D-30 is armed with:

• 6 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns, wing-mounted (400 rpg inner, 270 rpg outer x2 = 1,880 total)

Suspended armament

The P-51D-30 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 6 x HVAR rockets
• 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 6 x M8 rockets

Usage in battles

Offense

Probably the best assets the P-51D has are its speed, weaponry, and energy retention. In game and in real life the P-51D achieves ideal performance above 7 km; however, even at low altitudes, the P-51 is still incredibly fast. If one climbs at the ideal speed of 250 km/h IAS side climbing is not necessary- a high enough altitude will be achieved by the time the first contact is initiated that the P-51D-30 can simply evade incoming fire and speed away, untouchable.

When an enemy is spotted moving away from the P51-D, enter a mild dive and go for a strafing run. After that, it is important to continue heading in the same direction so the speed is maintained. Doing this, even the most agile fighters won't be able to turn quickly enough to fire on you. If you miss on your strafe run or have an enemy behind you, you should get at least 2+km from the enemy and then start to turn towards him, depending on his speed. If your speed is under 500 km/h, a bigger distance should be achieved before attempting a turn. This ensures that your turn will be completed before the enemy gets within 1 km distance before you can line up your shot. Head-ons are actually very effective against fragile/lightly gunned vehicles such as the A6M and Spitfire. The high rate of fire and velocity of the 50 cals make long-range sniping very viable.

When engaging enemy bombers, aim for engines and wings. A good burst will rip off wings with ease and/or start several fires.

Defense Shallow dives and altitude are your friends- at 5.0 there is no vehicle short of an Fw 190 D-13 that can catch a P-51D-30 above 5 km. Furthermore, the P-51D-30 is near untouchable in a dive- careful, however, as planes such as the G.55S can and will catch a P-51 in a steep dive. In such a case, initiate a shallow dive which will make use of your superior energy retention and top speed.

Defensive dives are a strong suit of the P-51D as the flaps and airframe are very durable- spiral dives can easily rip the wings of more fragile Bf 109s and Spitfires.

It is possible in arcade to perform Pugachev's Cobra (due to the agility at high speeds) in some situations but should not be attempted unless you are at high speed and know what you are doing as it does require a large amount of skill to pull off successfully.

When flying against others, notable enemies are the Griffon/LF Spitfires, Fw 190 Ds, and Ta 152 H-1s. Each have to be handled accordingly when met: Griffon/LF Spitfires can be outrun, Fw 190 Ds can be out-turned, and Ta 152 Hs can be out-dived.

Due to the speed of the P-51D you may be able to outrun slower vehicles in a straight line (especially above 5 km) such as the Bf 109, Fw 190, and some heavier fighters and most ground attack aircraft. Coupled with light rolling and WEP you should be able to run from most dogfights.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Auto control available	Controllable Auto control available	Separate	Not controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

It's recommended to use Manual Engine Control with the P-51D-30 because of quite fast engine overheating. The D-30 has indefinite WEP and Meredith Effect modeled so radiator drag at high speeds is not an issue, even when fully opened they slow down the plane by up to 5 km/h.

The MEC controls on this plane are incredibly simple. Put out both radiators to 100%, and keep it like that for the whole game, as your engine will never overheat. Due to the position of the radiators, it gives a small amount of jet thrust to counteract the little drag it creates.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Outstanding Boom & Zoom capability
• Great performance at higher altitudes
• Above average climb rate
• Very high top speed at all altitudes
• Very agile at high speeds
• M2 Browning machine guns do decent damage and has high ammo, velocity and range
• Good cockpit visibility
• Decent payload options for ground attack
• Incredibly simple MEC (Manual Engine Controls)
• Good turn radius at high speeds

Cons:

• Fragile and catches fire easily
• Sluggish manoeuvrability at low speeds
• Poor rudder control makes aiming difficult
• High stall speed (166 km/h)
• Minimum fuel load is rather big (weighs the plane down)
• High repair cost in RB and SB

History

The North-American P-51 Mustang was an American fighter designed in the early 1940s and is considered the best US fighter of WWII. It was widely exported to countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. The P-51 participated in the Korean War and other post-WWII conflicts.

The most famous Mustang version was the P-51D with teardrop (or bubble) canopy. The main problem for the pilots of the earlier variants was a huge blind spot at the rear of the aircraft due to the canopy design. An earlier attempt to address the issue was a British-designed Malcolm hood, installed on many P-51Bs. It improved rearward visibility, but the search for a better solution continued. In January 1943, USAAF's Colonel Mark Bradley, while stationed in Britain, was introduced to the then-new "bubble" canopy, designed for use on Spitfires and Typhoons. The canopy had no framework and offered near 360-degree vision. To install the new canopy, the rear fuselage section of the Mustang had to lose some height. However, this change required minimal redesign to the airframe. The inaugural flight of the new P-51D took place at Inglewood, California on 17th November 1943. The P-51D-30 was developed soon before the war ended. It mainly served in the Korean war.

Archive of the in-game description

A single-seat all-metal cantilever monoplane fighter with a single engine, closed cockpit and retractable landing gear. The P-51D model Mustangs lacked one of the main flaws of the P-51B and P-51C models – poor visibility from the cockpit, particularly to the rear. The P-51D fighters received a new drop-shaped cockpit canopy without bracing, providing a perfect 360° view. Over time, the German Luftwaffe's resistance became weaker. Sightings of enemy planes in the sky grew rarer and rarer. This influenced the Mustang's continued evolution. Model P-51D aircraft were no longer painted – camouflage on the ground and in the air came to be considered excessive. The fighters now gleamed with polish metal. Its weight had decreased slightly, and its aerodynamics improved. On average, this resulted in a small addition to its speed. Mustangs then began to attack ground targets more often than air targets. They received rocket equipment to increase their efficiency as fighter-bombers and attack aircraft. The P-51D-30 could carry a "cluster" of three "tubes" – directional M10s, M14s or M15s for launching unguided M8 rockets. In place of these, it could also carry clips for the suspension of unguided 127 mm HVAR rockets. The P-51D was able to carry up to six heavy rockets along with suspended fuel tanks, and up to ten rockets without them. The aircraft's rocket armament significantly increased its ability to damage small moving targets. The P-51D became the most mass-produced Mustang model, a symbol of American aviation and one of the best fighters of World War II. In total, 8,156 of them were built. Apart from the RAF and USAAF, the P-51 was in service with France, China, Australia and the Netherlands during World War II. The P-51D remained in service with the USAAF for many years after World War II. In 1948, the USAF, newly formed as a separate type of army, abolished the letter "P" ("pursuit") as a designation for fighter and replaced it with the letter "F" ("fighter"). The designation P-51 changed to F-51 accordingly.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the P-51D-30 from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Ace of the Month] Major George E. Preddy Jr
• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

North American Aviation
Fighters
P-51A	P-51 · P-51A
P-51C	P-51C-10
P-51D	P-51D-5 · P-51D-10 · P-51D-20-NA · P-51D-30
P-51H	P-51H-5-NA
Twin-engine fighters	F-82E
Jet fighters	F-86A-5 · F-86F-2 · F-86F-25 · F-86F-35 · F-100D
Strike aircraft	A-36 · PBJ-1H · PBJ-1J
	FJ-4B · FJ-4B VMF-232
Bombers	B-25J-1 · B-25J-20
Export/Licence	▂B-25J-30 · ␗B-25J-30
	▄Mustang Mk IA · F-6C-10-NA · ␗P-51C-11-NT · ␗P-51D-20 · J26 David · J26 · P-51D-20-NA · ␗P-51K
	F-86F-30 ▅ · ␗F-86F-30 · F-86F-40 ▅ · F-86F-40 JASDF▅ · ␗F-86F-40
	◄F-86K · ▄F-86K (Italy) · ▄F-86K (France)
	␗F-100A · ▄F-100D · ␗F-100F
Captured	▅P-51C-11-NT
	Canadair Limited license-built the F-86 as the CL-13 for use in Canada and export to Europe.
	Fiat license-built the F-86K for the Italian Air Force though another 120 NAA built F-86Ks were also sold to the Italians.
See Also	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries · Canadair Limited · Fiat Aviation