DAS0722 Detail & Scale Books - P-51 Mustang Part 1: NA-73X Through P-51A Allison Engined Variants

By Bert Kinsey, Haagen Klause and Rock Roszak; softbound; 102 pages

P-51 Mustang in Detail & Scale, Part 1 is the first in a three-volume series from Detail & Scale Aviation Publications that covers the North American P-51 Mustang, one of the most iconic fighter aircraft ever designed. The book is focused on the early Mustangs, those equipped with the Allison engine, and it fully covers these aircraft from the NA-73X prototype through the P-51A, including the photographic-reconnaissance F-6A and F-6B derivatives, and the early British variants, the Mustang Mk. I, Mk. IA, and Mk. II. Subsequent volumes will be P-51 Mustang in Detail & Scale, Part 2, which will cover the Rolls Royce/Packard-engined P-51B and C models, and P-51 Mustang in Detail & Scale, Part 3, which looks at the iconic P-51D and the subsequent variants.

P-51 Mustang in Detail & Scale, Part 1 begins with a history of the development and operational use of the Allison-engined variants. The P-51 Mustang initially came into being to help provide the British with as many first-line fighters as possible at a time when they were needed the most as Germany prepared to invade England. Lt. Benjamin Kelsey, the head of the Army Air Corps Pursuit Projects Office at Wright Field, Ohio, used his knowledge of aerodynamics and his ingenuity to ensure that the U. S. Army would also acquire the Mustang as America’s entry into World War II became more imminent with each passing day. The history chapter not only covers the development of the early Mustang variants, but it also summarizes their valuable contributions to the Allied war effort.

The next chapter takes a closer look at each of the Allison-engined variants, pointing out their differences and features with informative text and photographs. The A-36 dive bomber version gets special treatment with no less than thirty-seven photographs, many of which illustrate its unique features and details. The variants chapter covers both the fighter and photo-recon variants of each version. Scale drawings are provided for the production variants, and differences and unique features are indicated on these drawings.

Next comes the Allison-engined Mustang Details chapter that provides in-depth coverage of the common details of these variants. Nine different sections in this chapter include more than 140 photographs that illustrate the details more extensively than any other publication. 139 of these photographs are in color, and most were taken specifically for Detail & Scale. As with all Detail & Scale Series publications, the book concludes with a Modelers Section that reviews the scale model kits of the Allison-engined Mustangs that have been issued to date. These objective reviews point out the good and not-so-good points about each kit and make recommendations as to which ones are best for scale modelers to use.

P-51 Mustang in Detail & Scale, Part 1 has 245 high-resolution photographs, over 175 of which are in full color, plus ten scale drawings and seven full-color aircraft profiles.