With the end of the Second World War the need for a long-range escort fighter seemed to be over and the P-82 Twin Mustang appeared to be doomed to the scrapheap. However the following year saw an order for
250 North American P-82 Twin Mustang aircraft and the type would see active service in the Korean War.
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First flight 15th June 1945 |
Entered service May 1948 |
Total built 270 |
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With the Pacific theatre of war requiring long flights over water the United States Army Air Force issued a requirement for a escort fighter with a extremely long-range. As a result during
1944 North American thought of merging two of its P-51 Mustangs together. The benefit of having a twin aircraft was
that two pilots could take it in turns to fly, although only one side of the aircraft would have full flight instruments with both cockpits having full control systems and
adjustable seats. The aim was to reduce fatigue for the pilots on long missions.
Three prototypes of the XP-82 would fly during 1945, two of the prototypes would have counter-rotating propellers with power supplied by a pair of Packard Merlin V-1650 engines. The third
prototype featured common rotation and was powered by the Allison V-1710 engine and it was a variant of the Allison engined which was selected for the production P-82. In the end only 20
of the original 500 P-82Bs that had been ordered by the USAAF had been produced before the Second World War (1939 – 1945) ended with the rest being cancelled. Despite this two production aircraft would
be converted into night fighters, fitted with SCR-720 radar was the P-82C and with APS-4 radar the P-82D with the starboard cockpit modified to accommodate a radar operator, whilst the
radar itself was installed under the middle of the aircraft.
It was during 1946 that the P-82 came back to life as the USAAF placed an order for 250 of the type which was broken down as:
100 P-82E escort fighters.
100 P-82F night fighters equipped with APS-4 radar.
50 P-82G night fighters equipped with SCR-720 radar.
The designations of some aircraft were to change two years later when the P-82 Mks B-G were renamed as F-82s and by the time the year was out the Northrop P-61 Black Widow had
been replaced by the F-82.
It was during the Korean War (1950 - 1953) that the Twin Mustang was to see service and on the 27th June 1950 a pilot of the 68th Fighter Squadron flying an F-82G shot down
the first North Korean aircraft of the war.
It was the F-82H that was to be the last version of the type to see service and these were F-82F & Gs that had been converted for use in Alaska, and by the time production ended
270 had been built.
Technical Details
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XP-82 |
Two prototypes powered by the 1,380-hp Packard Merlin V-1650-28 and 25. |
XP-82A |
Prototype of a long-range escort fighter powered by the 1,600-hp Allison V-1710-119 engine. |
P-82B |
482 mph |
1,280 miles |
41,600 ft |
six 0.50-in machine-guns twenty five 5-in rockets 4,000lb bombs |
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P-82C |
Modified P-82B, fitted with SCR-720 radar. |
P-82D |
Modified P-82B, fitted with APS-4 radar. |
P-82E |
482 mph |
2,700 miles |
40,000 ft |
six 0.50-in machine-guns twenty five 5-in rockets 4,000lb bombs |
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F-82F |
482 mph |
2,700 miles |
38,700 ft |
six 0.50-in machine-guns twenty five rockets |
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F-82G |
482 mph |
2,700 miles |
38,700 ft |
six 0.50-in machine-guns twenty five 5-in rockets 2,000lb bombs |
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F-82H |
Converted F-82F & Gs for cold weather use. |
Photos
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See This Aircraft
(C) = Cockpit only exhibit. (F) = Fuselage only exhibit. (R) = Remains of an aircraft.
No known examples currently on public display in the UK. |
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