North American A-36 Apache
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The North American A-36 Apache and early model P-51 Mustangs had a very different profile from the familiar P-51D. Here's a retrospective gallery of some surviving A-36A Apaches and P-51A, P-51B, and P-51C Mustanga.
North American A-36A Apache 42-83665 Margie H at the U.S. Air Force Museum on August 17, 1998. Its slotted dive brakes can be seen extended above and below the wing.
The North American A-36A Apache that carries construction number 97-15883 is displayed at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. It flew for the Army Air Force as 42-83665. Kendall Everson and Essex Wire Corporation registered it as NX39502 in 1946. It flew as race #15 City of Lynchburg II in the 1947 Bendix Trophy race. It crashed during the race in Cleveland, Ohio on September 1, 1947. James Hannon and Hanby Enterprises changed its registration to N39502 in 1949 and flew it as race #2. Harry McCandless and Bill Widfelt acquired it in 1950. It was stored at Council Bluffs, Iowa from 1949 to 1954. Walter H. Erickson of Minneapolis, Minnesota bought it in 1954 and sold it to Charles P. Doyle of Rosemount, Minnesota in 1963. The U.S. Air Force Museum acquired it in 1971. The Minnesota Air National Guard restored it for static display in 1973. It is displayed with its original AAF serial number and is named Margie H.
A-36A Apache NL251A on display at the Champlin Fighter Museum on November 29, 1992.
This A-36A Apache carries construction number 97-15949. It flew for the Army Air Force as 42-83731. Jack P. Hardwick of El Monte, California acquired it in 1950 and stored it in his yard until 1975. Thomas L. Camp of Livermore, California bought it in 1975. Dick Martin of Carlsbad, California registered it as N50452 in August 1980. It made its first flight after restoration in 1982. Tom Friedkin, Cinema Air Incorporated, and Chino Warbirds Incorporated of Carlsbad, California registered it as N251A in 1983. It was displayed at the Champlin Fighter Museumin Mesa, Arizona from 1991 to 1993 and than at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas from 1994 to 2001. It was taken to Duxford for the British airshow season on June 10, 2002. It returned to the United States in 2003 and recently returned to flight after extensive restoration. It is powered by an Allison V-1710 V-12 engine.
A-36A Apache NL251A at the Champlin Fighter Museum on November 29, 1992. The retracted slotted dive brake can be seen on the upper surface of the wing.
A-36A Apache NL251A at the Champlin Fighter Museum on November 29, 1992.
A-36A Apache NL251A at the Champlin Fighter Museum on November 29, 1992.
A-36A Apache NL251A at the Champlin Fighter Museum on November 29, 1992.
A-36A Apache NL251A at the Champlin Fighter Museum on November 29, 1992.
A-36A Apache NL251A at Chino on May 15, 2010.
North American A-36A Apache NL251A is displayed at Chino on May 15, 2010 with its slotted
airbrakes open above and below the wing.
North American A-36A Apache NL251 at Chino on May 15, 2010.
North American A-36A Apache NL251A and P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 15, 2010.
North American A-36A Apache NL251A at Chino on May 15, 2010.
North American A-36A Apache NL251A at Chino on May 15, 2010.
North American P-51A-1NA Mustang N51Z Polar Bear on static display at the Camarillo Experimental Aircraft Association Fly-in on August 25, 2001.
North American P-51A-1NA Mustang, N51Z Polar Bear carries construction number 99-22109. It served the the Army Air Force as 43-6006. It was accepted by the AAF at Mines Field, California on April 2, 1943. It was delivered to Army Air Corps Ladd Field at Fairbanks Alaska on May 1, 1943. It crashed near Summit Alaska on February 16, 1944. Its pilot, Lt. Edward W. Getter, was killed in the crash. Waldon "Moon" Spillers of Versailles, Ohio recovered the wreckage in October 1977. Some P-51D fuselage components were incorporated in its restoration. It made its first flight after restoration on July 3, 1985. Jerry Gabe of San Jose, california bought it in 1995. Dave Morss flew it in the Reno Air Races in 2005 and 2006.
P-51A Mustang N51Z Polar Bear at Camarillo on August 25, 2001.
P-51A Mustang N51Z Polar Bear at Camarillo on August 25, 2001.
P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y on static display in Royal Air Force colors at the Chino Airshow on May 20, 1984.
P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y carries construction number 99-22354 and served the Army Air Force as 43-6251. Cal Aero Technical Institute of Glendale, California acquired it in 1946 and sold it to Ed Maloney and The Air Museum at Claremont, California in 1953. It made its first flight after restoration on August 19, 1981. It is powered by an Allison V-1710 V-12 engine.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y taxiing at the Chino Airshow on May 20, 1984.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y on display at the Air Museum Planes of Fame on October 18, 1987.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y on display at the Air Museum Planes of Fame on August 9, 1992.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y on display at the Air Museum Planes of Fame on October 17, 1993.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y on display at the Planes of Fame Grand Canyon Museum at Valle, Arizona on August 16, 2001. It was restored as Royal Air Force Mustang AG470, RU-M and modified to resemble a photo-reconnaissance F-6B with a camera port behind the cockpit.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y on display at the Planes of Fame Grand Canyon Museum on August 16, 2001.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y on display at the Planes of Fame Grand Canyon Museum on August 16, 2001.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y was restored in Army Air Force markings and named Mrs Virginia when it appeared at the Planes of Fame Airshow at Chino on May 21, 2006.
Curtiss P-40N Warhawk, NL85104 and P-51A Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 21, 2006.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 21, 2006.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 21, 2006.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 21, 2006.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 21, 2006.
Goodyear F2G-1 Corsair, N5588N and P-51A Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 21, 2006.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 21, 2006.
P-51A Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 21, 2006.
North American P-51A-10NA Mustang, NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 17, 2008.
North American P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 17, 2008.
Lightning NX138AM 23 Skidoo and P-51A NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 17, 2008.
P-51A NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 17, 2008.
P-51A NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 17, 2008.
North American P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 17, 2009.
North American P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 17, 2009.
North American P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 17, 2009.
North American P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 17, 2009.
North American P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 15, 2010.
North American P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 15, 2010.
North American P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on May 15, 2010.
North American P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on April 29, 2016
North American P-51D Mustang NL5441V Dolly/Spam Can and North American P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on April 30, 2016.
North American P-51D Mustang NL5441V Dolly/Spam Can and North American P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on April 30, 2016.
North American P-51A-10NA Mustang NX4235Y Mrs Virginia at Chino on April 30, 2016.
P-51A Mustang N90358 on static display at the Yanks Air Museum at Chino on August 23, 2002.
P-51A Mustang N90358 carries construction number 99-22377. It served the the Army Air Force as 43-6274. It entered the civil register as NX73630 after the war. Harry McCandless and Ben Widfelt registered it as N73630 in 1950. It was stored in the open at Council Bluffs, Iowa from 1949 to 1954. Walter H. Erickson of Minneapolis, Minnesota acquired it in 1953. Charles Nichols and the Yankee Air Corps at Chino registered it as N90358 in 1978. It is displayed in airworthy condition as 43-2674 at the Yanks Air Museum at Chino.
P-51A Mustang N90358 on static display at the Yanks Air Museum on August 23, 2002.
This Mustang was restored as P-51B-5 43-6913 Shangri La, which was flown by Don Gentile of the 336th Fighter Squadron of the 4th Fighter Group, when it appeared at the Chino airshow on May 20, 1984. Gentile shot down at least 21 enemy airplanes and destroyed about nine on the ground. On April 13, 1944, Gentile was the ranking ace in the 8th Air Force. He buzzed Debden Airfield in Shangri La for the benefit of a gathering of reporters, but he inadvertantly struck the ground, and the plane never flew again.
This Mustang is a composite airframe made from the wings of a P-51B and fuselage components from more than one P-51D. The construction number of the wings is 103-26778. It made its first flight on June 11, 1981. Peter Regina of Van Nuys, California registered it as N51PR. It flew as Shangri La. Joseph Kasparoff of Montebello, California acquired it in 1987, painted it red and flew it as The Believer, Race #97. Stephen Grey and The Fighter Collection had it shipped to Duxford, United Kingdom in 1996 where ii was restored as Princess Elizabeth. It was registered as G-PSIC on April 16, 1998. It returned to Pacific Fighters at Chino for restoration in November 1998 then went back to Duxford for reassembly in 2002. It flew again in 2005. Jim Beasley purchased it in December 2006 and had it shipped to Chino for rebuild. It was registered as N487FS on February 2, 2007.
P-51B-5 43-6913, N51PR Shangri La on static display at the Naval Air Station Point Mugu airshow on October 20, 1984.
P-51B-5 43-6913, N51PR Shangri La takes off with P-51D N44727 Man-O-War at the Naval Air Station Point Mugu airshow on October 20, 1984.
This Mustang was painted as The Believer, N51PR Race #97 when it visited the Santa Barbara Airport on January 7, 1990.
The Believer, N51PR Race #97 at Santa Barbara on January 7, 1990.
The Believer, N51PR Race #97 at Santa Barbara on January 7, 1990.
The Believer, N51PR Race #97 at Santa Barbara on January 7, 1990.
The Believer, N51PR Race #97 taking off from Santa Barbara on January 7, 1990.
The Believer, N51PR Race #97 taking off from Santa Barbara on January 7, 1990.
The Believer, N51PR Race #97 at Santa Monica on May 19, 1990.
The Believer, N51PR Race #97 at Santa Monica on May 19, 1990.
The Believer, N51PR Race #97 taxies at Santa Maria on October 27, 1990.
The Believer, N51PR Race #97 takes off at Santa Maria on October 27, 1990.
This Mustang was restored as P-51C-10NT 43-25147, N487FS Princess Elizabeth when it appeared on static display at the Planes of Fame Airshow at Chino on May 19, 2007. It is expected to fly again soon.
P-51C-10NT 43-25147, N487FS Princess Elizabeth at Chino on May 19, 2007.
P-51C-10NT 43-25147, N487FS Princess Elizabeth at Chino on May 19, 2007.
P-51C-10NT 43-25147, N487FS Princess Elizabeth at Chino on May 19, 2007.
P-51C-10NT 43-25147, N487FS Princess Elizabeth at Chino on May 19, 2007.
P-51C-10NT 43-25147, N487FS Princess Elizabeth at Chino on May 19, 2007.
P-51C-10NT 43-25147, N487FS Princess Elizabeth at Chino on May 19, 2007.
P-51C-10NT 43-25147, N487FS Princess Elizabeth at Chino on May 15, 2010.
North American P-51C Mustang N51PR Princess Elizabeth at Chino on May 15, 2010.
North American P-51C Mustang N51PR Princess Elizabeth at Chino on May 15, 2010.
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North American P-51C Mustang N51PR Princess Elizabeth at Chino on May 15, 2010.
North American P-51C Mustang N51PR Princess Elizabeth at Chino on May 15, 2010.
North American TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Burbank on May 10, 2009.
Betty Jane has been restored as a dual-control TP-51C trainer. During World War II, some single-place Mustangs were modified in the field with a second set of controls to serve as trainers and high-speed VIP transports. This Mustang carriers the construction number 103-22730. The original 103-22730 flew for the Army Air Corps as 42-103293 and was condemned as salvage due to battle damage on May 3, 1944. John Muszala collected P-51B and P-51C parts. Muszala and Max Chapman agreed to assemble a flying example of a dual-control TP-51C. Chapman reserved the registration N24177 for it in June 2003. It first flew after restoration on May 5, 2004. The registration NL151MX was reserved for the airplane on June 25, 2004 and taken up on August 28, 2004. It won Best P-51 at Oshkosh that summer. In 2006 it was painted as P-51B 43-106511 Betty Jane of the Fifteenth Air Force. It was registered to the Collings Foundation on April 30, 2008. It is powered by a Packard manufactured V-1650 Merlin 12-cylinder engine.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Burbank on May 10, 2009.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Burbank on May 10, 2009.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Burbank on May 10, 2009.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Burbank on May 10, 2009.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Burbank on May 10, 2009.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Burbank on May 10, 2009.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 23, 2010.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 23, 2010.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane taxis out for a revenue flight at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 23, 2010.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 23, 2010.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 23, 2010.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane returnes from a revenue flight at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 23, 2010.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 23, 2010.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 23, 2010.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 23, 2010.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 23, 2010.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 23, 2010.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane took off from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway for Marana Regional Airport near Tucson at 1:03 PM on April 23, 2010.
North American TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Deer Valley on April 20, 2011.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Deer Valley on April 20, 2011.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Deer Valley on April 20, 2011.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Deer Valley on April 20, 2011.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Deer Valley on April 20, 2011.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Deer Valley on April 20, 2011.
TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Deer Valley on April 20, 2011.
North American TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Deer Valley on April 13, 2016.
North American TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Deer Valley on April 13, 2016.
North American TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Deer Valley on April 13, 2016.
North American TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Deer Valley, Arizona, April 13, 2016.. You can purchase prints of this photo as large as 16 inches by 24 inches.
North American TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Deer Valley on April 13, 2016.
Collings Foundation Wings of Freedom Tour: North American TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane, North American B-25J Mitchell NL3476G Tondelayo, Consolidated B-24J Liberator N224J Witchcraft, and Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress N93012 Nine-O-Nine at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 15, 2016.
North American TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 15, 2016.
North American TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 15, 2016.
North American TP-51C-10 Mustang NL251MX Betty Jane at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway on April 15, 2016.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Luke AFB on March 18, 2018. It was delivered to the Army Air Force as 42-103645. Its construction number is 103-26199. It was acquired by the Confederate Air Frce in 1965. It was registered N215CA in 1985. Its restoration was completed and it was registered NL61429 in 2001. It was involved in a fatal crash on May 30, 2004. Its restoration was completed in May 2009. It made a gear-up landing at Dallas Executive Airport on February 3, 2015.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Luke AFB on March 18, 2018.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request at Prescott on October 5, 2019.
P-51C-10NT Mustang N1202 Excalibur III on display at the California Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles on November 28, 1986.
P-51C-10NT Mustang N1202 Excaliber III carries construction number 111-29080. It served the the Army Air Force as 44-10947. Paul Mantz of Glendale, California bought it at at Stillwater Air Force Base, Oklahoma on February 19, 1946. He registered it as NX1202 on August 9, 1946. He equipped it with wet-wing fuel tanks and raced it in the transcontinental Bendix Trophy Race as race #46, Excalibur. Mantz in Excaliber took first place in the 1946 and 1947 Bendix Trophy Races and second in the 1948 race. Mantz set coast-to-coast speed records in both directions in 1947. Herman Salmon raced it as race #60, Houstonian to third place in the 1949 Bendix Trophy Race. Charles F. Blair of New York, New York registered it as N1202 on May 27, 1950 and flew it as Excaliber III. On January 31, 1951, Blair set a new record in Houstonian for reciprocating-engine, propeller-driven airplanes for flight between New York and London that still stands. On May 29, 1951, Blair flew Excaliber III from Bardufoss. Norway to Fairbanks, Alaska by way of the North Pole. The flight earned Blair the 1952 Harmon International Trophy. Pan American Airlines bought Excaliber III from Blair and donated it to the Smithsonian Institution on November 6, 1953. Its restoration was completed in 1977. It was displayed at the California Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles from the mid-1980s until 2000, when it was returned to the National Air and Space Museum. It is now displayed at the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport.
P-51C-10NT Mustang N1202 Excaliber III on display at the California Museum of Science and Industry on November 28, 1986.
Link to the P-38 National Association Glacier Girl page.Link to the Acepilots.com profile of Con Gentile.
Link to the Yanks Air Museum web site.
Link to the Air Museum Planes of Fame web site.
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