https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_F-82_Twin_Mustang
The North American F-82 Twin Mustang was the last American piston-engine fighter
ordered into production by the United States Air Force. Based on the P-51
Mustang, the F-82 was originally designed as a long-range escort fighter in
World War II. The war ended well before the first production units were
operational.
In the postwar era, Strategic Air Command used the planes as a long-range escort
fighter. Radar-equipped F-82s were used extensively by the Air Defense Command
as replacements for the Northrop P-61 Black Widow as all-weather day/night
interceptors. During the Korean War, Japan-based F-82s were among the first USAF
aircraft to operate over Korea. The first three North Korean aircraft destroyed
by U.S. forces were shot down by F-82s, the first being a North-Korean Yak-11
downed over Gimpo Airfield by the USAF 68th Fighter Squadron.
In October 1943, the North American Aircraft design team began work on a fighter
design that could travel over 2,000 mi (3,200 km) without refueling. It
consisted of a twin-fuselage design, somewhat similar to the experimental German
Messerschmitt Bf 109Z "Zwilling". Although based on the lightweight experimental
XP-51F, which would later become the P-51H Mustang, it was actually a new
design. North American Design Chief Edgar Schmued incorporated two P-51H Mustang
fuselages lengthened by the addition of a 57 in (145 cm) fuselage plug located
behind the cockpit where additional fuel tanks and equipment could be installed.
These were mounted to a newly designed center wing section containing the same
six .50 caliber M3 Browning machine guns as a single-engine Mustang, but with
more concentrated fire. The first XP-82 prototype (s/n 44-83886) was equipped
with a removable centerline gun pod housing eight additional .50 caliber M3
Brownings, but this did not feature on production aircraft. An even more
powerful centerline gun pod containing a 40 mm cannon was considered, but was
never built. The outer wings were reinforced to allow the addition of hard
points for carrying additional fuel or 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of ordnance. The
two vertical tails were also from the XP-51F, but incorporated large dorsal
fillets for added stability in case of an engine failure. The aircraft had a
conventional landing gear with both wheels retracting into bays under each
fuselage center section.
The XP-82 was to be powered by two Packard-built Rolls-Royce V-1650 Merlin
engines. Initially, the left engine was a V-1650-23 with an additional gear in
the propeller reduction box to allow the left propeller to turn opposite to the
right propeller, which was driven by the more conventional V-1650-25. In this
arrangement both propellers would turn upward as they approached the center
wing, which in theory would have allowed better single-engine control. This
proved not to be the case when the aircraft refused to become airborne during
its first flight attempt. After a month of work North American engineers finally
discovered that rotating the propellers to meet in the center on their upward
turn created sufficient drag to cancel out all lift from the center wing
section, one quarter of the aircraft's total wing surface area. The engines and
propellers were then exchanged, with their rotation meeting on the downward
turn, and the problem was fully solved. The first XP-82 prototype (44-83886) was
completed on 25 May 1945, and made the type's first successful flight on 26 June
1945. This aircraft was accepted by the Army Air Forces on 30 August 1945, whose
officials were so impressed by the aircraft, while still in development, that
they ordered the first production P-82Bs in March 1945, fully three months
before its first flight.
The XP-82 prototypes, and production P-82Bs and P-82Es, retained both fully
equipped cockpits so that pilots could fly the aircraft from either position,
alternating control on long flights, while later night fighter versions kept the
cockpit on the left side only, placing the radar operator in the right position.
Although some P-82B airframes were completed before the end of World War II,
most remained at the North American factory in California waiting for engines
until 1946. As a result, none saw service during the war.
Role
Long-range escort fighter and night fighter
Manufacturer
North American Aviation
First flight
15 June 1945
Introduction
1946
Retired
1953
Primary user
United States Air Force
Number built
272
Unit cost
US$215,154
Developed from
North American P-51 Mustang
The Twin Mustang was developed at the end of the prop-driven fighter era and at
the dawn of the jet age. Its designed role as a long-range fighter escort was
eliminated by the atomic bombing of Japan and the sudden end of World War II.
With the rapid draw-down of the armed forces after the war, the newly
established United States Air Force had little money for new prop-driven
aircraft, especially since jets, such as the Messerschmitt Me 262 and other
Luftwaffe fighters, had been faster than P-51 Mustangs in the skies of Germany
in late 1944. The completed airframes (less engines) of the P-82 pre-production
aircraft already manufactured by North American went into storage, with an
uncertain future.
The Twin Mustang had a very short operational life. About two years after its
introduction to SAC, the F-82E was phased out of service in favor of the
jet-powered Republic F-84E Thunderjet for bomber escort duties beginning in
February 1950; the F-82Es were declared surplus by the end of the summer. Some
were modified into F-82Gs and sent to Korea for combat as replacement aircraft,
others were converted to F-82Hs and sent to Alaska, but most were sent to
storage at Robins AFB, Georgia and ultimately reclamation.
Specifications (F-82G)
General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 42 ft 5 in (12.93 m)
Wingspan: 51 ft 3 in (15.62 m)
Height: 13 ft 10 in (4.22 m)
Wing area: 408 sq ft (37.90 m2)
Empty weight: 15,997 lb (7,256 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 25,591 lb (11,608 kg)
engines, 1,600 hp (1,193 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 461 mph (401 kn; 742 km/h) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m)
Cruise speed: 286 mph (249 kn; 460 km/h)
Range: 2,240 mi (3,605 km)
Service ceiling: 38,900 ft (11,855 m)
Armament
*
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