ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 42

AVIATION HISTORY

Twin Mustang:
The North American F-82
by Jack Feir
ISTAT Appraiser Fellow and ISTAT Member Emeritus

The Setting
Even if you only had a passing interest
in the history of World War II, or if you
saw the movie "Twelve O'Clock High,"
you will remember that heavy bombers
rained devastation onto Germany to
cripple their factories making tanks,
aircraft and all the tools of warfare.
But, in return, German fighter aircraft
were bringing the bombers down in
costly numbers. Moreover, every B-17
that went down meant the loss of
10 brave flyers who were not going
to come home. The countermeasure
was to develop British and U.S. fighter
aircraft with the range capability to
escort the bombers all the way on
their trip out and back. Many of those
escorts were North American Aircraft
42

* T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F I S TAT

P-51 Mustangs that went into mass
production in 1942. In the end, more
than 15,000 Mustangs were produced.
On the other side of the world, a
similar but somewhat different situation
was developing. Larger and heavier
long-range Boeing B-29 Superfortress
bombers were expected to be based
on the Solomon Islands or Philippines,
some 2,000 miles from their targets
in Japan. Those missions would need
fighter escorts with far more range
capability than the ones in Europe.

Creation of the
Twin Mustang
North American's solution was a
"Siamese Twin" based on the general
outlines of two P-51s and carrying the

designation P-82. The aft fuselages
were larger and longer by about 5 feet
than the standard P-51, making room
for much larger fuel tanks aft of the
cockpit, and provisions were made for
carrying drop tanks or bombs under
the wings. Each fuselage had a cockpit
in the left position carrying the pilot,
and the right-side cockpit could carry
a second pilot with their own set of
instruments and controls, whereas in
the night-fighter versions, the right
cockpit was occupied by a radar
system operator.
The first of two P-82 prototypes
flew in June 1945, and 20 initial
production models were completed
before the war was over. These original
P-82s were powered by the same RollsRoyce V-12 Merlin engines built under



ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019

ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019
From the President
Contents
News & Event Calendar
Perspectives: Q&A With ISTAT President Gerry Butler
‘The City Beautiful’
Shanghai: The Magic City
‘Getting Things Done’
Aviation History: The North American F-82
Appraisal: Boeing 737-800BCF and Sukhoi SuperJet SSJ100
ISTAT Foundation: Experiences from Scholarship Recipients
At a Glance: Jay Hancock
What’s Next: ISTAT Flies to Berlin
Advertiser Index
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - Intro
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - Cover2
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 1
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - From the President
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 3
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 4
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - Contents
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 6
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 7
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - News & Event Calendar
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 9
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - Perspectives: Q&A With ISTAT President Gerry Butler
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 11
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 12
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 13
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - ‘The City Beautiful’
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 15
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 16
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 17
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 18
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 19
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 20
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 21
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 22
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 23
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 24
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 25
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 26
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 27
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - Shanghai: The Magic City
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 29
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 30
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 31
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 32
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 33
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 34
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 35
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - ‘Getting Things Done’
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 37
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 38
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 39
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 40
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 41
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - Aviation History: The North American F-82
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 43
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 44
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 45
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - Appraisal: Boeing 737-800BCF and Sukhoi SuperJet SSJ100
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 47
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 48
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 49
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - ISTAT Foundation: Experiences from Scholarship Recipients
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 51
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - At a Glance: Jay Hancock
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 53
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - What’s Next: ISTAT Flies to Berlin
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - 55
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - Advertiser Index
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - Cover3
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2019 - Cover4
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