P-51Ds arrived in the Pacific and CBI theaters by the end of 1944. Few Luftwaffe aircraft could match the P-51D - by the end of the war, Mustangs had destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft in the air, more than any other USAAF fighter in Europe. The versatile Mustang also served as a fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. The P-51D arrived in quantity in Europe in the spring of 1944, becoming the USAAF's primary long range escort fighter. 50-cal machine guns, and a simplified ammunition feed system that considerably reduced gun jams. The P-51D also received the new K-14 gunsight, an increase from four to six. The most obvious change was a new "bubble-top" canopy that greatly improved the pilot's vision. The P-51D incorporated several improvements, and it became the most numerous variant with nearly 8,000 being built. Along with P-38 Lightnings, these P-51s provided sorely needed long-range, high-altitude escort for the U.S. heavy bomber strike against Berlin in March 1944, the USAAF fielded about 175 P-51B/C Mustangs. In December 1943 the first P-51B/C Mustangs entered combat in Europe with the 354th Fighter Group "Pioneers." By the time of the first U.S. Mass production of the Merlin-powered P-51B and P-51C soon followed (nearly identical, North American produced the "B" in Inglewood, Calif., and the "C" in Dallas, Texas). One in the United States flew a remarkable 441 mph at 29,800 feet - about 100 mph faster than the P-51A at that altitude. In the fall of 1942, Mustangs in the United States and Great Britain were experimentally fitted with British Merlin engines. A-36s entered combat in June 1943 and served in North Africa, Italy and India. In April 1942 the USAAF ordered an attack version equipped with dive brakes and bomb racks, the A-36 Apache. The USAAF employed P-51As in the China-Burma-India theater, where most combat took place at low altitude. Although excellent at lower levels, the P-51A's Allison engines severely limited performance at high altitude. In March 1942 the USAAF accepted the first production P-51A fighters. Most of these became F-6A photo-reconnaissance aircraft, which equipped the first USAAF Mustang units, the 154th and 111th Observation Squadrons in North Africa in the spring of 1943. Hap Arnold, however, the USAAF retained 55 Mustangs from a British order. Although flight tests of the new fighter showed promise, the USAAF did not immediately order the Mustang. In the summer of 1941, the USAAF received two Mustang Is under the designation XP-51. Production of the aircraft - named Mustang I by the British - began the following year. North American offered to design a better fighter, which flew as the NA-73X in October 1940. In 1940 the British approached North American Aviation to license-build Curtiss P-40 fighters for the Royal Air Force. The Mustang served in nearly every combat zone during WWII, and later fought in the Korean War. Possessing excellent range and maneuverability, the P-51 operated primarily as a long-range escort fighter and also as a ground attack fighter-bomber. We had a Christen Eagle at the aerodrome which always came in on a flat glide path with the nose to the right.The Mustang was among the best and most well-known fighters used by the U.S. Some aircraft have a long nose (take the Spitfire of Corsair for examples) that prevents the view to the runway and therefore they often use a side slip technique to keep the runway in view. Slowly go back to normal by centering the rudder or you might experience a stall on the back swinging wing if you do it too agressively. I found that’s not necessary in the sim, probably due to the overeffective controls we have. IRL you have to pull back significantly because the elevator loses effectiveness if the air flows against it from the side. Doing that you turn your fuselage into the wind which is a big airbrake. you tap into the full right rudder and cross the aileron (give left aileron) to maintain your direction of flight towards the runway. From an aerodynamical perspective a side slip is used to be able to fly a steeper approach without gaining speed.
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