WW II North American P-51 Mustang in 1955

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This photo was taken on the taxiway at the Rogers Dry Lake location of the NACA High-Speed Flight Station, California in 1955. Development of the P-51 Mustang started in 1940 with an order from England and it saw its first combat missions in May 1942. Designated during development at the NA-73, it was mass produced as the P-51 originally powered by a 1250 horspower, liquid-cooled Allison V-1710 engine. Design revisions and production of the P-51B with the Rolls Royce Merlin engine kept the Mustang as the leading pursuit fighter plane of its time.

The plane pictured was acquired in 1950 by the NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), a predecessor of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This plane flew hundreds of support, chase, and training missions by NASA pilots including Neil Armstrong. The location of the photo is now the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, in the desert of Southern California. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway.

Today in WW II: 8 Feb 1940 Germans establish the first large Jewish ghetto in Poland in the city of Lodz. More ↓

8 Feb 1941 US House of Representatives passes the Lend-Lease Act [265 to 165].
8 Feb 1942 Battle of Sarimbun Beach begins, the first stage of the Japanese assault on Singapore.
8 Feb 1942 Japanese Offensive in Burma begins [8 Feb-2 May].
8 Feb 1945 Battle of the Reichswald: British and Canadian forces under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery begin Operation Veritable [8 Feb-11 Mar].
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.