The Australian War Memorial has a fantastic collection of historic Military aircraft on display and in storage including some rare and valuable airframes. Among the most desirable is a very original North American P51D Mustang Ex RAAF A68-648 a P-51D-20-NT serial No 111-36389 USAAC tail No 44-13106.
This Mustang is very rare in Australia as it is one of very few surviving RAAF P51 Mustangs, the majority of the Mustangs surviving from the RAAF being Australian Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) manufactured aircraft.
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- Three quarter side view
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- Mustang A68-648
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- Forward view
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- A68-648 AWM exhibit
The RAAF took on a total of 215 P-51D aircraft and 84 very similar P51K machines between 1944 and September 1945 thereafter the rest of the Mustangs delivered were 200 CAC built aircraft from June 1945 to August 1951. RAAF Mustangs also saw service in the Middle East and Europe during WWII with No 3 Sqn. In the Pacific however the RAAF began to operate the Mustang just as the war ended so there were no operational engagements with Mustangs.
With the advent of the Korean War the RAAF deployed No 77 Sqn to the theatre and it flew Mustangs with much distinction in the ground attack role until replaced with Gloster Meteors. The Mustang also served in regular and reserve Squadrons until finally withdrawn from service in 1959.
The AWM aircraft was manufactured in the USA at the North American plant at Dallas, Texas as a P-51D-20-NT Mustang with the constructors Number 111-36389 and was delivered against a 1944 USAAC contract and issued with USAAC tail Number 44-13106. However it was never delivered to the US Military and was instead sent to Australia. On June 25, 1945 the Mustang was taken on charge by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as Mustang A68-648 and reassembled by 1 Air Depot (1 AD).
From 1AD the Mustang made its way to 2 Operational Training Unit (2 OTU) on July 29, 1945 and then on June 5, 1946 it was assigned to No. 1 Aircraft Performance Unit (1 APU).
On June 1, 1948 the Mustang was transferred to RAAF Point Cook and placed into storage. However on June 8, 1950 the aircraft was retired and transferred to Melbourne Technical College for use as a training aid. The Mustang was to remain at the College from 1950 until 1983 during which time it had its wings severed outboard of the landing gear and various access holes cut into the rear fuselage. The engine a Packard V-1650-7 liquid-cooled V-12, with a 2 stage intercooled supercharger, 1,490 hp (1,111 kW) at 3,000 rpm;[115] 1,720 hp (1,282 kW) at WEP Serial No. 332509 and the propeller a constant-speed, variable-pitch Hamilton Standard, propeller were removed before transfer to the College at Carlton.
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- A68-648 at AWM
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- On display at AWM
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- A68-648 HVAR rockets
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- Mustang A68-648 rockets
The Mustang served well as an instructional airframe however by 1983 its usefulness had diminished and the AWM was in search of a suitable airframe to represent the mighty Mustang so a deal was struck and A68-648 was transferred to the Australian War Memorial (AWM). The Mustang was restored at RAAF Point Cook over a couple of years. The restoration sourcing a set of wings (Wing Numbers M29/32), supplied by Aeronautical Research Laboratories, from spares holdings and part of the original batch of US supplied components selected to fit the aircraft. An original engine was sourced and was cleaned and inhibited (not overhauled). The damaged rear fuselage skins replaced using the damaged items as patterns.
In 1992 the Mustang was completed in its beautiful and accurate polished metal color scheme carrying its original serial and rondels. The machine was then placed on storage/display at the Treloar Technology Centre (Australian War Memorial Annex, AWM Annex). The aircraft remained at the AWM Annex from 1995 until 2000 when it was placed on display at the AWM proper.
This Mustang is displayed at Australian War Memorial (AWM) with the landing gear raised with HVAR rockets mounted on each wing. Space considerations mean the aircraft is difficult to photograph but this is compensated for by the public having excellent access to observe the Mustang at very close quarters.
The AWM maintains Mustang A68-648 in excellent condition and she is a real credit to the great team who maintains her.
© John Parker 2017