1944 Mustang P-51D ‘Moonbeam McSwine’

The Spitfire Company’s P-51D is painted to look like Capt. William T. Whisner’s “Moonbeam McSwine.”

In 1943, Capt. Whisner joined the 487th Fighter Squadron in England, known as “the Blue-nosed Bastards of Bodney.” Capt. Whistner achieved 15 1/2 aerial victories in World War II, making him a triple Ace. He also became an Ace in the Korean War, flying the F-86 Sabre. He served two tours in Vietnam and retired in 1989.

The Name ‘Moonbeam McSwine’ comes from a Character in the Li’l Abner Comic Strip series which ran for 43 years in the US. Moonbeam was a beautiful, unkempt, lazy woman who preferred the company of pigs instead of people.

The North American P-51 Mustang was a long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft used by the U.S. during World War II. It was designed and built in just 117 days for the British. Initially, it served the Royal Air Force as a fighter-bomber and reconnaissance plane, later becoming a bomber escort in raids over Germany, helping the Allies gain air superiority from early 1944. It also saw action against Japan in the Pacific.

During the Korean War, the Mustang was the main fighter for the United Nations but was soon replaced by jet fighters like the F-86. It then became a ground-attack plane and stayed in service with some air forces until the early 1980s.

The Mustang was cheap to produce, fast, well-made, and durable. The most famous version, the P-51D, had a powerful Packard V-1650 engine and was armed with six .50 caliber machine guns.

Manufacturer: North American Aviation, Inc.
Model: P-51D-25-NA
Year Built: 1944
Factory: 122-31945 / Inglewood, CA
Serial No: 44-12473
N-Number: N51VL
Engines:One x Packard “Rolls Royce” Merlin V-1650-7 liquid-cooled supercharged V-12
1,490 hp. / 1,720 hp. at War Emergency Power
Length: 32 ft. 3 in.
Height: 12 ft. 2 in.
Wingspan: 37 ft.
Weight:Empty: 7,635 lbs.
Max Takeoff: 12,100 lbs.
Performance:Range: 2,300 miles
Range: 1,200 miles – Internal Fuel
Ceiling: Over 41,900 ft.
Stall Speed: 100 MPH
Cruise Speed: 362 MPH
Max Speed: 437 MPH at 25,000 ft.