World War II had ended before one of the most improbable piston-engine fighter planes ever designed had the chance to see action — the North American P_82 Twin Mustang. Here are some essential facts about this remarkable fighter plane.
Long-Legged Beauty
Designed in 1943 as an extremely long-range, high-altitude bomber escort, the P-82 could fly distances of more than 2,300 miles (3,600 km) — even farther with drop tanks. By comparison, conventional P-51 Mustangs were limited to roughly 1,600 miles (2,700 km). The new plane’s astonishingly long legs, not to mention its remarkable 40,000-foot service ceiling, would have enabled it protect high flying bombers on deep strike missions over Japan.
Seeing Double
The plane’s innovative airframe featured two slightly elongated P-51 fuselages to offer additional fuel capacity. Initially, Twin Mustangs carried a pair of pilots — one for each cockpit. This allowed crews to alternate control of the aircraft on marathon endurance flights. In later models, the port fuselage was exclusively for a pilot, while starboard side was outfitted for a dedicated radar operator.
Pure Fighter, Solid Bomber
P-82s were fast enough to cross swords with frontline fighters, but large enough to carry a heavy bomb load. (Image source: WikiCommons)
Despite its ponderous size and weight (the plane was as heavy as two conventional 12,000-lb. P-51s), the Twin Mustang was a fast and nimble dogfighter. Its twin counter-rotating RR Merlin engines (which after the war were later switched out for lower-powered U.S. made Allison V-1710-100s) provided the P-82 with a top speed of nearly 500 mph. Six .50 caliber machine guns mounted in a single bank on the centre wing gave the Twin Mustang a lethal kick. Hard points on the outer wings allowed each plane to carry 25 air-to-ground rockets or up to 4,000 pounds of bombs – roughly the same payload as a World War Two medium bomber.
Cold Warrior
A USAF F-82 equipped with an under-mounted radar pod. (Image source: WikiCommons)
World War Two ended by the time the Twin Mustang was ready for production. And with the post-war draw down of the U.S. military in the offing, the P-82 seemed destined for mothballs.
With jet-powered aircraft still under development in the opening year of the Cold War, the Pentagon recognized the Twin Mustang as a useful stopgap that could hold the line until more advanced fighter technology were brought online. In 1947, the newly established U.S. Air Force bought 250, making the plane the last USAF piston-engine fighter ordered into production.
Homeland Security
The P-82/F-82 was the USAF’s principle fighter of the early Post-War period. (Image source: WikiCommons)
The first operational Twin Mustangs, re-designated as the F-82, entered service with Strategic Air Command (SAC) fighter wings in 1948. The Air Force envisioned the new aircraft serving as a fighter escort for any future long-range bomber strikes against the Soviet Union.
Radar equipped variants operating with the Air Defense Command patrolled both U.S. coasts safeguarding the continent from the threat posed by new Russian bombers – Moscow’s reverse-engineered copies of the Boing B-29.
The Twin Mustang was ideal in both roles, in no small part from its astounding operational range. This was demonstrated by the Air Force in 1947 when a single F-82 rigged with fuel pods flew non-stop from Hawaii to New York — a distance of more than 5,000 miles. The Feb. 27 voyage, which took just over 14 hours to complete, still holds the world record for the longest non-stop distance traveled by a piston-engine fighter.
War Horse
F-82 Mustangs were the first Allied warplanes to fight in the Korean War.
F-82s stationed in Japan and Okinawa became the first American warplanes to respond to the Communist invasion of South Korea in 1950. Within hours of the North Korean onslaught, Twin Mustangs from the 68th Fighter Squadron were flying combat patrols over the 38th Parallel. On the war’s second day, two F-82s drove a formation of enemy fighters from the harbor at Inchon. Less than 24 hours later, a formation of Twin Mustangs flying cover for emergency evacuation flights out of Seoul’s Kimpo airfield engaged and destroyed three North Korean warplanes in a fierce dogfight. They were the first air-to-air victories of the Korean War.
Over the next year, Twin Mustangs would continue to fly combat missions over North and South Korea, both in fighter and ground attack roles.
Riding Into the Sunset
By 1953, F-82s were well past their prime and were soon phased out. (Image source: WikiCommons)
By late 1951, most Twin Mustangs had been pulled from front-line service as the air war over the Korean peninsula became increasingly dominated by jet fighters. Cold weather variants continued to fly air defense for the AlaskanAir Command before the plane was finally retired in November of 1953.
