@@chazza404 Oh man I remember that video. Pilot did a great job recovering and setting it back down safely. Those are the kind of reflexes you gain after learning to control the vehicle like it's an extension of your body.
One of the biggest issues was despite looking like 2 P-51s slapped together, they shared very few parts between them, making repairs harder than most people would think.
@@frysco5927 Design ideas that looked good on paper, but didn't work in the real world. When we were able to get planes to travel at supersonic speeds a lot of the rules of aerodynamics had to be thrown out as they discovered new effects. A common thing that pops up in these videos are "engines too weak above X feet", "unstable at higher/lower altitudes", "wings too thick/thin" , "became uncontrollable in hard turns", ect. Some of these issues were easy enough to fix with modifications, others would require a complete redesign that made it economically unfeasible. Also shifting strategies. Many aircraft were built to counter one type of threat. As that threat was removed, new ones were developed that made the original counter obsolete.
Yeah he truly did. Need a new narrator. He seems to do that alot in his other videos as well. What really upset the apple cart. When he uses Created. Rather than using Invented. For there is Only One Creator. The Lord God Most. Whom Just Spoke It All Into Being. Thus to say. The GREAT I AM. Did give us the know how to INVENT ONLY. In Alot of Things. This Aircraft As One Being INVENTED.
Well, without sounding too much like an ass, the bird did use different engines and was built to handle more fuel, plus the shared uni-wing, removable gun pod and uni-tail don't have to correspond in weight to the wings, tail, and weapons of the original
@Tim Black -- Yep... probably more than you've done in your entire life... but, I understand. Being snarky at your level of professionalism does take a lot of time and practice.
Without the incredible Rolls Royce Merlin engine, that "reliable" Allison engine added nothing more than the fate of the P-40. It wasn't just two P-51s fused together, this was a completely different aircraft. Radar alone made this a formidable foe for recon and night-fighting after WWII. Add the gun pod under the center and you had 14 .50 caliber guns that could wipe out anything. Rockets were unreliable but there, and also could carry 4,000 lbs of bombs....half of the payload of a B-17. It was created for a purpose.... versatility. Range....radar....ground attack....and interception made this one of the best of the last piston engine planes.
Yep, with out the Packard built Rolls Royce merlin engine ( built under license, it was the same engine built in the uk for the spitfire) the p51 was no better then the p40
the production escort fighter version, the f-82e, was equipped with allison V-1710 engines, as were all subsequent models. most f-82's produced used the allison engine and performed excellently. it's a common mantra that the allison v12 engine was bad but that isn't quite true, i recommend reading up on it.
I never been clear on that. I have heard that the F82 shared nothing with the P51, other times I hear that it has components and parts in common with t P51H.
One thing I've never quite understood? The P-38 Lightning had the range to do what they were looking for and then some. Especially after Charles Lindberg (who was big time on the outs with FDR and the Military Brass) snuck out to visit the initially deployed Lightning squadron in the Pacific, and taught them how to double the fuel range getting it from it's rated 1300 miles to darn close to 2700 miles range. The pilots knew how to do this. It's how they nailed Yamamoto 1200 miles out.
Bubble canopy, undersea bladder fuel tank, 2 additional .50cals, underwing fuel tanks, made the P51D the legendary fighter it was. The Merlin was the first and biggest change.It made the P51C a formidable fighter, and prompted theater changes.
Packard who built the Allison engine wasn’t designed for high altitude service that was no secret to anyone in 1940 , the plane was basically given to the British in the dark days of 1940 because they were producing the max amount of planes that was possible with the work force they had on hand , they were maxed out and we let them take the p51 with the non supercharged Allison engine because we needed the superchargers for the p38 at the time which was are best available plane . When we lost all those bombers over Germany in 1942/43 it became clear the army air corp wasn’t going to be able to fly daylight raids over Germany without escorts so Allison got a license from rolls Royce and built Merlin engines that were put into American p51’s , we already had an engine in the test phase that out performed the early Merlin engines but we didn’t have enough time to wait until it was 100% ready so that’s why we got permission from rolls Royce to copy the Merlin . It cracks me up that the British talk shit about the Allison knowing it wasn’t designed to do what the Merlin did and the fact it is always brought up that the p51 was junk before they put the Merlin in is nonsense.
@@mrbig4532 absolutely correct, asking a ground pounder to perform air superiority is a big stretch. Nothing against the Allison as it was a brilliant engine in its own right
@@mrbig4532 Thanks for clarifying the Rolls Royce connection. I thought they were called Rolls-Royce Merlin. Everything I see on the Mustang simply says Merlin. 👍
I’ve seen this amazing bird at the USAF museum in Dayton, Ohio multiple times and it never ceases to amaze! If you ever get the chance, spend an entire day at that museum.
I visited it nine years ago this week actually. I think about it often and was very impressed with the collection. It seems every plane there was significant to history on a whole, but they go beyond that and display planes that specifically made history. As in used on famous missions, broke flight records, have a story about it, etc. I can't wait to go back.
You failed to mention that the Mustang only became a viable escort fighter, and gained decent altitude ability when fitted with the Merlin engine (license built in the US). This change was proposed by an US Army Airforce attache in England
It only shared 15 parts with the P-51. It was designed from the ground up to fly alongside the B-29s on long bombing runs to Japan. WW2 ended before it saw service there, but it did see a little in Korea, like stated in the video.
Thank you for the Dark Skies episode on the P/F-82. A long time P-51 fan, the '82 has been a bit of of an enigma as it is usually minimally covered in Mustang narratives. Your work here has greatly increased my knowledge of the performance and the service life of the '82. The videos of the '82 flying were very nice to see. Again, thank you!
The P-51's range was NOT a "flaw". It was not a four engined bomber and was never intended to have the range of a four engined bomber. For a single engined pursuit aircraft, it had damned good range. Your statement is rather like finding fault with a gazelle because it isn't very good at being a giraffe!
Great comment. Though the warthog isn't an escort plane or a fighter at all. It is an attack airplane so maybe bolt two F22 together to make an F44? It is the best fighter flying in 2021.
There is one on display at the NMUSAF in Dayton, OH. Marvelous aircraft! A side note, aside from the imagined "mid-air collision" experienced by some pilots who would catch the other fuselage in the corner of his eye, there was another perception problem- most pilots, when rolling an aircraft, rolled about the center axis of the fuselage he was in. Normal behavior in a regular aircraft, that would put the pilot in the other fuselage through a disorienting wild ride about the axis of the controlling pilot. P-82 pilots had to be trained to avoid this.
My father flew these in Korea and was part of the 4th Fighter Wing that were night and all weather interceptors. Some unbelievable stories. Great aircraft and part of the greatest generation.
Came looking for THIS right here!!! And was not disappointed. Well Done... though I've read that there were some shared parts, perhaps as much as twenty percent of parts were shared. Still a Beautiful and Unique Aircraft.
@@belliott538 Historical records i have read disagree to a very small degree but the most agreed upon point is the tail wheel was the only common part besides some body panels (mostly wing skin). Again the record seems a bit sketchy but even parts that seem the same have subtle differences.
Got a good chuckle out of the impending mid air collision. Hadn’t thought of that, but... makes a lot of sense. Probably get over it pretty quickly, but that first flight for some pilots might have been a bit surprising.
Originally sent to the Brits as the A-36 Apache with the Allison engine. The Merlin was what helped make it a winner. I did get to see the XP-82 in Douglas, GA as she was being assembled. She was one beautiful and deadly lady. I just wish I could have been there where she took flight.
I know I'm in the minority here, but the speech speed is perfect for me 😂 For my online lectures theres this automated voice that walks you through steps on a practice assignment. And to me the speech feels like it has seconds between each word and it drives me nuts.
Thank you for doing a video on this plane. It's one of my favourites, but its relative obscurity means few people know about it. It's an interesting sidenote in aviation history.
You got it backwards, the P-51 was first introduced to the USAAF with the anemic Allison 1710 engine and had miserable performance above 15,000 ft so the few that were bought by the USAAF were converted and relegated to ground attack (see Air & Space Magazine, March 2020 issue) the British bought the P-51 and put the R R Merlin in them and they came alive so much so that the Packard Company built them for the American P-51’s... and now the rest of the story....
You completely missed the most important upgrade the P51 ever received! Dumping the "reliable" Allison V-1710 engine (which you mention), and replacing it with a supercharged Rolls Royce Merlin. It would have never been able to escort the bombers without it due to the Allison's poor performance over 15,000 feet (which you also mention!), yet somehow fail to mention how this issue was overcome... Not still smarting that a limey engine was required to make it good are ya? :-p
@@Arcalargo actually the "yanks" didn't want to pay the royalties to continue building the Merlin under licence after WW2, so went back to the Allison for the F82-C... Making it slower than the earlier models.
@@juststeve5542 we probably had superchargers by then to stick on the allisons, in ww2 they were prioritizing superchargers for bombers in the early to mid war
NAA ( started out as American Fokker then, AM/GMC) and Packard's Merlin engine facility in Detroit were not a top part of the aviation industry's "really cool kids". They got work only when everyone else had full plates and a fire needed putting out.
That is...amazing. That honestly seems like one of the best piston driven bomber escorts ever made. A range comparable or over that of the bombers means constant fighter escort, a ton of guns, fast, maneuverable. Damn. Also, with the amount of rockets it could carry, would be a good CAS plane too.
Jakob Rinsdorf There were 15,567 P51’s built. It was an airplane designed to escort bombers from Britain to Berlin and back. In air to air combat, the P51 destroyed more than 4950 Luftwaffe aircraft, which accounted for half of all confirmed Axis aircraft kills in the European Theater. It was later modified into a fighter-bomber, and in that capacity it destroyed another 4131 Axis aircraft on the ground. It was also used to catch up to and intercept around 1000 V1 Flying Bombs launched at London. It was cheap, fast, and easy to build. So, based on its use and impact, I think that makes it extremely important in establishing air superiority over Germany.
My neighbor Harold Huffmaster touched everyone of this plane's that went to Europe. He was state side in Florida and his crew checked them before they headed east to Europe. He loved the P-51...
P-51 mustangs have my favourite fighter of WW2 since forever and I’ve only just discovered this masterpiece.. how has it taken this long to know about them hahah
A boys wet dream? You know P-82 had only six .50"s, right? All in the center wing section. No more....nada....none in the outer wings. Six (6) no more. MURICA!
One thing that often gets left out is the American contribution to the Merlin Engine design. Greg's Aircraft and Automobiles talks about it. The P51 was truly and amazing combination of British and American engineering.
Unfortunately some of the commentary doesn't match the images on-screen... showing Stukkas whilst talking about the "bomber destroyers" sent up by the Luftwaffe to counter the P51s
Yes, but the P-38 did not have two pilots. The F-82 had two pilots to compensate for the long flights the aircraft would complete. But yes, the P-38 still is a good escort.
@@ConnorJohnson98 Technically only the two prototype P-82s had mechanically driven superchargers, as they had Merlin engines like the P-51. All production versions of the P-82s had turbocharged Allison engines that were newer versions of the same engine used in the P-38. The P-82 was still more fuel efficient at altitude, but it was mainly due to the lower drag laminar flow wing.
@@fshn4x4 I think you have it backwards. The two prototypes had the Packard Merlin, and the production P-82 had the Allison V-1710. Rolls Royce increased the licence fee on the Merlin after the war, and a new version of the V-1710 was developed with multi stage supercharging. Initially it had some teething pains, but they eventually worked out problems.
@@HarmlessNuke_ i use to play with it and admit its probably better in case of not dying, but i have a bond with my me264 and its also such a dream to fly and use
As a kid I always wondered why this plane was built. Now thanks to Dark Sky's, I know that answer. What am awesome aircraft and the speed and distance it could fly was amazing. I have a whole new appreciation for the F-82 and understand her roll in history.
@@horsemumbler1 I'm just a WarThunder player, but in game, when an F82 with a center gun pod fires, it looks like freaking lazer. Dr. Evil would approve. ruclips.net/video/INFavIUmhcE/видео.html
The Republic Thunderbolt was an excellent long range fighter it’s range was limited by bomber generals who refused to import external tanks. The big issue for both was pilot fatigue. A twin with two pilots allows one to rest.
Outstanding Video...but the P-82 was not created by joining [2] P-51 fuselages together. It was constructed on an entirely different airframe utilizing only 5-parts from the original Mustang. The elevator trim wheel, hand-crank for the canopy, hydraulic-system accumulator, tailwheel axle and the rudder and elevator trim-tab hinge points. Dark Skies still rules tho.
They got one in in the Valiant Air Command War Museum in Titusville Florida. The guide said she is a flyer and looked to be. Awesome plane one of the coolest war birds I have seen in person.
The Mustang was ordered by Britain to replace the Hurricane for ground attack and medium altitude use. It did that job perfectly. The Rolls Royce test pilot spotted its potential for high altitude with the Merlin 61 engine. P51B was the result Rolls Royce had a prototype design that mid mounted the Crecy 2 stroke sprint engine. The new jets led to its early cancellation.
I made what I called a P-38 out of two Sleet-Skeet balsa wood rubber band airplanes back about 1973 when I was 7. I got it to take off , fly and land without crashing. As a little kid aeronautical engineer, back in hippy times , that was a really "cool" day. It took a few years for me to realize I made an F-82 not a P-38.
Colonel Thacker was a good friend of mine who recently passed away he flew the Betty Joe that is now in the museum named after his wife a great man and a Great Hero .
I'm glad that they have restored an F-82 to flying condition. It's one thing to see a plane in a museum but when you hear the engine roar when flying over your head that is when you know the plane is "alive and breathing".
Unintentionally flew? Yeah, like when I unintentionally drove my grandfather's truck - to the lake. I spent the day at the beach then unintentionally drove back. He was pretty upset until I explained that it was unintentional, I just wanted to put some pavement under the tires to check the steering.
@@aussienads How would the Spitfire be relevant to the F-82? Only the first 10 F-82s were equipped with Merlins, the main production versions were downgraded to Allisons.
Merlin role was significant in P-51 development. Twin mustang is different story, and if you want to cover it in 12 mins, you can't be bothered with complete Mustang's background...
One thing that's been missed in this, is that the Alison engine despite being reliable was underpowered. If i recall, it was during deployment with the RAF, they swapped in a Rolls Royce Merlin engine, which suddenly and massively increased the performance of the aircraft, both in low and high performance along with fuel effiency. The Rolls Royce was eventually licenced and produced by Packard, who did help to develop it further with upgraded bearings for the crank and rods, which Rolls Royce added to later revisions of the Merlin and Griffon engines.
@@garethmottram Not as fast??? Corsair was 400mph right out the gate...and service ceiling was well above 35K...mustang was best at what it was designed for..but it was by no means the best all around...
@@garethmottram wrong: by the Korean War, the F4U-4 and -5 were out pacing the over-rated P51D in both climb and straight line speed. Not to mention ordinance carrying abilities. There is a reason the corsair was still in production until 1952 and the Mustang production stopped right after ww2.
Complete a mission from the Solomon islands to Tokyo? Where the hell did you get that from? The b-29 could not fly a mission from the Solomon islands to Tokyo. If it could we would have started building air bases to accommodate the b-29 in the Solomons instead of China. Flying out of China was logistically and financially very expensive and counterproductive. That's why it was necessary to take the Marianas. Prototypically you ignore why the P-51 was designed and what mission it was designed for. Most people do so you're not alone in that.
"As the tensions rose because of the Berlin Airlift...the Tupolev represented the threat of a Soviet nuclear attack from the air" - the first Soviet atomic bomb wasn't tested until several months after the end of the Berlin Airlift.
Noticed this as well, was a bit caught off guard perhaps he just meant air bombing attacks by the reds but can't be sure but they certainly weren't worried about soviet nukes at that time.
@@wallinggriffin I realise why he's using it, but it would make more sense to fill the time with relevant stills that can be displayed as long as necessary..
To be horribly pedantic, it would be called a .5 inch calibre, so he's not incorrect, but I do wonder why he doesn't just call it a 50 cal like a normal person.
@@stillsalty947 Colloquialisms aside, i think it's fair use here. Everyone calls it the 50 caliber. No one says "three five seven caliber", it's the 357. In another video, he called the Spitfire MK 2 the "M K 2" instead of "Mark 2". I think he needs his scriptwriter to put in some phonetic spellings or helpful hints because some of these hit the ear weird.
For anyone wondering the only flying XP-82, from what the museum told us, left is at the Valiant Air Command Museum in Titusville, Florida. They have an F-14, a Skyblazers F-86, a B-57, and a bunch of other planes and memorabilia.
0:45 It looks so strange to not have a pair of tail fins on the outside of the fuselage(s). Like it just looks completely wrong, subverts my expectations of what an aircraft should look like even more than the twin fuselage. Physics says it works just fine and more fins wouldn’t help to streamline airflow, but I press *X* to doubt and run away to cry in the fetal position in the nearest corner...
Well, judging by the length of the tail aerofoil between the two fuselages, it should be well enough to hold up the tail end of the plane, extra fins on the outside probably just add extra weight and drag
100 out of 100. Granted I am not a professional critic by any means but I'm a harsh critic. I absolutely love your video. The one I watched before this was the inline German fighter that I never knew existed with a push-pull system and the fastest prop plane of world war II. Again another fighter I did not know existed.
"It weighed twice as much as the P-51."
No shit.
O_O my brain just expanded
No _way_
I’m dying
Bruh
Hey watch the language
Guys we need the p51 to go further.
“Put another one on it”
Good idea for a air craft! More engines more better 💪🏼
Random inventor: “Ok guys, now let’s strap two B-29’s onto each other and-“
Manager: “No Jerald, go back home.”
Seriously though, I’d like to see that
Germany did the same thing with the bf109z
@@halo3pro584 and the he111
Add more and bigger drop tanks.
"flew it accidentally" uhhh huh yeah. ooooops guess i'll just fly now... bet it was fun as hell
Hughes had an "accident" like that. My dad just happened to go to Long Beach to see his brother that day.
It can happen - check out the Victor which accidentally got airborne ruclips.net/video/TGjPu6DPzWU/видео.html
@@chazza404 Oh man I remember that video. Pilot did a great job recovering and setting it back down safely. Those are the kind of reflexes you gain after learning to control the vehicle like it's an extension of your body.
@@chazza404 ooooh, I know it can happen, and I believe it did happen, but maybe with a little more willingness than admitted ;)
This can be extremely dangerous, if the aircraft is not prepared it might not be flyable, controls not adjusted, not enough fuel, etc.
P51: "here's trouble"
F82: "make it double"
golden comment
FW 190: ded
@@xx_insert_cool_username_he6876 fw 380 joins the chat
P-38: can i invite you to my party
P-51: yeah sure
9 months later:
Twins....
😂
🤣🤣🤣
XD
Yeah, I'm a bit confused here. We had the P38 already why this? What was its advantages over the P38
@@rexmann1984 It means they got married and now have twins. Get it? XD XD XD XD
One of the biggest issues was despite looking like 2 P-51s slapped together, they shared very few parts between them, making repairs harder than most people would think.
Yeah IIRC its under 10 parts they actually share
Yes
I was gonna say they made a ton of mustangs take parts off them lol.
You made this comment before I got around to it. I found out about this fact when reading about someone who tried to restore one.
Yes, its in the clip.... 09:58
Imagine two P-47 stuck together, 16 .50 cal’s
yes
The P82 didn't double the armament of the P51.
16 .50 cal’ *and 10+ tons weight.....* :)
If I ever get wealthy enough it will become a reality .
War Thunder with the F82 with the gunpod shit is pure fun
Though a lot of them were dead end design concepts, the 1950's and 60's created some great looking planes.
Agreed, the Delta Dagger symbolizes this as a whole, when they realized they had to go back to the drawing board and come up with the Delta Dart.
"dead end design concepts"? You think you could elaborate on that?
@@frysco5927 if you bothered to look up what the Delta Dagger was, you'd have the answer to your question
Frysco they mean a design that was a good look and worked well but after that it didn’t have anything going for it
@@frysco5927 Design ideas that looked good on paper, but didn't work in the real world. When we were able to get planes to travel at supersonic speeds a lot of the rules of aerodynamics had to be thrown out as they discovered new effects. A common thing that pops up in these videos are "engines too weak above X feet", "unstable at higher/lower altitudes", "wings too thick/thin" , "became uncontrollable in hard turns", ect. Some of these issues were easy enough to fix with modifications, others would require a complete redesign that made it economically unfeasible.
Also shifting strategies. Many aircraft were built to counter one type of threat. As that threat was removed, new ones were developed that made the original counter obsolete.
Kinda skipped the whole merlin engine upgrade that allowed for high altitude performance...
Yeah he truly did. Need a new narrator. He seems to do that alot in his other videos as well. What really upset the apple cart. When he uses Created. Rather than using Invented. For there is Only One Creator. The Lord God Most. Whom Just Spoke It All Into Being. Thus to say. The GREAT I AM. Did give us the know how to INVENT ONLY. In Alot of Things. This Aircraft As One Being INVENTED.
☪ ✡ † ☨ ✞ ✝ ☥ ☦ ☓ ♁ ☩ ☪ ✡ † ☨ ✞ ✝ ☥ ☦ ☓ ♁ ☩ ☪ ✡ † ☨ ✞ ✝ ☥ ☦ ☓ ♁ ☩ Sorry I've dropped my bag of Religious Symbols ☪ ✡ † ☨ ✞ ✝ ☥ ☦ ☓ ♁ ☩ .☪ ✡ † ☨ ✞ ✝ ☥ ☦ ☓ ♁ ☩ ☪ ✡ † ☨ ✞ ✝ ☥ ☦ ☓ ♁ ☩
F-82s didn't use merlins.
@@kdrapertrucker Mustang did though
@@mikeloghry9521 huh
“The aircraft was twice as heavy as the P51”- bet that took some intense research to divulge
Well, without sounding too much like an ass, the bird did use different engines and was built to handle more fuel, plus the shared uni-wing, removable gun pod and uni-tail don't have to correspond in weight to the wings, tail, and weapons of the original
Sausage!
@@baalzamon3593 it did not use different engines lol they are Packard built merlins
@Tim Black -- Yep... probably more than you've done in your entire life... but, I understand. Being snarky at your level of professionalism does take a lot of time and practice.
@@johnlshilling1446 GEDD'EM MR JOHN!!!
Without the incredible Rolls Royce Merlin engine, that "reliable" Allison engine added nothing more than the fate of the P-40.
It wasn't just two P-51s fused together, this was a completely different aircraft. Radar alone made this a formidable foe for recon and night-fighting after WWII. Add the gun pod under the center and you had 14 .50 caliber guns that could wipe out anything. Rockets were unreliable but there, and also could carry 4,000 lbs of bombs....half of the payload of a B-17.
It was created for a purpose.... versatility. Range....radar....ground attack....and interception made this one of the best of the last piston engine planes.
Absolutely well spoken!
Yep, with out the Packard built Rolls Royce merlin engine ( built under license, it was the same engine built in the uk for the spitfire) the p51 was no better then the p40
the production escort fighter version, the f-82e, was equipped with allison V-1710 engines, as were all subsequent models. most f-82's produced used the allison engine and performed excellently. it's a common mantra that the allison v12 engine was bad but that isn't quite true, i recommend reading up on it.
I never been clear on that. I have heard that the F82 shared nothing with the P51, other times I hear that it has components and parts in common with t P51H.
I believe B-17's had a payload of 4,800lb, so the F-82 had over 80% of that. ;)
The F-82 must have been the inspiration for the Bespin cloud car
Man of culture...
star wars vechile right? the orange shoe lookin things?
@@cg-rezi7597 yup
If I remember correctly, you are right.
You made my day. I did not think of it.
The dambusters mission inspired the Death Star trench mission too.
One thing I've never quite understood? The P-38 Lightning had the range to do what they were looking for and then some. Especially after Charles Lindberg (who was big time on the outs with FDR and the Military Brass) snuck out to visit the initially deployed Lightning squadron in the Pacific, and taught them how to double the fuel range getting it from it's rated 1300 miles to darn close to 2700 miles range. The pilots knew how to do this. It's how they nailed Yamamoto 1200 miles out.
The P51 only became the fighter it did when the british junked the Allison engine and installed the legendary Merlin.
The Allison was not supercharged in the A-36
Bubble canopy, undersea bladder fuel tank, 2 additional .50cals, underwing fuel tanks, made the P51D the legendary fighter it was. The Merlin was the first and biggest change.It made the P51C a formidable fighter, and prompted theater changes.
Packard who built the Allison engine wasn’t designed for high altitude service that was no secret to anyone in 1940 , the plane was basically given to the British in the dark days of 1940 because they were producing the max amount of planes that was possible with the work force they had on hand , they were maxed out and we let them take the p51 with the non supercharged Allison engine because we needed the superchargers for the p38 at the time which was are best available plane . When we lost all those bombers over Germany in 1942/43 it became clear the army air corp wasn’t going to be able to fly daylight raids over Germany without escorts so Allison got a license from rolls Royce and built Merlin engines that were put into American p51’s , we already had an engine in the test phase that out performed the early Merlin engines but we didn’t have enough time to wait until it was 100% ready so that’s why we got permission from rolls Royce to copy the Merlin . It cracks me up that the British talk shit about the Allison knowing it wasn’t designed to do what the Merlin did and the fact it is always brought up that the p51 was junk before they put the Merlin in is nonsense.
@@mrbig4532 absolutely correct, asking a ground pounder to perform air superiority is a big stretch. Nothing against the Allison as it was a brilliant engine in its own right
@@mrbig4532 Thanks for clarifying the Rolls Royce connection. I thought they were called Rolls-Royce Merlin. Everything I see on the Mustang simply says Merlin. 👍
I’ve seen this amazing bird at the USAF museum in Dayton, Ohio multiple times and it never ceases to amaze! If you ever get the chance, spend an entire day at that museum.
I visited it nine years ago this week actually. I think about it often and was very impressed with the collection. It seems every plane there was significant to history on a whole, but they go beyond that and display planes that specifically made history. As in used on famous missions, broke flight records, have a story about it, etc. I can't wait to go back.
1 DAY?
Is not enough.
One day is not enough.
Take two.
But it's in Ohio...
@@dimesonhiseyes9134 But you get to meet all the astronauts in Ohio...
Those twin Mustangs use to come to my country on training missions after WW2, Vernam Field Jamaica.
You failed to mention that the Mustang only became a viable escort fighter, and gained decent altitude ability when fitted with the Merlin engine (license built in the US). This change was proposed by an US Army Airforce attache in England
He did say it was pretty slow with its original engine.
It only shared 15 parts with the P-51. It was designed from the ground up to fly alongside the B-29s on long bombing runs to Japan. WW2 ended before it saw service there, but it did see a little in Korea, like stated in the video.
Thanks for bringing that up. So many people think it's just two Mustangs "bolted" together.
@@kevinkilleen6375 yeah. The Bf-109Z (like the F-82 but with 109s) was actually two welded together. It only had one pilot unlike the 82 though.
the P-51 only became the great aircraft after being fitted with the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine
Yes i think he missed that
🤔 Wouldn't we all... 🤯
@@MidwestFarmToys The Rolls-Royce Griffin was better. (Fitted to late ear spitfires)
The Merlin and the Mustang were a perfect match.
It actually didn't even become the mustang till it got the merlin. It was the apache before that.
“Dark” channels are the best!
They're okay, mistakes still creep in.
Personally I don't like Dark5, too many fakes stories and stuff, I'd rather learn about things, like his other channels kinda
Indeed
"Your Moms" channels are the best!
He does know how to read Wikipedia with the best of em.
Thank you for the Dark Skies episode on the P/F-82. A long time P-51 fan, the '82 has been a bit of of an enigma as it is usually minimally covered in Mustang narratives. Your work here has greatly increased my knowledge of the performance and the service life of the '82. The videos of the '82 flying were very nice to see. Again, thank you!
The P-51's range was NOT a "flaw". It was not a four engined bomber and was never intended to have the range of a four engined bomber. For a single engined pursuit aircraft, it had damned good range. Your statement is rather like finding fault with a gazelle because it isn't very good at being a giraffe!
RIGHT ON GREAT RESEARCH.
Now let's make two A-10 Thunderbolts stuck together. It will be apocalyptic!
Hell yes!!!!🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Great comment. Though the warthog isn't an escort plane or a fighter at all. It is an attack airplane so maybe bolt two F22 together to make an F44? It is the best fighter flying in 2021.
Side to side extra-wide, or like a bi-plane?
😂
@Opecuted somehow this made me laugh a lot more than I would like admitting
BE SO FAST IT WOULD SHOOT ITSELF DOWN ! 😁👍🇺🇸
I heard about the "twin Mustang" before, but I never knew it engage in combat operations. I've just tought the airplane was only a prototype.
No, we built a ton of them.
I thought it was some silly photoshop on the internet.
Same I thought it was just a prototype
One shot down a mig
There is one on display at the NMUSAF in Dayton, OH. Marvelous aircraft! A side note, aside from the imagined "mid-air collision" experienced by some pilots who would catch the other fuselage in the corner of his eye, there was another perception problem- most pilots, when rolling an aircraft, rolled about the center axis of the fuselage he was in. Normal behavior in a regular aircraft, that would put the pilot in the other fuselage through a disorienting wild ride about the axis of the controlling pilot. P-82 pilots had to be trained to avoid this.
Perfect timing, I just watched Phly use this thing the other day and went here to see if you had a video on it and now...wallah!
Yea same
Eli Lewis v
Same
Did you just try to say Voila? Lmao
Laplagaable indeed, haha I forgot how to spell it
This guy speaks so fast that he finishes the video even before he starts it.
Just slow down the video to -0,75 and the speech is perfect...
A do a do ba do bd da bo ba do THATS ALL FOLKS!!!!
He used to be a lot faster. Check out his older videos, he speaks double this speed lol
I bet it's a robot
This guy is perfect for this job.
Ah yes, if the P-51 doesn’t have enough guns:
U S E MORE G U N
You should see the gunpod for it
Without the gun pod, the F-82 has the same number of guns as a p-51
@@frogsshadow4189 14 freedom sticks in total, God Bless America *salutes and cries*
Enterprise206 I was referring to the gunpod as depicted in War Thunder. 14 .50 cals of freedom!
Also US Naval design philosophy.
Any other country sees deck space.
US Navy sees a spot someone forgot to install another gun.
My father flew these in Korea and was part of the 4th Fighter Wing that were night and all weather interceptors. Some unbelievable stories. Great aircraft and part of the greatest generation.
this plane was NOT simply two P-51s bolted together. The fuselage was entirely different. Its only commonality is a shared cosmetic
Came looking for THIS right here!!! And was not disappointed.
Well Done... though I've read that there were some shared parts, perhaps as much as twenty percent of parts were shared.
Still a Beautiful and Unique Aircraft.
@@belliott538 Historical records i have read disagree to a very small degree but the most agreed upon point is the tail wheel was the only common part besides some body panels (mostly wing skin). Again the record seems a bit sketchy but even parts that seem the same have subtle differences.
I'm glad somebody made this statement.
My father in law flew a P51 in the USAAC. Later he bought one. He always loved them.
Got a good chuckle out of the impending mid air collision.
Hadn’t thought of that, but... makes a lot of sense. Probably get over it pretty quickly, but that first flight for some pilots might have been a bit surprising.
Glad to see this. As a kid I built models and for Christmas one year I got this kit. Never had seen it and didn't know much about it.
On new year's eve, 2018, this mustang had a mind of its own.
Originally sent to the Brits as the A-36 Apache with the Allison engine. The Merlin was what helped make it a winner. I did get to see the XP-82 in Douglas, GA as she was being assembled. She was one beautiful and deadly lady. I just wish I could have been there where she took flight.
He speaks so fast, I thought he said "green war"
*purple
it's the pervitin. Über Erzähler.
I know I'm in the minority here, but the speech speed is perfect for me 😂
For my online lectures theres this automated voice that walks you through steps on a practice assignment. And to me the speech feels like it has seconds between each word and it drives me nuts.
.75 speed lol
He speaks like hes being followed
Thank you for doing a video on this plane. It's one of my favourites, but its relative obscurity means few people know about it. It's an interesting sidenote in aviation history.
love dark skies
Do u know mark Felton channel
Is this a command?
I love turtles
You got it backwards, the P-51 was first introduced to the USAAF with the anemic Allison 1710 engine and had miserable performance above 15,000 ft so the few that were bought by the USAAF were converted and relegated to ground attack (see Air & Space Magazine, March 2020 issue) the British bought the P-51 and put the R R Merlin in them and they came alive so much so that the Packard Company built them for the American P-51’s... and now the rest of the story....
You completely missed the most important upgrade the P51 ever received!
Dumping the "reliable" Allison V-1710 engine (which you mention), and replacing it with a supercharged Rolls Royce Merlin. It would have never been able to escort the bombers without it due to the Allison's poor performance over 15,000 feet (which you also mention!), yet somehow fail to mention how this issue was overcome... Not still smarting that a limey engine was required to make it good are ya? :-p
And yet, the limeys couldn't be bothered to let us continue to use it post war. Hence why the F-82 went back to the Allison.
@@Arcalargo actually the "yanks" didn't want to pay the royalties to continue building the Merlin under licence after WW2, so went back to the Allison for the F82-C... Making it slower than the earlier models.
Arcalargo
Aye well, the Limeys gave you the jet engine. What more do you want?
Oh, and the Malcolm Hood and Bubble Canopy 😉
@@juststeve5542 we probably had superchargers by then to stick on the allisons, in ww2 they were prioritizing superchargers for bombers in the early to mid war
NAA ( started out as American Fokker then, AM/GMC) and Packard's Merlin engine facility in Detroit were not a top part of the aviation industry's "really cool kids". They got work only when everyone else had full plates and a fire needed putting out.
the twin mustang is awesome. I got to see one being redone in Douglas, Georgia, and it’s absolutely crazy how much work’s gone into the project.
Let’s do the rest of my favorite aircraft.
P-61 Black Widow
P-47 Thunderbolt
F-105 Thunderchief
F-4 Phantom
Paul Hayward not the P51?
Excellent suggestions. I'd love to see videos on those planes as well.
That's my perfect list with the addition of the F111
БойБорг690_ I think an F117 would be a worthy addition to this list as well.
Good list, the thunderchief is the only one that a model of didn’t hang from my bedroom ceiling as a kid.
That is...amazing. That honestly seems like one of the best piston driven bomber escorts ever made. A range comparable or over that of the bombers means constant fighter escort, a ton of guns, fast, maneuverable. Damn. Also, with the amount of rockets it could carry, would be a good CAS plane too.
When is Dark Skies going to make a video about the P51? It was one of the most important airplanes in WWII
By which factor do you determine important?
Jakob Rinsdorf There were 15,567 P51’s built. It was an airplane designed to escort bombers from Britain to Berlin and back. In air to air combat, the P51 destroyed more than 4950 Luftwaffe aircraft, which accounted for half of all confirmed Axis aircraft kills in the European Theater. It was later modified into a fighter-bomber, and in that capacity it destroyed another 4131 Axis aircraft on the ground. It was also used to catch up to and intercept around 1000 V1 Flying Bombs launched at London.
It was cheap, fast, and easy to build. So, based on its use and impact, I think that makes it extremely important in establishing air superiority over Germany.
My neighbor Harold Huffmaster touched everyone of this plane's that went to Europe. He was state side in Florida and his crew checked them before they headed east to Europe. He loved the P-51...
They just did.....
The Embassy I mean, a video dedicated to just the P51 and highlighting its contributions to the war... just my humble opinion
Apparently very different aircraft...great documentary and great narration ... I’m not sure I would listen without the amazing narration ... bravo
A mention of the Merlin engine in the P51 development would have been good. Otherwise, very interesting and clear.
P-51 mustangs have my favourite fighter of WW2 since forever and I’ve only just discovered this masterpiece.. how has it taken this long to know about them hahah
What does freedom mean?
Fourteen 50 cals.!!!!
A boys wet dream? You know P-82 had only six .50"s, right? All in the center wing section. No more....nada....none in the outer wings. Six (6) no more.
MURICA!
Such a great world we live in today...
Freedom by weapons is a fairytale....
@@waynebrinker8095 had an option gun pod
@@waynebrinker8095 It could carry an 8 gun gun pod under the center wing spar.
One thing that often gets left out is the American contribution to the Merlin Engine design. Greg's Aircraft and Automobiles talks about it. The P51 was truly and amazing combination of British and American engineering.
Unfortunately some of the commentary doesn't match the images on-screen... showing Stukkas whilst talking about the "bomber destroyers" sent up by the Luftwaffe to counter the P51s
They already had a twin engine fighter that could fly over 2000 miles the P-38 and it had all of it's guns in the nose .
Yes, but the P-38 did not have two pilots. The F-82 had two pilots to compensate for the long flights the aircraft would complete. But yes, the P-38 still is a good escort.
KamikazeSpider not really, the lack of a supercharger limited its capability as a high altitude escort
@@ConnorJohnson98 Technically only the two prototype P-82s had mechanically driven superchargers, as they had Merlin engines like the P-51. All production versions of the P-82s had turbocharged Allison engines that were newer versions of the same engine used in the P-38.
The P-82 was still more fuel efficient at altitude, but it was mainly due to the lower drag laminar flow wing.
@@ConnorJohnson98 The P-38 had a turbo for each engine and was able to climb to 45,000 ft.
@@fshn4x4 I think you have it backwards. The two prototypes had the Packard Merlin, and the production P-82 had the Allison V-1710. Rolls Royce increased the licence fee on the Merlin after the war, and a new version of the V-1710 was developed with multi stage supercharging. Initially it had some teething pains, but they eventually worked out problems.
My father flew the night fighters in Korea. It was his favorite aircraft. Lots of cool stories. Excellent video.
Perfect Timing, i just got shot down by an F-82 while i was in my Me-264 in war thunder
I feel you bro, happens 2 out of10 games
@@pajeirussaurio1405 fr, their just so fast
@@pajeirussaurio1405 dammit ,i got shot down by another f-82 rn
@@exzackly__2314 just play the do 217 m1 ,i get almost 3 tons per game
@@HarmlessNuke_ i use to play with it and admit its probably better in case of not dying, but i have a bond with my me264 and its also such a dream to fly and use
As a kid I always wondered why this plane was built. Now thanks to Dark Sky's, I know that answer. What am awesome aircraft and the speed and distance it could fly was amazing. I have a whole new appreciation for the F-82 and understand her roll in history.
When the P-51 doesn't have enough guns,
*USE TWO P-51'S*
Mateo Johnson “I flew to Europe to chew bubblegum and kick ass.... and I’m all out of bubblegum”
R he F-82 only has Six guns, just like the original Mustang.
@@horsemumbler1 I'm just a WarThunder player, but in game, when an F82 with a center gun pod fires, it looks like freaking lazer. Dr. Evil would approve. ruclips.net/video/INFavIUmhcE/видео.html
horsemumbler1,
As mentioned in other replies it could mount a center under wing pod with 8 Guns...
Never saw this twin Mustang before. Very interesting aircraft!
That was a bad ass ending actually. It flew again, despite expectations.
The Republic Thunderbolt was an excellent long range fighter it’s range was limited by bomber generals who refused to import external tanks.
The big issue for both was pilot fatigue. A twin with two pilots allows one to rest.
Bro you need to cover the Avro Arrow. That plane was way ahead of its time
underrated comment. It describes a lot of could of beens for the RCAF. ICBMs were indeed the future.
I’m ngl this is one of my favorite planes solely because of its history, it’s as stubborn as a dachshund and I love it
Outstanding Video...but the P-82 was not created by joining [2] P-51 fuselages together. It was constructed on an entirely different airframe utilizing only 5-parts from the original Mustang. The elevator trim wheel, hand-crank for the canopy, hydraulic-system accumulator, tailwheel axle and the rudder and elevator trim-tab hinge points. Dark Skies still rules tho.
Finally, a smart person!!
@@Entity282 theeenk Q!!!
I like how it combines the history of both the Mustang and Twin Mustang.
Am I the only one that has watch these videos at .75 playback speed?
Me too
They got one in in the Valiant Air Command War Museum in Titusville Florida. The guide said she is a flyer and looked to be. Awesome plane one of the coolest war birds I have seen in person.
A Twin Dornier Do 335 would be a killer machine
It was planned Do 635
@@galier2 that thing would've been such a pig in the air. Effectively as maneuverable as a 4 engine bomber.
@@RidinDirtyRollinBurnouts You're wrong. The Do-335 's maneuverability was outstanding.
@@13stalag13 yeah, the 335. The 635 would not have been.
@@RidinDirtyRollinBurnouts I guess we'll never know. The twin Mustang was pretty maneuverable, so I see no reason the 635 wouldn't be.
The Mustang was ordered by Britain to replace the Hurricane for ground attack and medium altitude use. It did that job perfectly. The Rolls Royce test pilot spotted its potential for high altitude with the Merlin 61 engine. P51B was the result
Rolls Royce had a prototype design that mid mounted the Crecy 2 stroke sprint engine. The new jets led to its early cancellation.
technically the only flying "f-82" is actually the original XP-82 test aircraft and not a production model.
Yep, currently one in a hanger in Florida at Valiant Air Command Air Museum.
I made what I called a P-38 out of two Sleet-Skeet balsa wood rubber band airplanes back about 1973 when I was 7. I got it to take off , fly and land without crashing. As a little kid aeronautical engineer, back in hippy times , that was a really "cool" day. It took a few years for me to realize I made an F-82 not a P-38.
There were surprisingly few parts in common between the F-82 and the P-51.
Colonel Thacker was a good friend of mine who recently passed away he flew the Betty Joe that is now in the museum named after his wife a great man and a Great Hero .
The first prototype of the P-82 has been restored to flight status.
One flying at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum.
Well researched vid. I was recently looking for content on this aircraft and found very little. So, I was disappointed until today. Great job!
Well his great research fell short. When he didn't inclued. The Merlin Engine,
I played war thunder so I’m kind of an expert on this
Just because you saw the plane in X-Ray mode means you're an expert? Understandable
@@takenusername1945 hay, buddy I have it
@@R3d_D3ad And? It's a video game my guy.
@@takenusername1945 Why are taking this serious
@@R3d_D3ad Covid got me down and bored. Nothin' better t do except scroll through YT comments
I'm glad that they have restored an F-82 to flying condition. It's one thing to see a plane in a museum but when you hear the engine roar when flying over your head that is when you know the plane is "alive and breathing".
Unintentionally flew? Yeah, like when I unintentionally drove my grandfather's truck - to the lake. I spent the day at the beach then unintentionally drove back. He was pretty upset until I explained that it was unintentional, I just wanted to put some pavement under the tires to check the steering.
Thank you, that was incredibly interesting! I didn't even know these twin Mustangs existed. Best wishes.
The P-82 had very few common parts with the P-51.
Don't think any body panels could be switched between a P-51 and a F-82
And two "airframes" were larger too.
Basically the guy mentioned who had his flying version stayed something like less than ten parts are compatible with its erstwhile 51.
What ever i do i can't think of it as one... In my head its always two.
Various errors in the narration. The
biggest: the failure to mention the
role of the Merlin engine during WW2.
Agreed
And the spitfire....
@@aussienads How would the Spitfire be relevant to the F-82? Only the first 10 F-82s were equipped with Merlins, the main production versions were downgraded to Allisons.
Merlin role was significant in P-51 development. Twin mustang is different story, and if you want to cover it in 12 mins, you can't be bothered with complete Mustang's background...
@@Markle2k Agreed
I love this channel, it’s great, voice is great, everything is so well done. Reminds me of history channel when it was actually about history.
When the most ridiculous ship in star wars is actually based on a real aircraft...
I saw one of these in a museum in Florida some months ago. What an amazing sight.
Oh great, now there's two of them
Time to see the eye doctor. Or drink less, one or the other.
One thing that's been missed in this, is that the Alison engine despite being reliable was underpowered. If i recall, it was during deployment with the RAF, they swapped in a Rolls Royce Merlin engine, which suddenly and massively increased the performance of the aircraft, both in low and high performance along with fuel effiency. The Rolls Royce was eventually licenced and produced by Packard, who did help to develop it further with upgraded bearings for the crank and rods, which Rolls Royce added to later revisions of the Merlin and Griffon engines.
The famous P-51 Mustang was considered the best piston-engined fighter of World War II
Corsair: AM I A JOKE TO YOU?????
Maybe by top brass the real hero of ww2 and the people’s choice is and always will be the spitfire
Corsair might have been the best naval fighter, but not as fly able or fast as the mustang. Tough though
@@garethmottram Not as fast??? Corsair was 400mph right out the gate...and service ceiling was well above 35K...mustang was best at what it was designed for..but it was by no means the best all around...
@@garethmottram wrong: by the Korean War, the F4U-4 and -5 were out pacing the over-rated P51D in both climb and straight line speed. Not to mention ordinance carrying abilities. There is a reason the corsair was still in production until 1952 and the Mustang production stopped right after ww2.
Messerschmitt and Fokker wulf have left the chat.
"To show you the power of Flex Tape, i cut the wings of this mustangs and unitted using only flex tape"
Complete a mission from the Solomon islands to Tokyo? Where the hell did you get that from? The b-29 could not fly a mission from the Solomon islands to Tokyo. If it could we would have started building air bases to accommodate the b-29 in the Solomons instead of China. Flying out of China was logistically and financially very expensive and counterproductive. That's why it was necessary to take the Marianas. Prototypically you ignore why the P-51 was designed and what mission it was designed for. Most people do so you're not alone in that.
NICE RESEARCH
I said the same thing. Where does he get this stuff?
I actually can't believe dark skies actually listened to my reply about this air craft. Thank you!
"As the tensions rose because of the Berlin Airlift...the Tupolev represented the threat of a Soviet nuclear attack from the air" - the first Soviet atomic bomb wasn't tested until several months after the end of the Berlin Airlift.
Noticed this as well, was a bit caught off guard perhaps he just meant air bombing attacks by the reds but can't be sure but they certainly weren't worried about soviet nukes at that time.
"Im controlling the plane"
"No im controlling the plane"
"No im controlling the plane"
A lot of the footage is not relevant, eg Bf109Es and Stukas. What were those radial engines for? Certainly not F82s.
He’s using them for filler content so he can continue talking about the P-82 because there wasn’t enough P-82 footage
@@wallinggriffin I realise why he's using it, but it would make more sense to fill the time with relevant stills that can be displayed as long as necessary..
Yeah, show P-47 when he says P-51. Then show JU-87 when he says FW-190. But that's typical for this channel.
You know what's awesome? A P-51 Mustang. You know what's even more awesome than that? Two P-51 Mustangs combined into one aircraft.
"Accidentally" flew!
Yep !!! That's how he put it.
TWIN A-10! FROM 1 DEADLY GUN TO TWO!
I love this guy's content, but holy shit the weird, sped-up way he talks hurts my brain
the 8 browning gun pod really is nasty
Ahh yes, the legendary "point five caliber", or as literally everyone else but you calls it, the 50 cal
Well I belive its officially designated
.50 cal and ist a bit colloquial for a mini documentary...
It’s in some ways an interesting way to prevent plagiarism - if anyone else says it that way, you immediately suspect that it’s a copy.
To be horribly pedantic, it would be called a .5 inch calibre, so he's not incorrect, but I do wonder why he doesn't just call it a 50 cal like a normal person.
@@stillsalty947 Colloquialisms aside, i think it's fair use here. Everyone calls it the 50 caliber. No one says "three five seven caliber", it's the 357.
In another video, he called the Spitfire MK 2 the "M K 2" instead of "Mark 2". I think he needs his scriptwriter to put in some phonetic spellings or helpful hints because some of these hit the ear weird.
For anyone wondering the only flying XP-82, from what the museum told us, left is at the Valiant Air Command Museum in Titusville, Florida. They have an F-14, a Skyblazers F-86, a B-57, and a bunch of other planes and memorabilia.
0:45 It looks so strange to not have a pair of tail fins on the outside of the fuselage(s). Like it just looks completely wrong, subverts my expectations of what an aircraft should look like even more than the twin fuselage.
Physics says it works just fine and more fins wouldn’t help to streamline airflow, but I press *X* to doubt and run away to cry in the fetal position in the nearest corner...
Well, judging by the length of the tail aerofoil between the two fuselages, it should be well enough to hold up the tail end of the plane, extra fins on the outside probably just add extra weight and drag
100 out of 100. Granted I am not a professional critic by any means but I'm a harsh critic. I absolutely love your video. The one I watched before this was the inline German fighter that I never knew existed with a push-pull system and the fastest prop plane of world war II. Again another fighter I did not know existed.
xd twin mustangs
COOOOOOOOOOOL
"The P51 was considered the best fighter of WWII"
Hawker Tempest: "Am I a joke to you?"
The Mustang could outperform the Tempest in almost every regard at higher altitudes.
Don't get me wrong. I love the Tempest....say my name.