"Matt Tacchi" wrote in message
Post by Matt TacchiI was wondering if anyone in the know about Mustang's in the
pacific theatre can tell me how big a role they played there?
The short answer, presuming you mean what the USAAF
called the Far East Air Forces (5th and 13th) and the Pacific
Theater (7th), is they did not do a great deal.
It was October 1944 before the 7th Air Force had any P-51
and November for the Far East Air Forces. The 20th Air Force
did not officially have any P-51 assigned until July 1945, but
due to a reshuffle of command, rather than new units arriving.
The fighter groups,
15th, defence of Hawaii pre war, received P-51 late in 1944, to
Iwo Jima in February 1945, first mission to Japan 7 April 1945.
21st, activated in Hawaii in 1944, P-51 in January 1945, to
Iwo Jima February-March 1945, first mission to Japan 7
April 1945
35th, in the Philippines pre war, converted to P-51 in March 1945,
while back in the Philippines, to Okinawa in June 1945.
348th, sent to the Southwest Pacific in May and June 1943,
converted to P-51 in March 1945 while in the Philippines,
to Ie Shima in July 1945.
506th, activated in October 1944, to Iwo Jima February to
April 1945, first mission on 18 May, attacking the Bonin Islands.
The RAAF started receiving Mustangs in April 1945 but no WWII
combat service.
Allison engined Mustangs served in India, the first arriving in
August 1943.
Geoffrey Sinclair
Remove the nb for email.