Today in Engineering History: P-51 Mustang Makes Maiden Flight

On October 26, 1940, the P-51 Mustang made its maiden flight. An excerpt from the article:

"On this day in history, October 26, 1940, the North American Aviation P-51 Mustang made its maiden flight. The Mustang was originally designed and built by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a specification issued to NAA by the British Purchasing Commission.

In April 1938, the British government set up a purchasing commission in the United States, headed by Sir Henry Self. One of Self’s tasks was to organize the manufacturing and supply of American fighter aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Unfortunately, very few American aircraft then in production met European standards, with only the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk coming close."

SPC Margaret Higgins Lt Col Charlie Brown SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Sgt (Join to see) Maj William W. 'Bill' Price MAJ Ken Landgren PO1 William "Chip" Nagel LTC Stephen C. @prickett CSM Charles Hayden SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG Michael Noll PO1 Tony Holland Maj Robert Thornton LTC Greg Henning GySgt Thomas Vick Cpl Vic Burk SGT Mark Anderson PVT Mark Zehner