First 109 K4 ever to be restored

[LcSummers]

Originally Posted by Rjel

No the P-51H never saw combat. But don't forget the P-47M that did, doing so at over 470 mph in the hands of the highly experienced 56thFG.

Yeah thats right but it consumed much fuel and had engine troubles. Engines often stopped in flight because cylinder temperatures where to low wich was never a problem previously.
Squadron Signal 1208 (Larry Davis)

About the P-51H it was never used in combat, they wanted to make an lighter aircraft wich could

quote:

The P-51H was North American´s answer to an Army Air Forces requirement for a lightweight fighter design with a better rate of climb to match the German Me 109 an FW 190. SS 1211 (Larry Davis)

At the end the H fully loaded was only 600 pounds lighter than the P-51D but this made a difference in speed, it reached 487 mph.