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North American P-82 Twin Mustang - $$5.95

Flying in formation with itself... The immense distances between islands in the Pacific Theater required a fighter type that could fly for hours between islands, yet have its pilot fresh for combat at any time. The North American solution was its P-82 Twin Mustang. Unique concept.

North American P-82 Twin Mustang Downloadable Cardmodel

North American P-82 Twin Mustang

North American P-82 Twin Mustang

P-82 cardmodel

Appearing from some angles to be two P-51's flying in a close formation the North American P-82/F-82 was very nearly exactly that! Rather than develop an entirely new model from scratch, North American found that it could meet the requirements by joining two standard P-51 fuselages with a new center wing section and horizontal tail.

Saving time, money, and materials North American produced 250 of the double-fuselage airplanes for the Air Force, embracing three versions of the Twin Mustang then in service, the P-82E, P-82F and P-82G. They were ordered too late for World War II, however.

 


What people say...

An F-82, an F-82, I can't believe it!!! I reckon you guys may have just cured my burn out. This is what I love about you guys, not the usual, typical planes, but rather the more unique planes out there, FG just carries on surprising me, awesome stuff!! Niki

P-82 Twin Mustang-Beta
This is a beta of the P-82 Twin Mustang in it's early stages

Oh Boy! Oh Boy! Another Fiddlersgreen Winner!
Remembrances:
Years ago we had a Korean War P-82 pilot give a lecture at an IPMS meeting about the F-82 and his combat time hitting enemy trains before they ran for cover in tunnels. I remember him stating that the twin Mustang was based on the P-51 Mustang but it was really a new design and that his had cockpit controls only on one side. The other contained the radar operator. Sharpening blades and waiting for the Fiddlers design team to complete this one, Bob Penikas

P-82 twin MustangU.S. F-82 shot down the first enemy aircraft of the Korean War. The P-82 (Changed to F-82 in 1948 when the Army Air Corps became the U.S.A.F.) was more of a modification than just "stretching" the fuselage. The engine cowling was lengthened to incorporate the tandem variable-pitch gear box and also sported a close-profile air intake.

The tail section of the fuselage was extended some 12% to accommodate some pitch problems they incorporated on earlier tests. The landing gear... Well, that's obvious. And full flight controls were taken out of the Starboard cockpit to make room for radio (radar) instrumentation and advanced bomb sights. Full IFR was left in the Port cockpit only.

The vertical stabilizer sported an elongated dorsal fillet to improve "tracking" stability and wouldn't slide so much in a hard bank. Even the wing-roots were modified because of an overall shortened span (by comparison to the P-51). It no longer had that distinguishable "angle" where the wing meets the fore-fuselage. But hey... The canopy stayed the same!!!



Penikas P-82 model


Howdy, The paper parts had been cut out but there was a row of empty soda cans nearby, the late night talk radio station had an interesting conversation in progress, and, well, converting this new Fiddlersgreen design from paper to aluminum just seemed so natural. Bob Penikas

NOTE: The BETA version of this model came with a shorter fuselage than it should have been and the submitted photos above reflect this error (our bad). The model has been re-drawn for its release.


1.The p-82 sheets look great but I don't see any wing fairing's? You should check all the different models, I see 2 different ones with a center section like for the German tug but only 2 fuselages.
2. I take my WWII disc to Kinko's and have them blow it up to 11" x 17". It makes great models.
3. I want to order the Bomber CD and will order the Hard copy version so I can blow them up. What are the chances that you will make revisions to them? Thanks, I'll keep making them and you keep designing them.. Bennett

++Bennett
We chose to drop the fairing's from the design for a little more simplicity.. The P-82 has fairing's built into the fuselage and that seemed to be sufficient. and YES.. We're making changes (updates, new versions, corrections) to ALL the Cds ALL the time. Just yesterday, I corrected a part on the Camo version of the B-52 and uploaded it to all the folders of guys who 'own' it. Truth be known tho, the Bombers CD has been around from quite some time and changes are few and far between. Model on!!

North American F-82/P-82

P82 Twin Mustang

The versatility of the P-82 (F-82) made it potentially adaptable to a wide variety of roles in modern aerial warfare. It was adapted as a fighter, a long-range escort, long-range reconnaissance, night fighter, attack bomber, rocket fighter and an interceptor.With a speed of more than 475 miles an hour, the Twin Mustang had a combat range of over 1,600 miles with full armament. Range could be extended by use of external drop tanks on the wings.

In January of 1944, the USAAF ordered four prototypes of the P-82 Twin Mustang. This unusual fighter would have a maximum range of 2,600 miles, which was 300 miles more than the P-51D, and over the Pacific Ocean every mile would be precious.

More importantly, the P-82 carried two pilots who could relieve each other during missions that might last as long as nine hours. But it is interesting to note that only the pilot in the left fuselage had full IFR instruments. On such missions in the "soup," the second pilot would be able to provide little in the way of relief.P-82 Twin Mustang

Both engine throttles and both propellers were controllable from either cockpit by manually operated levers. The pilot's cockpit on the left contained the normal flight and engine instruments, while the co-pilot on the right had sufficient instruments for relief and emergency operation. A simplified cockpit arrangement improved pilot comfort, including a tilting, adjustable seat to reduce fatigue during long flights.

On June 27, 1950, shortly after the beginning of the Korean War, an F-82G from the 68th F(AW)S of the 8th Fighter Bomber Wing shot down a North Korean Yak fighter near Kimpo Air Field north of Seoul. This became the first aerial kill of the war and the first scored by a pilot in the United States Air Force. The F-82G was flown by Lt. William Hudson, and the radar observer was Lt. Carl Fraser. In addition to this first, the Twin Mustang became the last propeller-driven fighter ordered into production by the United States Air Force.

P82 Twin Mustang
Most F-82s were produced as all-weather night fighters, with the first being the F-82F.

This version was equipped with the AN/APG-28 tracking radar, and a total of 91 were built. These were followed by 45 F-82Gs, which carried the SCR-720C search radar that had been previously proven in the P-61 Black Widow. In both types, the right cockpit was modified with the necessary controls and displays for operation of the radar.
P-82 Twin Mustang-side v u


P-82 Twin Mustang black
P-82 Twin Mustang-flying
A radical departure from the conventional single-fuselage airplane, the Twin Mustang was formed by two fuselages joined by the wing and the horizontal stabilizer. With a pilot in each fuselage, it reduced to a minimum the problem of pilot fatigue on ultra-long-range missions. The P-82F and G models carried a radar operator in the right cockpit instead of a co-pilot.


Sikorsky S-39 engine
Close up of the cowling details with the beautiful "Betty Jo" P-82 Twin Mustang in bold lip-stick red.
P-82 Twin Mustang-Betty Jo
P-82 Twin Mustang on display today at the Wright Patterson U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio


P-82 Twin MustangThe Mustang's combat record is generally considered to consist of: 4,950 air kills, 4,131 ground kills and 230 V-1 kills, with an 11:1 "kill ratio"

North American produced 250 of the double-fuselage airplanes for the Air Force, embracing three versions of the Twin Mustang then in service, the P-82E, P-82F and P-82G. They were ordered too late for World War II, however.
Both engine throttles and both propellers were controllable from either cockpit by manually operated levers. The pilot's cockpit on the left contained the normal flight and engine instruments, while the co-pilot on the right had sufficient instruments for relief and emergency operation. A simplified cockpit arrangement improved pilot comfort, including a tilting, adjustable seat to reduce fatigue during long flights.
P-82 Twion Mustang formationThe P-82 was renamed the F-82 in 1948, and a
U.S. F-82 shot down the first enemy aircraft of the Korean War.


P-82 Twin Mustang
North American P-82
North American P-82 Twin Mustang
 Well I've eventually finished the model. As is usual with me I struggled with the curvature of the air intake bottoms and also the wing fairing's. This is one aspect of card modeling I always struggle with. If you have any magic words of wisdom I would appreciate them. One idea I have is that perhaps the card I am using is slightly too thick. It is 160gm. I really love the landing gear! They work really well. I must say that I really look forward to rebuilding the model when you finally release it. I am including a few photos of my model. Neither the model or the photos are the greatest, but they will give you an idea of what sort of job an average Joe will do. George Burgess
Notes to George..You're right! #160 is way too thick and that certainly is your problem trying to bend small parts. Try #67 from Wall-Marts. For tricky curves, it helps to slightly moisten (hot breath is sufficient!) and then form over a tea spoon.
P-82 Cardmodel-EmilP-82 Cardmodel-Old Man
Thanks to give me the possibility to make this test building! I will assemble the black version (night fighter). Emil Enchev from Bulgaria

P-82 scanning
Scans of the P 82 are attached, they came out better then I thought they
would. I put a little red paper dot on the tip of the spinners, they look much better
P-82 TwinMustang-Barry
stang P-82 Twin Mustang cardmodel
P-82 Twin Mustang Beta (now revised with a longer fuselage).... Bob Dennison

P-82 cardmodel

The North American P-82 Twin Mustang was the last version in the evolution of the Mustang design, and was developed to satisfy the requirement for a long range escort fighter to accompany bombers to targets in Japan.


The design concept began with the idea of mating two Mustang fuselages to a constant chord wing center section housing the six 0.50 in. machine gun armament, and a one piece horizontal stabilizer, also of constant chord. The fuselages were from the lightweight XP-51F design, stretched 57 inches for greater directional stability. The two XP-82 aircraft. were equipped with standard P-51 H tail sections, but production aircraft. featured wider vertical stabilizer units and enlarged dorsal fin fillets. The outer wing panels, with armament removed, contained fuel tanks, as did the center section. The main landing gear, located under each fuselage, retracted inwards, and was housed in the center section. The tail wheels were standard P-51 units, retracting into the aft fuselage.



The XP-82 was powered by uprated Packard Merlin V-1650-11 and -21 engines driving opposite rotating inward turning propellers, to counter the torque. Both cockpits featured flight controls, but only the left cockpit had full instrumentation.



The first flight of the XP-82 took place on 15 April 1945, and the flight tests revealed a performance equaling the P-51D variant, with a longer operational range.



An order, based on the proposal, had been placed in March 1944 for 500 P-82 aircraft., a year before
the flight of the XP-82. When, with the end of WW ll approaching, it became apparent that production would not begin before then, the order was cut to include two of the four prototypes, and 20 aircraft., 18 P 82B and one each of the XP-82C and XP-82D.



The P-82B never entered service with combat units, being used for test and training. The 4th P -82B was fitted with retractable pylons under the outer wings capable of mounting 10 HVAR each, which folded into the wing undersurface when not in use. This installation was not adopted on later models, the standard "tree" being used instead. The 13th aircraft. was experimentally fitted with a center wing mounted pod housing an array of recon cameras, and was assigned to the Photo Test Sqn. of the 3200th Proof Test Group at Eglin AFB, being designated, unofficially, the RF-82B (the aircraft designation changed to F-82 in 1948).

In early 1947, one aircraft., serial no.

p82
This record still stands today as the greatest distance flown by an un refueled fighter...Notice the miss-spelling of 'Betty Jo"
465168, was to achieve some measure of fame. It was fitted with extra internal fuel tanks in each fuselage aft of the pilot's seat, and four external drop tanks, a total fuel load of 2,215 U.S. gals. On Feb.28, piloted by Lt. Col. Robert E. Thacker, with copilot Lt. John M. Ard, it departed Hickam Field, Hawaii, and flew non-stop 4968 miles to LaGuardia Field in New York, setting a World Distance Record. The aircraft., named "Betty Jo" for Lt. Col. Thacker's wife, has been preserved in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. These markings are on the LARGE version of the P-82 version included in the P-82 folder.

 

 

Specifications for the North American P-82/F-82 Twin Mustang

P-82 three vu
 Crew: 2
Length: 42 ft 9 in
Wingspan: 51 ft 3 in
Height: 13 ft 10 in
Wing area: 408 ft²
Empty weight: 15,997 lb
Max takeoff weight: 25,591 lb
Powerplant: 2× Allison
V-1710-143/145 counter-rotating
liquid-cooled V12 engines, 1,380 hp takeoff each

Performance
Maximum speed: 482 mph at
21,000 ft
Range: 2,350 mi
Service ceiling: 38,900 ft

Armament
Guns:
6 × .50 in (12.7 mm)
Browning M2 machine guns
Rockets:
25 × 5 in (127 mm) rockets
Bombs:
4,000 lb


North American P-82 Cutaway
North American P-82 Twin Mustang Cutaway.

P-82 Twin Mustangs Callout
A: Like the wartime P-51 , the prototype P-82 was powered by the Packard Merlin V-12 liquid cooled engine, but production aircraft used Allison V-1710s. B: The crew sat on adjustable seats, designed to a levitate the discomfort of long patrols. Both cockpits had complete controls, but only the pilots cockpit to port, had full instruments. C: The Twin Mustang had a long dorsal fin to improve stability. The pilot could uncouple the rudder pedals if need be in order to stretch his legs safely without moving the rudder.
D: The Large SCR 720C or APS-4 radar was carried in an under fuselage pod. the operator sat in the starboard cockpit. E: The F-82 could carry underwing fuel to extend its already impressive range. Offensive armament of four 1,000 lb. bombs or rockets could also be carried. The six machine guns were wing mounted. F: The fuselage for the F 82 vr: lengthened P-51H design. Center of gravity problems meant that ammunition storage was limited to less than the capacity of 1,800 rounds.