Free 'What-If' P-51 Book (Authored By Our Very Own Tophe)

[elmayerle]

I'm tired, so I won't post the description now.  As to the source idea, I've *only* seen one picture of it and that was in the book I mentioned.  I've never seen that pic anywhere else.  I'll post teh description of both tomorrow evening.

[Tophe]

Thanks. No hurry at all. Tomorrow will be wonderful as well.
If you have a scanner, would it be possible to send it to me by E-mail? (I know it is forbidden to make public the content of a book, but sending a copy of a little picture to one is legal)

[elmayerle]

Well, I'm afraid I can't send you a scan of the reference picture for two very good reasons.  Firstly, I don't have a scanner with me.  Secondly, the book is some 1600+ miles away, back in Texas while I'm in Connecticut.  Anyway, the picture in question was a right-side shot of a modified P-51D with the rear canopy split in two to allow entry to a second seat and with radar antennae on the right wing (as I remember, the antennae looked a lot like what the Luftwaffe used on the FW-190A8/R11.

Now, my proposed P-51B nightfighter would be a two-seater similar to the modified war-weary hacks with two of the standard canopies.  On the right-hand wing, far enough out to clear the ammo bays and covers, would be a radar antenna like that carried by the F4U-5N.  The aircraft would be painted gloss black with red serials and codes.  I foresee nose art of a scantily-clad young woman barely weraing some black evening lingerie on a closely cropped white background; I'm sure y'all can think of plenty of appropriate double-entendres to use for naming the aircraft.

Which does bring to mind one other idea I've had.  The aircraft would be named "Junkyard Dog" or "Junkyard Dawg".  It started life as a P-51D that was sent to salvage when it's wing got thoroughly destroyed.  At the salvage facility, they found that they also had one of the early cannon-armed Mustangs with an intact wing but a trashed fuselage; since the wing attach remains the same, the mechanics at the facility got this, "Hey, why don't we..." idea and thus a one-off cannon-armed, bubble-canopy-fitted, P-51 variant appeared from the wreckage.  Pilots the salvage mechanics liked were allowed to take her up "semi-operationally" (since she officially didn't exist) and there were successes as no one expected a P-51D to "reach out and touch" with 20mm cannon.

[Tophe]

Thanks Evan, you made me dream of Mustang two-seaters, back to back:

[elmayerle]

Oh, if anyone's wondering, the book I saw that picture in is [/i]Debden Eagles[/i] by Glenn Fry with a 1971 copyright date.

[elmayerle]

Thanks Evan, you made me dream of Mustang two-seaters, back to back:

I think you're mis-interpreting my description or it wasn't clear.  The pictured P-51D nightfighter had the standard rear canopy and frame sectioned in two to allow access to the rear seat.  the separated portions were what first caught my eye in that picture.

[Tophe]

Oh, if anyone's wondering, the book I saw that picture in is [/i]Debden Eagles[/i] by Glenn Fry with a 1971 copyright date.

alas unavailable anymore:

[Tophe]

Thanks Evan, you made me dream of Mustang two-seaters, back to back:

I think you're mis-interpreting my description or it wasn't clear.  The pictured P-51D nightfighter had the standard rear canopy and frame sectioned in two to allow access to the rear seat.  the separated portions were what first caught my eye in that picture.

Your description was clear, but I think this was matching ones already in my free book page 84 (below). While... you made me dream further, and I was thanking you for this nice addition

[elmayerle]

Yes, the TP-51D Suisse is indeed very similar to the aircraft I saw in that picture.

[Tophe]

Now, my proposed P-51B nightfighter would be a two-seater similar to the modified war-weary hacks with two of the standard canopies.

Yes, now B with 2 standard canopies... (yes this is back-to-back misinterpretation, the classical two-seater-B was in the book since long ago)

[Tophe]

From http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,26120.120.html :

Hope you guys enjoy it at least half as much as I do!

Oh yes, at least half as much, probably 75%!
As far as I am concerned, I love the new cockpit, associated with the P-51-like tail (I will imagine Mustang derivatives of it on my P-51 CGI topic). Thanks a lot! (to enrich the world outside)...

So here are them:

[Tophe]

from http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,26747.0.html
(Pacopede's topic about a weird twin-fin Shinden)

OH! I suddenly realize: this is a magic idea you got: a double fin would have fins of half area... I am going to draw a CGI Mustang family this way.
Thanks again

So here are them - below right, side by side fins of half area = size 1/sqrt(2) = 70.7%

[Tophe]

I have seen what seems to be a 3-engined Bf-109 as future kit at http://www.unicraft.biz/
So here are related Mustangs:

[Tophe]

There are 2 different readings of the profiles above: symmetric 3-engines, asymmetric 2-engines (with a tiny engine as contra-prop):

[Tophe]

From the links part of the forum :

I have found this Cartoon wonderful site
(for French readers) :
http://www.phloxtoon.com/
English readers may translate it with Google :
http://translate.google.fr/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phloxtoon.com%2F&sl=fr&tl=en
(there are many many pages of enjoyment through clicking on « older posts »)
Have fun !

Here are Philippe Abbet’s cartoon Mustangs (or profiles from them, at least) :

Congratulations, artist !