CAF Red Tail Squadron P-51C Mustang Tuskegee Airmen

History:
About the P-51C Mustang

The CAF Red Tail Squadron restored and flies this rare P-51C model Mustang fighter to create interest in the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, who flew P-51s just like it during WWII. The red tail and the sound of the powerful Merlin engine ensure a crowd will gather wherever the Mustang appears at an air show.

The Mustang first flew in October 1940 and went into service in July 1942 with the RAF and later in 1942 with the U.S. Army Air Force. The Mustang served with distinction well into the 1960′s with the Dominican Republic flying them in active service until 1984!

The Squadron’s Red-Tailed P-51C Mustang N61429

1945 pic of MustangThe Squadron’s P-51C Mustang was used as a stateside trainer in 1945 and then declared postwar surplus. It was displayed at a Montana college for 40 years before being donated for restoration (see photo right). The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) took possession of it in the late 1980s. Starting in the mid-1990s, the Minnesota Wing of the CAF began its restoration, raising the more than $500,000 necessary to complete the work. Volunteers of the “Red Tail Project” also did much of the work, contributing their time and experience to save money. In 2001, the Mustang, now christened “Tuskegee Airmen” and painted with a bright red tail, flew again for the first time in more than 45 years.

The Mustang flew on the air show circuit for three years, creating interest in the story of the Tuskegee Airmen at each stop. Then, in May 2004, it experienced an unavoidable engine failure and crashed near Red Wing, Minnesota. The pilot, Project leader Don Hinz, was credited with using his piloting skills to avoid injuries on the ground and a post-crash fire in the dead-stick situation. Don survived the accident only to succumb to his injuries the next day.

The CAF Minnesota Wing immediately pledged that the CAF Red Tail Project (the CAF Red Tail Squadron’s old name), which received national attention for its educational mission, would continue and that the Mustang would fly again. It took another five years to raise the $1,000,000 needed to rebuild the Mustang again. In addition, numerous volunteers gave up their weekends to drive to North Dakota and donate hundreds of man-hours to work on the Mustang alongside the experienced staff at Tri-State Aviation. It was all worthwhile when the “Tuskegee Airmen” took to the skies again in July 2009. It continues to fly the U.S. air show circuit, appearing at shows from early spring until late fall.

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Specifications

Registration Number	Date of Manufacture
N51429	1942
Aircraft Role	Nickname
Fighter	Mustang
Aircraft Type:	Wingspan:
North American P-51 “Mustang”	37 feet .5 inches
Overall length:	Empty weight:
32 feet 9 inches	7125 pounds
Gross weight:	Fuel capacity:
12,100 pounds	1300 miles
Oil capacity	Engine type:
	Rolls Royce V-1650-7 Horsepower: 1180 (Reciprocating)
Propeller type:	Max Speed
	437 mph
Rate of Climb	Cruise Speed
	235 mph
Service Ceiling	Number of Crew
41,900 feet	Single
Armament	Bomb Load
Six 12.7 mm wing mounted machine guns	Two 1000 lb bombs or Six Rockets
Number Built	Number Surviving
15018	Only 4 P-51C Models