North American F-82

North American F-82 Twin Mustang
Prototype XP-82
Type:	Fighter plane
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	North American Aviation
First flight:	July 6, 1945
Commissioning:	1946
Production time:	1946 to 1948
Number of pieces:	272

The F-82 Twin Mustang (originally P-82) was a twin-engine long - range escort and night fighter aircraft made by the US manufacturer North American Aviation in a twin- fuselage design.

development

The F-82 consisted of two modified and stretched fuselages of the P-51H , which were connected with a new center wing and a common tail unit. The machine kept both cockpits and could also be controlled by both pilots in the first 22 machines produced (two XP-82 and twenty of the B series). All other copies had controls only in the right cockpit. The first machines were put into service in January 1946.

The first two prototypes kept their Merlin engines from Packard, the third prototype and the series machines received Allison V-1710 engines. The propellers of the machines turned in opposite directions.

Originally intended as an escort fighter (B and E version), it was also used as a night fighter with radar (APS-4 for D and F versions; SCR-720 for C and G versions).

An F-82 night fighter shot down a North Korean Yakovlev Jak-11 near Seoul on June 27, 1950 during the Korean War .

In the Korean War, the USAF lost 17 F-82s, 11 of them in service. The operational losses are broken down as follows: 4 due to flak, 4 due to aircraft accidents and three aircraft went missing. In February 1952, the F-82 was withdrawn from combat operations.

Versions

F-82B Twin Mustang

F-82C night fighter

(In 1948 the P-82 was renamed the F-82)

XF-82 (factory designation NA.120)

Prototype with Packard V-1650-23 / -25 engines, two built

XF-82A

Prototype with Allison V-1710-119 engines, one built

F-82A

F-82E, used only for engine tests, built four

F-82B (NA.123)

Production version of the XF-82 with Allison engines and underwing stations, 19 built, 480 canceled

F-82C

an F-82B converted with SCR-720 radar under the center wing

F-82D

an F-82B converted with APS-4 radar under the center wing

F-82E (NA.144)

Day fighters with counter-rotating Allison V-1710-143 and V-1710-145 engines, 96 built

F-82F (NA.149)

Night fighter production version of the F-82C with AN / APG-28 radar under the center wing, 91 built

F-82G (NA.150)

Night fighter series version of the F-82D with SCR-720C radar under the center wing, 45 built, and nine F-82Fs were converted

F-82H

F-82F / G with winter equipment, 14 converted

production

Approval of the P-82 / F-82 by the USAAF / USAF:

version	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	TOTAL
XP-82	2					2
P-82A			4th			4th
P-82B		19th				19th
F-82E				96		96
F-82F				91		91
F-82G				43	2	45
F-82H					14th	14th
TOTAL	2	19th	4th	230	16	271

Technical specifications

Three-sided view

Parameter	Data
crew	2
length	12.93 m
span	15.62 m
height	4.22 m
Empty mass	7,271 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	11,632 kg
Engine	2 × Allison-V-1710-143 / 145 with 1,193 kW (1,622 PS) each
Top speed	742 km / h
Range	3,605 km
Service ceiling	11,855 m
Armament	6 × 12.7 mm Browning M3 machine guns , approx. 1800 kg bombs

See also

• List of aircraft types

literature

• Knaack, Marcelle Size: Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems. Volume 1: Post-World War II Fighters 1945-1973. Office of Air Force History, Washington, DC (USA) 1978, ISBN 0-912799-59-5 , pp. 12-21.

Web links

Commons : F-82 Twin Mustang  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• North American F-82 Twin Mustang of the National Museum of the USAF (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ globalsecurity.org , as of January 12, 2008
2. ↑ Twin Mustang Rebirth. Airplane Monthly, May 2011, p. 28.
3. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1953, p. 57 ff.
4. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1946, p. 100 ff .; 1947, p. 115; 1948II, p. 14; 1949, p. 164 ff .; Size Knaack, Marcelle: Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems, Volume 1, Washington DC, 1978, pp. 13 ff.