P-51 pilots first had to select a wing tank as the fuel source so that the excess fuel coming from the carb during cruise would have a place to go and not get dumped overboard.
Mostly, I worked from excellent sketches in the P-51D Parts and Maintenance manuals and from photographs of the tank in situ in the Imperial War Museum’s partly stripped down Mustang “Big Beautiful Doll”, which I took myself when the aircraft was under renovation at Duxford.
It was the addition of a fuselage tank behind the cockpit halfway through production of the P-51B. This additional internal tank increased fuel capacity by 85 gallons: original P-51Bs only had 184 gallons in the wings.
Further down, there’s the fuel cook beside the fueltank selector and rounding up this station is the emergency landing gear release and the hydraulic pressure gauge.
The North American P-51 Mustang Specifications. WWII wartime specifications of the P-51A, A-36, P-51B, P-51C, P-51D, P-51K, P-51H, F-6D, F-6K, F-51D, F-51H Mustangs.
Fuel Capacity- The P-51D holds 184 gallons. The military used drop tanks of a maximum capacity of 110 gallons each and had a 85 gallon rear fuselage tank . Most civil operators do not use drop tanks and have a rear jump seat in place of the fuselage tank.
a formidable ground attack fighter-bomber. The cutaway shown here is the P-51D variant 112 Rear spar 130 Main wheel leg door with its ‘bubble’ canopy, redesigned wing and increased armament.
After the USAAF, in July 1943, directed fighter aircraft manufacturers to maximize internal fuel capacity, NAA calculated the P-51B's center of gravity to be forward enough to include an additional 85 US gal (320 L; 71 imp gal) fueltank in the fuselage behind the pilot, greatly increasing the aircraft's range over that of the earlier P-51A.
It (51BC) evolved to include an 85 Gallon fueltank in the fuselage and get 1000 pound capacity wing racks (P-51D/K) - the latter capable of 160 gallon Ferry tanks or 108/75 for standard ops.
A Beechcraft (Raytheon) Owners & Pilots Group providing discussion forums for all Beech aircraft. Includes the Bonanza, Baron, King Air, and Premier lines of airplanes, turboprops, and turbojets.
