The long-range, high-altitude escort fighter, development of the P-51 "Mustang.
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.
272 built. Some of them were used during the Korean War.
I was in charge of tech supply in the 449th when the F-82s arrived. The 449th had the Black Widows at Adak, the squadron moved to Ladd about March 1949; the F82s were delivered soon after. Fuel injectors soon became a problem which grounded many aircrafts as a result
I flew the F-82 at Mitchel, McGuire, and Ladd AFBs 1948-1951. they were the Night /All Weather Fighter that replaced the P-61.I was in the 2nd Ftr. Sq. and the 449thFtr. Sq.
I got to see an F-82 at CAF in Harlingen,Tx.At that time it wasn't flyable.Am I to understand they got it airworthy and then lost it to the USAF?Someone help me out here.
Greetings in the name of God,Pls let this not sound strange to you. I am Mrs. Charity Johnson from Benin,I am 64 years old,i am deaf and suffering from a long time cancer of the breast which also affected my brain,according to my doctors they have advised me that i may not live for the next two months,this is because the cancer stage has gotten to a very bad stage. I was brought up from a motherless babies home was married to my late husband for twenty years without a child ,died in a fatal motor accident.I sold all my inherited belongings and deposited all the sum of $6million dollars with a Finance Bank in Benin.Presently, I'm with my laptop in a hospital where my doctors have told me that I have only a few months to live.It is my last wish to see that this money is invested to any organization of your choice and distributed each year among the charity organization,the poor and the motherless babies home where i come from.I want you use this money to fund churches, orphanages and widows,I took this decision, before i rest in peace because my time will soon be up. As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the Bank. Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I stated herein. Hoping to hearing from you soon. Yours in Christ Mrs Charity Johnson
The USAF Museum in Dayton has two P-82's. I noticed that one had the 6 .50 cal guns across the wing connector but the other did not. The one without guns is not labeled as a trainer or anything like that. What is the difference between the two P-82's??
Harry Braud ,M/Sgt USAF(Ret), e-mail, 15.04.2012 01:27
I was stationed with 27th Station Hospital, Kearney, Ne.in 1947&48 as NCOIC of the Dispensary.I went with the 27th FW on their TDY to McCord AFB,WA in early 48. The Wing was flying cover out of McCord on the Atomic Plant.They were still in P-51s.I was also on a flightline inspection of the crash Abulance the day that one of the P-51s lost power on take off. The pilot tried to do a 180 instead of riding it out straight ahead. When we got to the crash site with the ambulance he was still strapped in his seat(the rest of the P-51 was in a million peices) It exploded on impack.The Major was still alive but very burnt. When we unstrapped him and tried to put him onto a streacher the skin would peal off his arms and legs where we were liffed him. Once in the stretcher we tried to administer oxygen but his face was one big blister. The only thing to do was a Trachotomy so that he could breath.My first and only one but in looking back it was like second nature (My good US NAVY Hospital Corps training helped)We took him right into surgery. the Surgical people thought that they could stablize him but he had inhaled flames into his lungs and he didn't make it. He passed away that night.HERE was a Combat Pilot that flew in WW-2 and didn't get a screatch and a silly thing of losr of power on take off and him doing the one thing that he learn when he first got into training. When you loose POWER on take-off.DON'T TRY TO TURN 180 and try to make it back to the landing strip. I don't remember his name or what unit he was with, only that he was a Major and tall. At the time I wondered why such a tall person was flying a P-51 Right after that accident the Wing swiched to F-82s Just before I left Kearey a few F-80 Jets came on board I was tranferred to Omaha (SAC Hq) in the late summer of 1948 Didn't stay at Offutt long as I was shipped to Burtonwood England Jan 1949 Because of the Berlin Airlift
My father just passed away. He flew the night fighters in Korea with Commentor Roger Jone's father below, Rocky Jones. My father was Louis Harp...Roger, if you read this, send me an email...adjusterjh@gmail.com. We have a bunch to talk about. Take care...Jim.
I was a pilot in Colonel G.V. William's 524th FTR SQ. 27th Ftr. Gr. in Kearney, Nebraska from 1947-1949. I flew the P-51 in WW II and loved it. At Kearney I also learned to love flying the F-82. It was a stable weather platform and had great single engine performance. When some of the guys were nervous about that one engine flight, our Group CO, the great Colonel Cy Wilson, allayed their fears one day when he took his ship off on one engine. Over the field one day, Major Vergil Monroney feathered both engines, dived down at the tower and then up in an immelman and then unfeathered his engines on the top. It was a tough bird. My friend Lt. Don Trautwein was just scratched up a bit when he crashed in his ship in a backyard on a night landing in bad weather at Hill AFB.
Finally!! The 3 lights under the right wing tip are "recognition lights".
Don't Shoot! In the air, it's hard to tell one aircraft from another. A veteran fighter pilot will tell you that Mustangs can look almost exactly the same as Bf 109s from just 1,000 yards away. The reason the first P-47s in Europe had wide white bands on their cowlings was to keep Royal Air Force pilots from blasting them all the time—the P-47s looked too much like Focke-Wulf Fw 190s. Pilots suspected that the muddy, ill-humored soldiers on both sides of the lines shot at everything in the air, just out of spite. The FHC's P-51 and P-47 have an apparatus on their bottom of its right wings to keep the Allied bullets sent skyward to a minimum. These red, amber, and green recognition lights could be toggled on or off from the cockpit individually, showing daily light combinations conveyed to the soldiers fighting below.
I volunteer at the USAF Museum in Dayton. I have a question about some lights on the F-82. Under the right wing tip there are 3 flush lights, red, green, and yellow. Not under the left tip. What are these lights for?? Thanks!
Flew the F82F with the 318th NFS at McChord after graduating in P-51D's at Williams, Class 49-A. With those Allison 1710's the thing would climb like a homesick angel.Then to F-84D's with the 84th at Hamilton. 100 missions in F-80C's with the 80th FBS in Korea fdrom 1950. N.A and Lockheede made the best machines. Republic could have made the F-84 out of concrete and steel but they wouldn't have been as heavy.
real shame that the CAF's example was the last flying example. I hope Tom Reilly, among others, is able to get his flyable. I attended airshow often enough and, for as much as I hear other enthusiasts going on about how awesome the P-51 is, never do they have a clue what a P /F-82 is. Never heard of it, and usually don't seem interested either. The facts about this plane surprise those who have heard of it, especially over its utilization of Allisons instead of just Merlins.
Aircraft 44-65162 located at Midland,TX (CAF) was lost in a court battle back to the USAF in October 2009. There is one XP-82 (Tail number 44-86887) under restoration in Douglas Ga. By Tom Reilly and company, it was originally outfitted with the Merlin engines and two engines are almost completly rebuilt. Props have been purchased. Tom & workers have been labouring for 2yrs and 4 mo on her. One F-82 from Ohio is now located in MN. and quite far along in restoration. It has the Allisons on it. But may be flying in late 2011 or ealy 2012.
I was a crew chief in the 27th Ftr.Esc.Wg.at Bergstrom AFB We flew our gunnery missions out of matagorda island. One day I learned a pilot was going on a air to air gunnery mission with an empty cockpit. I begged to go along and had the ride of my life. I still collect everything I can about the F-82 even though I rairly find anyone who ever heard of one
