“G’day mon ami!”

"Flg Off Clarke RAF in FD 447 and Flg Off Rachinger RAAF in FD 507 took off at 15:40hrs and flew a very low-level reconnaissance flight over France, with the targets being two bridges over the Somme, east of Amiens. They obtained the required photography of the bridges, shot up a beacon near Amiens and also obtained photographs of French field workers as they passed. The French ran the risk of reprisals by the Germans if seen but still showed their appreciation for the Allied aircraft sweeping low over their heads. Some of the photographs taken on this operation of the French waving to the aircraft were used by the Allied media and reprinted many times since. Flg Off Rachinger RAAF noted in his log book; ‘No 2 to Dennis Clarke. No flak. Pranged beacon near Amiens’".

That extract comes from Colin B. Ford’s fascinating official history of 268 Squadron RAF which operated the Allison-engined Mustang Mk IA (P-51). The sortie was operated out of Gatwick in Surrey. The story is one of many descriptions of operations carried out by its Mustangs along with detailed information about individual aeroplanes, how they were operated and by whom – all comprehensively covered in this remarkable Squadron history. The Mustang was first flown under civil registration NX19998 on October 26th, 1940. North American Aircraft had been asked by the British, desperate for fighter aircraft at that time – and very happy with that company’s Harvard advanced trainer, to produce a number of Curtiss Hawks. NAA’s President James H. Kindelberger bridled at the idea and proposed building a better airframe around the same 1,150hp Allison engine. Under a design team led by Raymond Rice and chief designer Edgar Schmued, the legendary Mustang was rolled out in just 122 days from the day when the contract was signed!

The Mustang’s wing was significantly different from other fighters of the day in that its aerofoil had its deepest section close to the centre of the chord and not further forward – known as a laminar flow wing because it reduced drag at high speeds. Everything about the airframe was designed to reduce drag. It would have been cheaper to produce a fuselage without the subtle curves that helped give the aeroplane its slippery performance. Fortunately, the design was kept on track and Britain got the Mustang (the Mk Ia). The Mk IA got little press compared to the later USAAF models. These were fitted with Packard Rolls Royce Merlin 65 engines built in America (originally for shipping to Canada for use in Canadian-built Lancasters). This inspired installation of the Merlin 65 engine came about primarily at the suggestion of Rolls Royce test pilot Ronald Barker in 1942 who had flown the Mk I and found it wanting at high altitudes. The result was the ubiquitous Merlin-engined P51 “B” “C” and “D” versions which operated across Europe from bases in England as long-range escorts to high-flying Fortresses and Liberator bombers.

The Mustang IA retained its Allison engine and was a fast and manoeuvrable aircraft at low and medium altitudes so the decision to use them on low and medium-level reconnaissance operations. Cameras were mounted behind the pilot, angled downward to take oblique photographs.

If James H Kindelberger had taken the easy option to produce Curtiss Hawks, USAAF high-altitude daylight raids over Europe may have been drastically curtailed – with who knows what effect on World War II. On a smaller canvas, the air war benefitted greatly from the invaluable contribution of the hazardous and highly skilled photo-reconnaissance operations carried out by Squadrons like 268 Sqdn and its lively Mustang Mk IA.

Above: This wartime photograph taken by Flg Off Rachinger in his Mustand FD 507 "H" accompanied by Flg Off Clarke in FD 447 "D", flying at high speed at 50ft or less over northern France in May 1944, showing a Frenchman waving to them. The David Marshall painting of both Mustangs "in situ" is based on this photograph and was commissioned by 268 Squadron historian, Colin Ford.