Among the numerous fighter planes of the Second World War, the North American P-51 Mustang It is certainly among the most famous of the conflict. Immortalized as the “Cadillac of the Skies”, the P-51 became famous mainly for its role as an escort fighter, accompanying heavy bombers on raids over Europe and other theaters.
With the end of the conflict, the Mustang was overtaken by new jet fighters, but in the civilian market the model still had gas. And it was within this sector that a “strange” conversion of a World War II classic emerged, adapted for very different conflicts.
From the Cavalier Mustang III came the Piper Enforcer.
Executives
After the war, several military aircraft ended up having a different fate, finding service in the civilian world. The P-51 was no different. Already much ired for its performance during the war, the Mustang found a “survival” as an executive aircraft. In this wave, advertising executive David Lindsay created Trans Florida Aviation Inc. in 1957, specializing in transforming P-51s for this new mission.
The planes were disassembled, with all radios and military equipment removed. During the refurbishment, the cockpit was extended to accommodate two people and the interior was modified, with leather trim and updated avionics. Finally, the plane was given luggage racks and more fuel tanks to extend the range of the “executive fighter.” After conversion, the planes were called Cavalier Mustangs. Later, Trans Florida Aviation became the Cavalier Aircraft Corporation.
Back to military service
About 25 Mustangs were converted to business aviation, but in 1967 the already veteran P-51 would return to military service. Cavalier was contracted by the United States Department of Defense to “re-engine” Cavalier Mustangs into the F-51D, as the fighter was designated after the war.
Modernized, the planes were optimized for ground attack missions and were sold to Bolivia, as part of the US military to the South American country.
From the “new” F-51, Cavalier developed the Mustang II. Designed for Close Air (CAS) and Counterinsurgency (COIN) missions, the new variant received a more powerful engine, new avionics and structural reinforcements, which allowed the addition of more weapons and the installation of fuel tanks on the wingtips. Mustang IIs were sold to the air forces of Indonesia and El Salvador.
Mustang turboprop
After achieving success with the F-51, Cavalier went further and decided to further modify the veteran fighter, still with an eye on COIN functions. It is worth noting that at the time, several air forces with fewer resources still operated older aircraft. At the same time, during the Vietnam War, the US used models such as the A-1 Skyraider and A-26K Counter Invader in these same missions.
Lindsay's team created the Turbo Mustang III, whose main (and most visible) difference was in the engine. Out went the Rolls Royce Merlin and in came the Rolls Royce Dart 500 series turboprop, similar to that used in the Fokker F27 and Handley Page Dart Herald. In addition to the structural reinforcements of the Mustang II, the P-51 turboprop received additional armor from the British Bristol in the cockpit and engine.
With the modifications, the P-51 had an increase in performance and payload, as well as a reduction in maintenance costs. However, the Turbo Mustang III did not receive the same sales attention that it received for its appearance.
Piper
Even without finding customers for the Turbo Mustang, Lindsey did not give up on the plane and entered into a partnership with Piper, selling the project to the company that had the greatest production capacity. At the same time, the businessman closed Cavalier to continue the partnership with Piper, creating Field Services Incorporated, which continued production of the F-51 for Indonesia.
To attract the attention of the United States Air Force (USAF), Piper modified the entire design of the Turbo Mustang III, which came to be called PA-48 Enforcer. Starting with the engine, the Rolls Royce Dart was replaced by the Lycoming T55. The cockpit received an ejection seat and air conditioning from the Piper Cheyenne.
The fuselage was extended and reinforced to withstand the recoil force of the 20 mm cannons that would be carried under the wings. The wings themselves were also extended and reinforced, receiving five hardpoints each, compared to the Mustang III's three per wing. The PA-48 was given a green camouflage, in the Europe One pattern.
Using two F-51s, Piper made prototypes designated PE-1 and PE-2, with the latter being a two-seat aircraft, which was later lost in a crash in Florida.
USAF
Despite visual similarities with the P-51, the PA-48 shared less than 10% of the original Mustang's components. Piper developed two prototypes, designated PE-1 and PE-2, with the latter being a two-seat aircraft that was later lost in a crash in Florida.
Between 1971 and 1972, the sole remaining Enforcer was evaluated by the U.S. Air Force during the PAVE COIN program. During testing, the turboprop Mustang performed well and achieved good results, but did not secure contracts.
For another eight years, Lindsey worked with Piper in congressional discussions seeking a USAF re-evaluation of the PA-48, until a contract was awarded in 1979. The USAF provided $11,9 million for the construction of two more prototypes, which were later evaluated in 1983 and 1984. Despite visual similarities to the P-51, the PA-48 shared less than 10 percent of the original Mustang's components.
Again, the PA-48s were well-reviewed; again, the Air Force did not purchase any aircraft. At the time, the Air Force claimed that it simply did not need aircraft like the Enforcer, since it already had a sizable fleet of A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, a well-known ground-attack jet that is now nearing retirement.
Piper therefore gave up trying to sell the Super Mustang. Of the four PA-48s produced, two are still preserved: one at the Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards AFB and the other at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Arizona.
Ironically, years later the USAF opened several competitions to acquire aircraft that fulfilled the same function as the PA-48. Among the aircraft evaluated was the Brazilian Embraer A-29 Super Tucano, of which only three units were purchased. In the end, through another dispute, the Air Force is buying the OA-1K.
