Seen a F-51 kit at my lhs and was wanting to know what is the differance between that and a P-51 is
Nothing. The P-51 was re-designated F-51 after the Air Force became a separate command in 1948.
Exactly. There might have also been a greater usage of cuffless propellers as well but, aside from that, I don’t think there were any other differences between the two. As Bronto said, the military just changed how they designated aircraft after 1948. P-51s became F-51s. P-47s became F-47s.
So basically, you can still get that F-51 kit and build it as a WW2-era Mustang with no problems at all.
Eric
Was the cockpit color of the Korean F-51’s not black instead of the WW2 green?
Theuns
The cockpit color was changed when the aircraft were depot overhauled. This had nothing to do with the aircraft designation.
I’m guessing she’ll have a sheet of Korean War decals instead of Second World War? As the guys said the kit should be the same.
1947 is the correct year for the Air Force becoming a separate command.
1947? Oops! Well, uh…I was rounding up to the nearest even number. Yeeeaaah…that’s the ticket! That, and I’ve been helping my young daughter with her math homework where they’re working on their rounding skills. I’m going to blame that as well.
Eric
Ok thanks guys ill probally just get the revell mustang and order some am decals then it will still be cheaper than buying that F-51 kit
Cheaper than which kit? Cheaper doesn’t always mean a better option.
If your talking about the tamiya F-51D kit, that is a fantastic kit! It’s the regular tamiya mustang but has the uncuffed, blunt tipped props in the box. Very versatile kit. Not saying the revell kit sucks, but the tamiya kit as superior by far and fall together easily.
The USAF was created by the National Security Act 18th September 1947.
Aircraft designations were changed 11th June 1948
$14 for the revell or 35 for the tam and im wanting to make sure i can just put some usaf decales on the revell kit and pretty much be an F model . I think i may have some extras in my left over box
NOTE “P” was for pursuit and “F” is for fighter, “B” is for bomber, “U” is for utility, “R” is for recon, C is for cargo, and so on. The Navy made a big change in the early 50s also. The AD4 become the A4. The A is for attack and the “D” is for Douglas, that is the manufacturer of the aircraft. The F/A 18 is capable of being a fighter (F) and attack (A) aircraft. Note the new Trumpeter 1/32 scale Skyraider with the early designation.
The aircraft designation system was changed in 1962 when the 4 services started using the Air Force system from 1948. The AD-4 was the Skyraider, not the A-4 Skyhawk (A4D). The AD-5 Skyraider became the A-1E, the AD-6 the A-1H, and AD-7 the A-1J.
en.wikipedia.org/…/1962_United_States_Tri-Service_aircraft_designation_system