North American Aviation’s powerful and agile P-51 was the first single-engine aircraft based in England to penetrate Nazi Germany during World War II. With its superior aerodynamics, the Mustang outperformed enemy planes and went on to establish an impressive aerial record. Initially designed for the British Royal Air Force for fighter reconnaissance, it first flew in 1941. By war’s end North American built 15,575 P-51 Mustangs.