.The most influential airplane to be designed and built in mass numbers during World War II was by far the North American NA-109 (P-51D to P-51K Mustang). The P-51 Mustang was built to be a thoroughbred fighter plane. That is exactly how it got its name the "Mustang." It was first introduced in 1943 and made a dramatic effect that year against Germany's lightning fast Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe was by far the most difficult task to be confronted by the Allies during the war until the introduction of the P-51 Mustang. The advantage the Mustangs had over German fighters was quite obvious in battle. The Mustangs had a steeper rate of climb and descent, they could complete a complete angle of climb in a matter of only seconds which took German fighters more than ten seconds to complete. This advantage alone gave the Allies the power to cripple the Luftwaffe. The P-51 Mustangs could fly farther faster and higher than any of the German or Japanese fighters. While the Mustang was built to be a fighter plane it was also modified later on to become a short-range bomber. "This improvement gave way to many victorious short range bombing raids due to the speed and maneuverability of the Mustang through flack and anti-aircraft fire." (Overy 134) Once again the United States was also the top manufacturer of the Mustang during the war and the United Kingdom comes in second for the highest manufacturer of Mustangs with a grand total of 875.In any airforce you have your fighters, escorts, light bombers, reconasaince, and one of the most important types of planes, long range heavy bombers. There are two types of planes that are very significant during World War II. The most famous and well-known type is the Boeing Model 299 (B-17 Flying Fortress). The Flying Fortress was the biggest and most used aircraft in the United States arsenal at the time. Each Flying Fortress needed a crew of ten men to get her up and ready to fly and keep her flying. "There are a ...
