Featured Museum Aircraft - Planes of Fame Air Museum

	» North American (45-11582)
	P-51D Mustang 'Spam Can'

Along with the Supermarine Spitfire, the North American P-51 Mustang is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable fighter planes to emerge from World War Two. Once it was fitted with the same type of engine -the Merlin- that powered its British counterpart, the Mustang went on to establish a reputation as one of the most effective all-round fighters of the war and certainly the best long-range escort fighter of its era.

Today, Mustangs are the most common type of warbird operating on the civil scene in the USA and may be viewed at virtually every airshow in the country. Of all the Mustangs still flying, it is believed that P-51D-30-NT serial 45-11582 holds the record for continuous operation under the same ownership.

Mustang 45-11582 was manufactured at the North American Aviation plant in Dallas, Texas and delivered to the United States Army Air Corps on July 26, 1945. It was initially received by the 4121st Base Unit, Kelly Field, Texas and then assigned to the 31st Fighter Group, Turner AFB, Georgia. Redesignated F-51D in July 1948 (with the formation of the independent United States Air Force, all USAF fighters were given the F for Fighter designation in place of the previous P for Pursuit), the Mustang went into Air National Guard service with the 155th Fighter Squadron, Memphis, Tennessee in March 1949 and was transferred to the 134th Fighter Squadron, Burlington, Vermont in January 1951.


	North American P-51D Mustang 'Spam Can'

In November 1952 the Mustang was assigned to the Air Defense Command's 37th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Burlington, Vermont until being returned to ANG service again with the 167th Fighter Bomber Squadron, Kanawaha County, West Virginia in September 1953. Withdrawn from service in December 1956, the Mustang was transferred to the Sacramento, California Air Material Area where it was officially removed from the inventory and sold.

Ed Maloney purchased 45-11582 during the surplus sale which was held at McClellan AFB, California in November 1957. At that point the Mustang received the civil registration N5441V and became one of the star attractions in his growing museum collection which later came to be known as The Air Museum 'Planes of Fame' at Chino Airport in Southern California.

Maintained in flying condition since it was obtained by the Air Museum, the Mustang has operated in a variety of paint schemes since 1957. It was initially displayed in its West Virginia ANG markings with the addition of a shark's mouth design similar to that used by a number of Mustangs during the Korean War. Museum pilots later christened the aircraft Spam Can and gave it a semi-authentic World War Two paint scheme with invasion stripes, a Spam Can cartoon and 25 Iron Cross kill marks. These unofficially honoured Bud Mahurin, one of the pilots who flew the Mustang regularly for the museum and who was credited with a total of approximately 25 aerial victories over German, Japanese and North Korean aircraft during World War Two and the Korean War. The aircraft was later painted to represent G4-U, a Mustang from the Yoxford-based 362nd Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group, and still later repainted to represent B6-Y Glamorous Glen III, the Mustang flown by Chuck Yeager while serving with the 363rd Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group.

In spite of the change in markings and the deletion of the "Spam Can" cartoon, most of the museum's pilots still refer to 45-11582 as Spam Can to distinguish it from the other Mustangs displayed in the collection at Chino.

In the 1960s the fuselage fuel tank was removed from 45-11582 to make room for a rudimentary jumpseat. A first-class passenger seat replaced the temporary seat in 1971 and, to this day, the second seat is used to give warbird rides to VIPs, museum supporters, and contributors. At weekends there is often a line of people waiting for a Mustang ride in 45-11582 and the aircraft is kept quite busy. It has also appeared in a number of print advertisements, television productions, and commercials.

The Mustang also took part in the Reno National Championship Air Races in 1980, 81, 82, and 83. Although it is in stock configuration and, therefore, not competitive in the Unlimited Gold Category, it has done fairly well in the Silver and Bronze races.

Currently there is a total of approximately 2,700hr on the Mustang’s airframe, 1,300 of which were at the hands of museum pilots. However, 45-11582 has received a great deal of loving attention (including several engine changes) from the museum's mechanics over the years and it is expected to remain in flying condition for many more years to come.

----- Webmaster's Note-----
In May of 2004, 'Spam Can' was repainted to resemble Major James Goodson's Mustang from the 336th Fighter Squadron.
The 'Spam Can' cartoon also returned during the repainting.

TEXT BY Frank Mormillo - PHOTOS BY Britt Dietz

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