Los Angeles, Mines Field, 1943. When the ice cream man arrived, work came to a halt outside North American Aviation’s plant.
The pair of Mustangs are an interesting duo: the first P-51 “B” model (43-12093), and an RAF bird (FX863, also a “B” model). 43-12093, befitting its first-in-the-series status, was retained by NAA for test purposes. (Notice it is experimenting with a three-bladed propellor). Our Mustang III, FX863, never made it to the RAF but was instead handed over to the USAAF and eventually saw combat in the skies over Europe with the 357th Fighter Group.
The Jive Bomber 