North American P-51D Mustang * Retired *
Two P-51D arrived aboard US freighter 'Enterprise' 19 Aug 1948. First a/c assembled 12 Oct 1948, 2nd a/c assembled 17 Oct. Both to 101 Sqn. 3rd P-51D in service by 1 June 1949, with 2 more unassembled and a further 12 awaiting shipment in the USA. At least 4 a/c in service with 101 Sqn by 5 April 1951. Total of about 30 obtained from USA by mid 1953, including those mentioned so far. All to 101 Sqn for the fighter-bomber role (101 Sqn officially converted to the P-51 in early 1951). Aircraft initially coded from 40 onwards, but recoded from 01 onwards in 1952. 25 J-26/P-51D-20-NA a/c purchased from Swedish AF in June 1952 and flown to Israel Dec 1952 - July 1953. 4 of these are reported to be S-26/F-6D photo recce variants - it is not known if these were Swedish conversions or built as F-6s. 30 more P-51D purchased from Italian AF in 1954 - only about 20 a/c entered service, with the rest used for spares. Total of about 85 P-51D obtained, 75 entering service. Used by 101, 105, 107 (reserve), 116 and 117 sqns in the fighter-bomber role. Withdrawn and put into storage from 20 January 1957. Officially retired on 15 January 1961 and sold off to private organisations. No Hebrew name given.

Swedish AF serials: Fv 26020, 024, 034, 039, 040, 041, 046, 053, 073, 075, 076, 079, 091, 102, 105, 108, 113, 114, 116, 138, 141, 151, 153, 157, 158.

Italian AF serials: None known.

Unidentified losses:
3 June 1954  101 Sqn, w/o in mid-air collision with Meteor over Tel Aviv waterfront
8 Aug 1954   2 x Mustangs in mid-air collision, crashed near Kfar Yehosha
31 Oct 1956  116 Sqn, shot down near Sinai border
31 Oct 1956  116 Sqn, shot down near Bir Hama
31 Oct 1956  105 Sqn, shot down near Abu Aweiglia
31 Oct 1956  ? Sqn, crash landed near Be'erot Itshak
1 Nov 1956  116 Sqn, shot down near Rafah
1 Nov 1956  2 x Mustangs, 116 Sqn, shot down near Om Kattef

Serial	c/no.	Prev. Identity	Delivered	Fate/Notes
D-141			12 Oct 1948	renumbered 2301
D-190			17 Oct 1948	renumbered 2302
2301				photo
2302
2303
2304
05
05				only P-51D with 4 x 20 mm cannon, w/o forced landing June 53 at Wadi Hayon
06				116 Sqn in Oct 56
07
08
09
10
11				photo, nat metal
12
2313				101 Sqn, forced landed Tel Nof 23 Feb 1951 but repaired, w/o 3 June 1954 mid-air collision with Meteor near Tel Aviv
14
15
16
17
18
2319				col profile, 105 Sqn, landing accident 30 July 56 but repaired, shot down 31 Oct 56 near Bir Gafgafa
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
2327				w/o 7 Oct 56
28				P-51D-20-NA
2329				116 Sqn Oct 56
30
31
32
33
2334				crashed 14 Oct 56
35
2336				shotdown 31 Oct 56 over Abu Ageila?
37
38				photo
2339				ex-Swedish F-6, 101 Sqn 1954, preserved Israel
40
41				ex-Swedish, P-51D-20-NA, USAAF 44-72028, nat metal 101 Sqn in 1953, preserved USA
2342				photo, ex-USA, arrived in ship 28 June 54, 105 Sqn summer 56, parts in rebuilt of P-51 4X-AIM late 70s/early 80s
2343	122-38675	Fv26116	19 Mar 1953	photo, P-51D-20-NA, USAAF 44-72216, SwedAF 26116, 101 Sqn, nat metal, to UK 1976 - preserved
2344				crashed 25 Oct 56
45
46
47
48				P-51D-20-NA, fitted with rear fuselage of '146'
49
50
51
52
2353	122-31718	Fv26020	31 Oct 1952	USAAF 44-63992, ex-SwedAF, 116 Sqn on 2 Nov 56, to Flygvapenmuseum Sweden Dec 65
54				photo
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
2367				w/o 12 Aug 56
68
69
70
2371				ex-Swedish, 105 Sqn, w/o in forced landing near Yeroham 4 Sept 56
72
73				116 Sqn, shot down 2 Nov 56 near Ras Nasrani
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
146				photo
190				photo, nat metal, 101 Sqn
3501	122-38687	Fv26141	31 Oct 1952	USAAF 44-72228, ex-Swedish, nat metal, 1953. scrapped
3502	122-31826	Fv26040	31 Oct 1952	USAAF 44-64100, ex-Swedish, nat metal, 1953. scrapped
3505	122-31541	Fv26157	9 Feb 1953	USAAF 44-63815, ex-Swedish, nat metal, 1953. scrapped
3506	122-31590	Fv26158	9 Feb 1953	USAAF 44-63864, ex-Swedish, coded '38'. Rebuilt as 4X-AIM late 1970s, to TFC, Duxford, UK, preserved
3602				ex-Swedish, nat metal, 1953
3603	122-31954	Fv26091	4 May 1953	USAAF 44-72095, ex-Swedish. scrapped
3604?	122-38882	Fv26113	4 May 1953	USAAF 44-72423, ex-Swedish. scrapped
3604?	122-38667	Fv26114	4 May 1953	USAAF 44-72208, ex-Swedish. scrapped
3605	122-31559	Fv26108	4 May 1953	USAAF 44-63833, ex-Swedish. scrapped
3607	122-31813	Fv26046	30 May 1953	USAAF 44-64087, ex-Swedish. scrapped
3702	122-31955	Fv26102	24 June 1953	USAAF 44-72096, ex-Swedish. scrapped
3704?	122-38761	Fv26053	24 June 1953	USAAF 44-72303, ex-Swedish. scrapped
?	122-31798	Fv26024	30 May 1953	USAAF 44-64072, ex-Swedish. scrapped
?	122-31785	Fv26034	30 May 1953	USAAF 44-64059, ex-Swedish. scrapped
?	122-31597	Fv26039	6 Feb 1953	USAAF 44-63871, ex-Swedish. 1975 to Musée de'l Air, Paris, preserved
?	122-38657	Fv26041	18 Nov 1952	USAAF 44-72198, ex-Swedish. scrapped
?	122-38688	Fv26073	24 June 1953	USAAF 44-72229, ex-Swedish. scrapped
?	122-38746	Fv26075	19 Mar 1953	USAAF 44-72288, ex-Swedish. scrapped
?	122-38858	Fv26076	24 June 1953	USAAF 44-72399, ex-Swedish. scrapped
?	122-38878	Fv26079	19 Mar 1953	USAAF 44-72419, ex-Swedish. scrapped
?	122-38839	Fv26105	19 Mar 1953	USAAF 44-72380, ex-Swedish. scrapped
?	122-38890	Fv26138	6 Feb 1953	USAAF 44-72431, ex-Swedish. scrapped
?	122-39429	Fv26151	24 June 1953	USAAF 44-72970, ex-Swedish. scrapped
?	122-31543	Fv26153	30 May 1953	USAAF 44-63817, ex-Swedish. scrapped
'01'				USAAF 44-72228, preserved Hatzerim museum
'38'				USAAF ?, preserved Hatzerim museum
'39'				USAAF ?, preserved Hatzerim museum
'53'		Fv26141?		USAAF 44-12126?, preserved Hatzerim museum

References:

• Spitfires Over Israel (Grub Street, 1993)
• Wings Over Suez (Grub Street, 1996)
• Wings of Fame Vol.7 (IDF/AF in the 1950s article by Shlomo Aloni)
• Wings of Fame Vol.13 (105 Sqn article by Shlomo Aloni)