The North American F-82 Twin Mustang is the last American piston-engined fighter ordered into production by the United States Air Force. Based on the North American P-51 Mustang, the F-82 was originally designed as a long-range escort fighter for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress in World War II. The war ended well before the first production units were operational.In the postwar era, Strategic Air Command used the aircraft as a long-range escort fighter. Radar-equipped F-82s were used extensively by the Air Defense Command as replacements for the Northrop P-61 Black Widow as all-weather day/night interceptors. During the Korean War, Japan-based F-82s were among the first USAF aircraft to operate over Korea. The first three North Korean aircraft destroyed by U.S. forces were shot down by F-82s, the first being a North-Korean Yak-11 downed over Gimpo Airfield by the USAF 68th Fighter Squadron.Initially intended as a very long-range (VLR) escort fighter, the F-82 was designed to escort Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers on missions exceeding 2,000 mi (3,200 km) from the Solomon Islands or Philippines to Tokyo, missions beyond the range of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning and conventional P-51 Mustangs. Such missions were part of the planned U.S. invasion of the Japanese home islands, which was forestalled by the surrender of Japan after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the opening of Soviet attacks on Japanese-held territory in Manchuria.The second prototype North American XP-82 Twin Mustang being flight-tested at Muroc Army Airfield, CaliforniaF-82 and P-51 in formationIn October 1943, the North American Aircraft design team began work on a fighter design that could travel over 2,000 mi (3,200 km) without refueling. It consisted of a twin-fuselage design, parallel to the experimental German Messerschmitt Bf 109Z “Zwilling.” Although based on the lightweight experimental XP-51F, which would later become the P-51H Mustang, it was actually a new design. North American Design Chief Edgar Schmued incorporated two P-51H Mustang fuselages lengthened by the addition of a 57 in (1,400 mm) fuselage plug located behind the cockpit where additional fuel tanks and equipment could be installed. These were mounted to a newly designed center wing section containing the same six .50 caliber (12.7mm) M3 Browning machine guns as a single-engine Mustang, but with more concentrated fire. The first XP-82 prototype was equipped with a removable centerline gun pod housing eight additional .50 caliber M3 Brownings, but this did not feature on production aircraft. An even more powerful centerline gun pod containing a 40 mm (1.6 in) cannon was considered, but was never built. The outer wings were reinforced to allow the addition of hard points for carrying additional fuel or 1,000 lb (450 kg) of ordnance. The two vertical tails were also from the XP-51F, but incorporated large dorsal fillets for added stability in case of an engine failure. The aircraft had a conventional landing gear with both wheels retracting into bays under each fuselage center section.General characteristicsCrew: TwoLength: 39 ft 5 in (12.01 m)Wingspan: 51 ft 3 in (15.62 m)Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.61 m)Wing area: 408 sq ft (37.9 m2)Empty weight: 15,997 lb (7,256 kg)Max takeoff weight: 25,591 lb (11,608 kg)Powerplant: 1 × V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine Allison V-1710-143, 2,250 hp (1,680 kW) in War emergency rating, RH rotation fitted to portPowerplant: 1 × V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine Allison V-1710-145, 2,250 hp (1,680 kW) in War emergency rating, LH rotation fitted to starboardPropellers: 4-bladed Aeroproducts A-542F-D1 constant-speed fully-feathering propeller (LHS)Aeroproducts AL-542F-D1 constant-speed fully-feathering propeller (RHS), 10 ft 11 in (3.33 m) diameterPerformanceMaximum speed: 461 mph (742 km/h, 401 kn) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m)Cruise speed: 286 mph (460 km/h, 249 kn)Range: 2,240 mi (3,600 km, 1,950 nmi)Service ceiling: 38,900 ft (11,900 m)ArmamentGuns: 6 .5 in (12.7 mm) M3 Browning machine gunsRockets: 25 5 in (130 mm) rocketsBombs: 4 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs#mustang #Twinmustang #aircraft