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AMERICAN F-82B TWIN MUSTANG The F-82 was the last propeller-driven
fighter acquired in quantity by the USAF. It appears to
be two Mustang fuselages on one wing, but in reality it
was a totally new design. Its purpose was to provide a
fighter carrying a pilot and co-pilot/navigator to reduce
fatigue on long-range bomber ecsort missions. Delivery
from production did not begin until early 1946, too late
for WW II. After WW II, radar-equipped F-82s were used
quite extensively by the Air Defense Command as
replacements for the P-61 night fighter.
During the Korean War, Japan-based
F-82s were among the first USAF aircraft to operate over
Korea. The first three North Korean airplanes destroyed
by U.S. forces were shot down by all-weather F-82G
interceptors on June 27, 1950.
Of a total of 273 F-82s produced,
20 were -Bs. the F-82B on display, "Betty-Jo,"
flew from Hawaii to New York on February 27-28, 1947, a
distance of 5,051 miles, the longest non-stop flight ever
made by a prop-driven fighter. "Betty-Jo" was
delivered to the U.S. Air Force Museum in 1957.
SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 51 ft. 3 in.
Length: 38 ft. 1 in.
Height: 13 ft. 8 in.
Weight: 24,800 lbs. max.
Armament: Six .50-cal. machine guns, 25 five-inch
rockets, and 4,000 lbs. of bombs
Engines: Two Packard V-1650s of 1,380 hp. ea.
Cost: $228,000
Serial number: 44-65168
PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 482 mph.
Cruising speed: 280 mph.
Range: 2,200 miles
Service Ceiling: 39,000 ft.
(credits: US Air Force History
Support Office)
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