North American P-51D Mustang
Tall in the Saddle
P-51 Mustang
Tall in the Saddle
P-51D Mustang ‘Tall-In-The-Saddle’ (G-SIJJ) not only has wartime combat history but is a highly original version of this classic pursuit and escort fighter, having never been fully rebuilt. The P-51 lineage began in 1940, when the British Purchasing Commission – who were keen to acquire additional Curtiss P-40 fighters for the Royal Air Force – asked North American Aviation whether they would be prepared to build P-40s under licence to fulfil that requirement. ‘Dutch’ Kindelberger and his team at North American instead proposed a totally new fighter, still powered by the dependable Allison engine which had been the heart of the P-40’s success and reliability. The British Purchasing Commission accepted this concept and remarkably, just 102 days after the order had been placed, the prototype was ready to fly. This new aircraft, by now christened the Mustang, represented a significant technological advance over contemporary fighters, with its laminar flow wing and more extensive use of hydraulic systems. Flight testing showed a significant performance increase when compared to the P-40, however following entry into service there were some shortcomings exposed with the Allison when operating at higher altitudes. In May 1942 Ronnie Harker, a test pilot for Rolls-Royce, flew the aeroplane – his subsequent report recommended that a Merlin engine should be trialled in the Mustang in place of the Allison to resolve the issues. This was duly carried out on both sides of the Atlantic. Flight testing revealed a marked improvement, and the legend was born.
This particular Mustang was accepted by the United States Army Air Force in December 1944 and flown early the following month from the Inglewood, California factory across the country to Newark, New Jersey. There, it was loaded onto a ferry boat and shipped across the Atlantic to join the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations (MTO). The aircraft’s record card shows it was initially assigned to the 31st Fighter Group, based at Mondolfo Airfield, Italy, during the last few months of the Second World War. Following the end of hostilities, the P-51 returned to the USA and went on to serve with several Air National Guard fighter squadrons.
In March 1953 the aircraft was taken out of active service and placed into storage. In 1957 it was sold as surplus for $1100 and became N5411V, wearing several eye-catching civilian paint schemes over the ensuing years. In December 1981 the P-51 was sold to Colombia and operated there until 1988, when it was then bought by Jacques Bouret/Aero Retro of France, who painted it in the colours of Jumpin’ Jacques (that of a Mustang of the 3rd Fighter Squadron of the 5th Air Force, based in the Philippines). It has remained on the European circuit ever since.
In December 2002, Jumpin’ Jacques arrived at North Weald Airfield in Essex to join the stable of Hangar 11, the warbird collection owned by renowned display pilot Peter Teichman. Peter performed hundreds of displays in the aeroplane to great acclaim over the course of the next two decades, often attending many events in the aeroplane during any given summer weekend. Hangar 11 sympathetically overhauled various areas of the aircraft including the cockpit and engine bay, and in 2016 repainted the aircraft to represent ‘Tall-In-The-Saddle’. This was a Mustang flown by 19-year-old George Hardy of the 332nd Fighter Group, also known as the Red Tails or Tuskegee Airmen. This unit was the first group of all African American aviators in the United States armed forces, and pilots flew to great acclaim in combat. Hardy himself flew in the ‘jump seat’ of G-SIJJ in October 2016 to celebrate this; highly appropriate to have an ex-MTO pilot reunited with an ex-MTO aeroplane.
In September 2025, the Mustang was purchased by Robert Tyrrell, who entrusted the Aircraft Restoration Company to operate the aircraft on his behalf. ‘Tall-In-The-Saddle’ is also used by Aerial Collective, the Aircraft Restoration Company’s in-house warbird experience provider, to offer passengers the experience of a trip in a true ‘cadillac of the skies’. As well as providing an interesting comparison to the Spitfire and Hurricane, the opportunity to experience a flight in a Mustang with such originality and genuine European wartime combat history is something quite special. ‘Tall-In-The-Saddle’ is one of the most distinctively painted examples of the breed and how apt for it to still be operating in the European skies it first flew in over 80 years ago, both at events and for experience flights.
