North American F - 82 Twin Mustang The North American F - 82 Twin Mustang as a night fighter of the USAF from 1946 to the early days of the Korean War . The United States was the only known operator of this fighter . History . Lockheed ’ s P - 38 Lightning was one of the most recognizable fighter planes in World War II . Few twin - engine fighters during that period were agile enough to survive for long in combat , but the Lightning fought successfully in all fronts , and its high speed , long range and heavy firepower proved to be especially lethal against Japanese forces in the Pacific . Its unusual twin - engine , twin - boom configuration continues to make it a favorite today among modelers and airplane buffs worldwide . The immense distances between islands in the Pacific Theater required a fighter type that could fly for hours between islands , yet have its pilot fresh for combat at any time . The P - 38 only had one pilot , so a new plane was needed . North American ’ s solution was its XP - 82 Twin Mustang , essentially two modified P - 51H fuselages combined in a twin - boom configuration , carrying two pilots to share the tasks of flying and fighting . Although the Twin Mustang arrived too late for World War II , it joined the Air Force as the F - 82 escort fighter and night fighter , and went on to a successful combat career in the Korean War . As a double fuselaged P - 51 Mustang , the post World War II P - 82 in reality reached back to October 1940 , when the P - 51 prototype first flew . ( The North American P - 51 Mustang was developed in record time to satisfy British WWII requirements for a fighter that would take into account the early lessons of aerial combat over Europe . Among the aircraft ' s most notable features were a laminar flow wing section , aft mounted ventral radiator for minimum drag , and simple lines to ease the production that began in late 1941 . A year later , the Army Air Forces adopted the P - 51 for its own use . It ordered some 2 , 000 P - 51Bs , a ground attack version of the Royal Air Force P - 51 singleseat fighter . ) Since North American used some Curtiss P - 40 technical data to quickly develop the YP - 51 , the P - 82 ' s ancestry may even be traced to 1937 , when the experimental P - 40 Warhawk was ordered . During May 1939 , in competition with other pursuit prototypes , the Curtiss Warhawk was evaluated at Wright Field . This plane . was immediately selected for procurement under a first contract of nearly $ 13 million - largest at the time for a US fighter . The first P - 40s ( of 12 , 302 produced ) were delivered in May 1940 . A special escort plane was needed . The ADO of 1942 responded to the AAF ' s 1941 air war plans that " urged development of special escort planes [ even though ] bombers for the moment could rely on current interceptor type models for support , especially the P - 47 . Since Republic ' s incoming P - 47s also served as fighter bombers , these plans suggested employment of a modified bomber type for the escort role . The 1941 air war plans sounded a discordant note at a time of overwhelming faith in the bomber ' s supremacy . Moreover through the late summer of 1942 , WWII experience tended to confirm that escorts were only necessary to support bombers past enemy fighters along the coasts of France and Belgium . Once the " fighter belt " was crossed , little if any German opposition would be met . With even longer range than the latest P - 51 then in production the new plane was to penetrate deep into enemy territory . This was a requirement learned the hard way . Two 1943 missions ( 17 August and 14 October ) over Schweinfurt , Germany , had resulted in the loss of 120 B - 17 s ( more than 25 percent of those engaged ) and death or capture of 1 , 200 airmen . In the P - 51 ' s case , this had prompted the AAF to rush modification of the plane ' s fuselage to insert an extra tank that would extend range to more than 800 miles . This P - 51D , like the later P - 51H and P - 51K , closely resembled the P - 51B and P - 51C , both of which could carry 184 gallons of fuel internally , 150 gallons in external tanks , and remain in the air 4 hours and 45 minutes . In November 1943 ( 1 month before the first P - 51Bs entered service with the British based Eighth Air Force ) , the AAF chose the P - 51B and P - 51C for escort duty over the battletested P - 47 and Lockheed ' s slightly older P - 38 . This step was meant to stop the soaring bomber losses due to escorts being too short ranged even with extra fuel tanks . ( The use of extra fuel tanks for longer range dated back to WWI , when it first proved a definite fire hazard . It was also long resisted on the grounds that interceptor type fighters weighted with fuel would be more vulnerable to enemy aircraft . ) The new plane ' s immediate role would be to escort the B - 29 bombers used in the Pacific against Japan . On 7 January North American presented a bold design based on the successful P - 51 . North American ' s idea of joining two standard , well proven , P - 51 fuselages ( complete with engine ) was not unique . It was reminiscent of the Heinkel 111Z transport and glider tug , a " Siamese Twin " arrangement of two Heinkel 111 bombers , built by the Germans earlier in the war . In any case , North American ' s plane proved to be the sole American example . This design promised range , reliability , and less pilot fatigue ( the two pilots could spell one another ) . The AAF endorsed it at once . In fact , a February letter contract to construct and test three experimental P - 82s gave way in the same month to an order for 500 productions . The XP - 82 made its first flight on 6 July 1945 . The AAF accepted this XP - 82 in August and a second one in September . Both were equipped with Packard Merlin V 1650 23 and 25 engines . ( British Rolls Royce type engines built in the United States ) The third experimental plane , designated XP82A , had two Allison V 1710 119 engines . It was accepted in October . The Air Force accepted a grand total of 272 F - 82s ( including 22 prototype , test , and early productions received by the AAF ) . Specifically , the F - 82 program consisted of 2 XF - 82s , 1 XF - 82A , 19 F - 82Bs ( known for a while as P - 82Zs and all allocated to testing ) , 4 F - 82As , 96 F - 82Es , 91 F - 82Fs , 45 F - 82Gs , and 14 - F82Hs . The Caribbean Air Command was the first to receive F - 82s , 15 by year ' s end . Fifth Air Force was next , with one squadron ( the 68th ) soon flying F - 82s out of Itazuke Air Base in Japan . Another squadron ( the 4th ) was in place at Kadena Air Base , Okinawa , before the Korean war . It was part of the Twentieth Air Force , which once had directed the worldwide operations of all B - 29 Superfortress es . Few of the 40 F - 82s available to the Far East Air Forces in mid 1950 were combat ready . In July , Fifth Air Forces ( The Fifth was the largest air force under FEAF ) spared three F - 82s of the 68th Fighter All Weather Squadron for operations over Korea , but the planes proved of little value except against known and fixed targets . In addition , FEAF ' s F - 82 operations ( like ADC ' s , ADC resumed major air command status in January 1951 ) were hampered by parts shortages and maintenance troubles . If Fifth Air Force continued to use F - 82s over Korea , only 60 days of extra supply support could be expected . Hence , although a few of SAC surplus F - 82Es went to FEAF , all F - 82s were withdrawn from combat in February 1952 . Despite limited use , the F - 82s managed to leave a solid war record . They destroyed 20 enemy planes ( 4 in air fights , 16 on the ground ) . They scored the first aerial victory in Korea on 27 June 1950 , downing a Soviet built Yakovlev Yak - 11 . In the mid 1950s Air Defense units began trading F - 82s for F - 94 s , and in early 1951 the few Twin Mustangs remaining in ADC were towing targets . The F - 82s coming out of Korean combat in February 1952 lingered a bit longer in the inventory . After June 1953 , no F - 82s appeared on Air Force , Air National Guard , or Air Reserve Forces rolls .