North American P51D Mustang

Originally designed for the RAF, the Mustang was an unremarkable aircraft at first and performed poorly with its original Allison engine.

But it was transformed into a war winner when fitted with the Rolls Royce Merlin engine which also equipped the Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito and Lancaster.

Suddenly the Merlin Mustang was one of the best fighters the Allies had in World War II. It was fast and manoeuvrable, but most importantly, when fitted with drop tanks it had the range to escort US bombers all the way to their German targets and all the way back.

Indeed it is said that when Hermann Goering, the commander of the German Luftwaffe, first saw a Mustang over Berlin, he remarked that the war was lost.

Mustangs saw service with the US Army Air Force and the RAF during the war, and some 55 nations afterwards - and even even went back into production between 1968 and 1975.

Today, literally dozens of Mustangs are still flying (one is owned by Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour). This D model (identifiable by the 'bubble' pilot's canopy) is a recent arrival at Cosford, only moving to Shropshire from Hendon in the summer of 2003. It is displayed in the markings of the 8th US Army Air Force's 357th Fighter Group, 361st Fighter Squadron which was based in Suffolk.

Again, Mustangs were a familiar sight in Shropshire during World War II. Some early models were used at the Atcham airbase, while later in the war Mustangs were operated from the RAF fighter pilot training bases at Rednal and Montford Bridge.