| North American Aviation (NAA) TP-51D-25NT serial number 44-84610 in flight. The TP-51D was the in-tandem, 2-seat, dual-control Mustang that was 1st created to serve as pilot training and transition aircraft for future Mustang fighter pilots in the 2nd World War. They were employed as Very Important Person or VIP transports, hacks (taxis) and as observation aircraft for battlefield commanders. The 1st known single- to 2-seat modification of a Mustang was P-51B-5-NA 43-6877 for the immediate purpose of letting General Dwight D. Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969), the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, take an inspection flight over the beachheads shortly after D-Day: 6 June 1944. This non-factory, in-the-field modification worked perfectly, and the USAAF ordered 10 factory-built, 2-seat TP-51D airplanes. Several Dallas-built P-51Ds were modified as 2-seat trainers with an additional seat fitted behind the pilot’s seat. Serial numbers were 44-84610, 44-84611, 44-84662, and 45-11443/11450. These were given the designation TP-51D. To create the TP-51D, a 2nd seat was installed into the space where the 85-gallon fuselage fuel tank once sat behind the pilot and displaced some of the radio equipment to a location further aft in the fuselage. The standard bubble canopy was large enough to accommodate the extra seat. All of these 2-seat TP-51D airplanes were fitted with full controls for the occupant of the aft seat that was usually occupied by the instructor. The tandem-seat Mustangs were manufactured at NAA’s Dallas, Texas, production facility under NAA Charge Number NA-124. However, the end of the war curtailed further production of the type. The surviving TP-51D-25-NTs became TF-51D-25-NTs after June 11, 1948. 44-84610 was modified in 1944; detailed to the 337th Combat Crew Training Squadron at Venice Field, Florida in 1945; transferred to the 59th Air Depot in 1947; the 3595th Pilot Training Wing at Nellis Air Force Base in 1949; the 3615th Pilot Training Wing was created in 1951 to train pilots for the Korean War and 44-84610 was sent to Craig Air Force Base in Selma, Alabama; in later that year, sent to the 127th Pilot Training Group at Luke Air Force Base. On December 18, 1951, United States Air Force pilot William E. McShane (May 17, 1924 – September 27, 1996) was at the controls of TP-51D 44-84610, when the engine failed. McShane bailed out safely, but 44-84610 crashed 15 miles south of Wickenburg, Arizona and was a total loss. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1800.jpg |
| Image Size | 185 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1300 x 1011 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 1, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Venice |
| State or Province | Florida |
| Country | United States |
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| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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