P-51D Flying Bazooka

The North American P-51D Mustang is considered by many experts to be one of the best fighters of World War II. Its outstanding flight performance and powerful armament were a source of pride for the pilots who flew it and a cause of fear for those who fought against it. According to legend, even Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, once remarked: “When I saw Mustangs over Berlin, I knew the war was over for us.”

The P-51D Mustang’s armament also made it highly effective against ground targets. Some fighters were additionally equipped with M10 rocket launchers, which shared their origins with infantry weapons such as the Bazooka. Each launcher consisted of a pod containing three 4.5-inch (114 mm) tubes. The pods were mounted under each wing, giving the aircraft a total of six rockets.

The launchers fired unguided M8 air-to-ground rockets. Each rocket weighed approximately 18 kg (40 lb), and its destructive power was comparable to that of a 105 mm howitzer shell. These rocket launchers came into widespread use in mid-1944 and were particularly common on aircraft operating in China, Burma, and India. The rockets were used in ground-attack missions against Japanese targets, including railway trains, river vessels, supply depots, and forward airfields.