North American F-82 Twin Mustang

NORTH AMERICAN F-82B TWIN MUSTANG

The F-82 was the last propeller-driven fighter acquired in quantity by the USAF. It appears to be two Mustang fuselages on one wing, but in reality it was a totally new design. Its purpose was to provide a fighter carrying a pilot and co-pilot/navigator to reduce fatigue on long-range bomber ecsort missions. Delivery from production did not begin until early 1946, too late for WW II. After WW II, radar-equipped F-82s were used quite extensively by the Air Defense Command as replacements for the P-61 night fighter.

During the Korean War, Japan-based F-82s were among the first USAF aircraft to operate over Korea. The first three North Korean airplanes destroyed by U.S. forces were shot down by all-weather F-82G interceptors on June 27, 1950.

Of a total of 273 F-82s produced, 20 were -Bs. the F-82B on display, "Betty-Jo," flew from Hawaii to New York on February 27-28, 1947, a distance of 5,051 miles, the longest non-stop flight ever made by a prop-driven fighter. "Betty-Jo" was delivered to the U.S. Air Force Museum in 1957.