North American developed its unique F-82 Twin Mustang during the latter portion of World War II so that two pilots could fly long distances between Pacific islands. One of the pilots could be rested and ready for combat when they arrived. Although the Twin Mustang appears to be just two P-51H fighters bonded together on a single wing-span, it was actually an entirely new design. Each of the fuselages was powered by a Packard V-1710 piston engine. The F-82E models were upgraded with Allison liquid-cooled V-1710 piston engines. The Twin Mustang was the final propeller-driven aircraft purchased by the Air Force.
The prototype Twin Mustang first flew in July 1945, but production models were not ready in time for World War II. The vehicle did have a brief, but successful career in the post-war years and in the Korean War as an escort and night fighter. They provided the first aerial victory of the war and shot down over twenty enemy aircraft before being phased out by 1953.
Utilization at Glenn: NACA Lewis possessed three F-82s in the post-War years. The laboratory acquired the first in 1947 for use as a test bed for ramjet engines. The aircraft was damaged in a runway incident in December 1949 and soon transferred. The second arrived in January 1950 and flew high-altitude icing studies. The third, known as Betty Joe, was acquired in September 1950 to carry on the ramjet studies started by the initial F-82.
On February 28, 1947 Betty Joe set a world record for fighters as it flew 4968 miles non-stop from Honolulu to New York City. At Lewis various ramjets or missiles were mounted below the wingspan between the two fuselages for flight testing. It was transferred after suffering wing damage in June 1957 and is currently on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio.
