Australian Mustang bound for the UK

One of Australia’s most popular Mustangs, a license built Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) CA-18 Mk.21 (c/n 1435), VH-MFT will soon leave the country. According to warbirdsnews.com the fighter has been sold to the British Air Leasing / Ultimate Warbirds based at Sywell.

On 30 August 2023 the plane flew to Archerfield airport where it will be dismantled and prepared for shipment to the UK. VH-MFT is a two-seat Mustang, which makes it a perfect addition to Air Leasing’s growing fleet of passenger carrying warbirds.

The CA-18 fighter was delivered to the Royal Australian Air force as A68-110 way back in 1948 but hardly flown operationally. It was sold for scrap in 1957. But the airframe resurfaced in 1995 as the major component of composite restoration project. This was shipped from the USA to Caboolture where a complete restoration was performed.

The Mustang, two-seat but also configured with full dual controls, made its first flight on 24 January 2002. It has been flying since then as North American P-51D-25-NT Mustang ‘44-84502’ which later flew in the RAAF with serial A68-769.

This aircraft is adorned with a ‘Pegasus’ as nose art as was used by all the P-51s that served with 82 Squadron RAAF in postwar Japan. Being the personal mount of the squadron commander Squadron Leader Frank Schaaf, it additionally carries the name ‘Mabel II’(after his wife). But in Australia the Mustang is usually referred to as ‘Snifter’. This is a second name on the plane after a newspaper cartoon dog, a favorite of wartime Australian service personnel.

Without any doubt ‘Snifter’ will surely be missed ‘Down Under’.

Source: Warbirdsnews.com
Photo: Nathen Sieben via Flickr.com