The North American P-51 Mustang was probably the best all-around single-seat piston engine fighter to be used in World War II. The first USAAF combat group arrived in Britain in November 1943 and from then until the end of the war, the P-51 earned an enviable reputation as a long-range fighter-escort for the B-17 and B-24 bombers raiding deep in the heart of the German homeland.