The P-51 Mustang Fought the Last Dogfight Between Propeller-Driven Fighters in 1969. A Honduran F4U Corsair Shot It Down.

The P-51 Mustang kept flying and fighting long after WWII ended, and in 1969 it scored the last dogfight between propeller-driven fighters. A Honduran F4U Corsair brought it down, ending a rare chapter for the aircraft. The Mustang’s story traces back to North American Aviation’s decision in 1940 to build a better fighter rather than license-build Curtiss P-40s for the RAF. Prototype NA-73X flew Oct. 26, 1940, and Rolls-Royce test pilot Ronald Harker pushed for a two-stage Merlin upgrade. The Merlin-powered P-51B and later P-51D helped turnaround the air war, with more than 15,500 Mustangs built. The Dominican Republic flew it until 1984, and over a hundred still fly.