P-51D LC-N

Overview

• Make/Model: North American P-51D-20 Mustang

• Serial Number: 44-72107

• Year of manufacture: 1944

• Project Duration: 5 years

• Awards & Recognition: 2025 Oshkosh Golden Wrench & Reserve Grand Champion - World War II

This aircraft was built in 1944 at North American Aviation's Inglewood, California plant as a P-51D-20 and assigned serial number 44-72107 for the U.S. Army Air Forces. Following completion, it was shipped to the European Theater and arrived in England in March 1945, during the final months of World War Il, and was assigned to the 20th Fighter Group, 77th Fighter Squadron, based at Kings Cliffe, England. It was flown by at least five different pilots during its wartime service as LC-N . One notable mission occurred o n April 16, 1945, when 1st Lt. Walter Umla strafed buildings and enemy aircraft at Cham Airfield, approximately 30 miles northeast of Regensburg, Germany and was credited with destroying a parked Fw 190 on the ground.

LC-N, participated in the final nine missions flown by the 77th Fighter Squadron during the war. However, it only completed six of those sorties due to an unspecified mechanical issue on April 11 and a reported oil actuator problem on April 17. Its final combat mission took place on April 25, 1945, to Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, where the only resistance encountered was enemy flak.

After the war, in December 1946, 44-72107 was sold to Sweden, along with many other surplus Mustangs. It was re-designated J 26-071 in Swedish service. By the early 1950s, Sweden began divesting its Mustang fleet, and 44-72107 was one of 43 aircraft sold to the Fuerza Aérea Dominicana (FAD). It served there as FAD 1929 until it was written off following an accident in late 1967.

In the early 1980s, the remains of most FAD Mustangs, including 44-72107, were purchased by a private U.S. buyer and returned stateside. The remains of 44-72107 changed hands several times until Mustang Hangar LLC, under the ownership of Mark and Missy Timken, acquired the project from Brian O'Farrell, the original importer of the FAD Mustangs.

Midwest Aero Restorations, Ltd. is honored to work alongside the Timkens to restore this historically significant aircraft. Their commitment ensures that 44-72107 will once again fly — not just as a warbird, but as a tribute to the courage, sacrifice, and legacy of the Greatest Generation. Special thanks to the late S.R. "Syd" Edwards, one of the leading historians of the 20th Fighter Group.

Please scroll down and check out the gallery below for photos of the entire restoration journey.