5 Facts About The ETF-51D Sea Horse

Did you ever hear about the Sea Horse? Here are five interesting facts about the North American ETF-51D, also known as the “Sea Horse.”

1. During WWII, the US Navy’s interest in the Mustang led to what was known as the “Project Sea Horse”

This was an attempt to create a carrier Mustang as its capabilities improved upon introducing the Packard-built Merlin engine.

2. There’s some confusion about the intentions of the project

While Project Sea Horse was intended to offer long-range fighter escorts for the upcoming bombing campaign of the USAFF as they actively prepared for the bombing of the Japanese home islands, neither land-based nor carrier-based planes had the sufficient range to escort B-29s on long missions.

3. Both North American and the Navy wanted to see how the type could handle carrier landings, so a single P-51D was modified for testing

The plane was designated as the ETF-51D. It featured a tail hook, catapult linkage, and reinforced undercarriage. The plane began shore-based test flights in September 1944.

2. It was probably a death trap

The test pilot, Lt. Bob Elder, couldn’t get a proper feel of the plane, especially in the tricky landing. Elder was an incredibly skilled and experienced test pilot, and the jet had to be carefully handled. It was then concluded that the type wasn’t fit for deployment.

After doing 25 test flights, Elder concluded, ‘Although I had “premiered” many US Navy aircraft carrier landings, no such experience had been as interesting as with the Mustang.’

1. The aircraft has become redundant, anyway, either as an escort for B-29 raids, or a high-speed long-range fighter

North America soon decided to move on to other projects such as the FJ-1 Fury which would eventually form the basis for a new family of fighter and attack planes such as the iconic F-86 Sabre.