In the summer of 1940, Hitler was finalizing his plans to invade England. Only one thing stood in his way, the brave & outnumbered Royal Air Force. The Battle of Britain tested the resolve of the Commonwealth, with pilots and planes coming from every colony in the empire. On paper, the Luftwaffe had better planes, but after 3 months of daily raids, England prevailed. Winston Churchill said this of the Royal Air Force: “Never was so much owed by so many to so few”. A few American volunteers decided to push back the attackers, and they formed the Eagle Squadron.
Ford’s One-of-a-Kind Shelby GT350 Mustang, “Old Yeller” Raises $295,000 for Education Programs
We also owe the RAF a few things. Their invention of Radar allowed the world to have microwave cooking, and their turbo-supercharged Rolls-Royce Merlin engine transformed the slow & anemic P51 Mustang into the best fighter of the war. Without this engine, the Mustang would have been relegated to the back of the history books. It was the RAF that supercharged the Mustang, which flew from airfields near Goodwood house. That is why Ford has delivered the Eagle Squadron Mustang GT to Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The press release says one car will race up the hill this weekend, with Vaughn Gittin Jr. behind the wheel. Riding shotgun will be RAF Veteran Paul Miller, whose father Dusty flew with the Eagle Squadron. The other car will remain at Ford’s display for all to see. This GT is loaded with a Ford Performance supercharger to make 700 horsepower, and it wears the RTR widebody kit to keep the massive 305/35/20 tires inside the body. A few details from the Spitfire fighter were added for the anniversary. This is the 10th Mustang Ford has built to support the Experimental Aircraft Association, and it will be on display at AirVenture Oshkosh on July 26th.
[soliloquy id=”134311″]
Ford has given 100% of the proceeds to the EAA, over $3 Million so far. The EAA supports young people who want to be aviators, and it makes Oshkosh, Wisconsin one of the biggest airshows in the world. The cars will go to auction later this year to support the EAA. From the shifter to the supercharger, Ford offers every part to replicate this 700 horsepower/610 lb-ft beast. Find your Mustang in the link below and remember the 100,000 young airmen lost between our 8th Air Force and the Royal Air Force.
Update: August 20th
In a press release by Ford, we have learned the Eagle Squadron Mustang was auctioned for $420,000 over the weekend. The Woodward Dream Cruise is a homecoming for American horsepower. Taking place the weekend before Pebble Beach, cars come to Detroit from all over the world to relive the glory days. Vaughn Gittin Jr and his team from RTR handed the keys to Brayton Williams, marking the 20th year Ford has supported the Experimental Aircraft Association. The funds will go to encourage the next generation of American pilots, so stay with us for all your Ford news.
[button color=”red” text=”white” url=”https://goo.gl/Lk45v7″ window=”_blank”]Find Your Mustang Here![/button]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQRBbSh2Ums&feature=youtu.be
