"P-51C Thunderbird" pennant

The P-51C Thunderbird, winner of the 1949 Bendix Trophy Race, was owned by Hollywood star and former World War II bomber pilot Jimmy Stewart. Weighing 6,223 pounds, it was powered by a special 150-octane aviation fuel developed by the General Petroleum Company.

When the Thunderbird crossed the finish line in Cleveland, with Joe DeBona at the controls, it set a new Bendix Trophy Race record for a piston-engine aircraft with an astonishing average speed of 470 mph.

The Thunderbird featured a finish consisting of 48 coats of primer beneath its iconic gloss cobalt blue paint. Carefully polished to a mirror-like shine, the finish was said to add 8 mph to the aircraft’s top speed.

With its distinctive red Pegasus emblem, brilliant blue livery, and its famous owners and pilots, the Thunderbird remains one of the most celebrated P-51 Mustangs ever flown.