What was the fastest fighter plane used by the U.S. in World War II?
Fastest propeller-driven aircraft
The FAI record for the fastest piston-powered aircraft over a long-distance circuit is the 2000-km record of 720.13km/h (447.47mph) set on 22 May 1948 by Jacqueline Cochran in a P-51C. (She also holds the 100-km record of 755.67km/hr, set in December 1947.) Higher speed records exist; some are unofficial and some were officially-timed one-way trips aided by tailwinds. Examples of the latter: a B-29 averaged 725km/h (450mph) from Burbank to Floyd Bennett Field (3957km in 5.455 hours) on 11 December 1945, and Joe DeBona averaged 903.75km/h (562mph) from Los Angeles LAX to New York Idlewild (3981km (2472mi) in 4.405 hours) in a P-51 on 30 March 1954. On September 12, 2003, the modified P-51 Dago Red, piloted by Skip Holm, averaged 507.105mph (816.1 kph) during the 6 lap (c.50 miles) Reno Air Races Friday Gold Race.