How the P-51 Mustang Ended the Luftwaffe's Air Superiority in World War 2 During World War II, the P-51 Mustang became the decisive fighter that secured Allied air superiority over Europe. In 1943, the WWII air war over Nazi Germany was at a breaking point. The U.S. Eighth Air Force launched daylight bombing raids with B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators, but losses were catastrophic. German Luftwaffe fighters—Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Focke-Wulf Fw 190s—tore through unescorted bombers, a