Edgar Schmued

Edgar O. "Ed" Schmued (Schmüd; 1899–1985) was an Austrian/German-American aircraft designer, famed for his design of the iconic North American P-51 Mustang and, later, the F-86 Sabre while at North American Aviation. He later worked on other aircraft designs as an aviation consultant.

Early life Edgar Schmüd was born in Hornbach, Germany, 30 December 1899. His father Heinrich Schmüd was an Austrian, so Edgar inherited Austrian citizenship until he would finally adopt the American one. At the age of eight, he first saw an airplane in flight and decided that aviation was to be his life's work. Edgar embarked early on a rigorous program of self-study to become an engineer, and later served an apprenticeship in a small engine factory. He also designed several innovative engine components for which he received patents. In his spare time, he continued the self-study of aviation. In World War I, he served in the Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops as a mechanic. The NA-35 (later Vega 35) is shown at NAA's facility, with Edgar Schmued standing at the right. During his long tenure at NAA, Schmued contributed greatly to the design of many airplanes. By far his most famous design was the highly successful P-51 Mustang of World War II. The legend began with a British procurement commission asking NAA to build Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks under license for the Royal Air Force. His adaptation of the then new laminar flow wing and other innovations made the P-51 performance outstanding in all respects and its flying qualities superb. This aircraft was still winning races and setting speed records for piston engine-powered airplanes decades after its production had ended. Although he was renowned as a workaholic at North American, Schmued undertook the design of the Morrow 1-L Victory Trainer in 1941 on an independent contract; it was dubbed the "Mini-Mustang" because of its close resemblance to the P-51.

Fueled by both a striking similarity of the early Mustang and the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 - pilots and ground crews of both sides confused the two aircraft - and Schmued's German origin, an urban legend has grown up, claiming he had once worked for Willy Messerschmitt and that the Mustang was heavily influenced by the Bf 109. Neither claim is true but the urban legend persists. Another myth claims that the abortive Curtiss XP-46 was the basis of the P-51 design.

Schmued was employed by North American Aviation for 22 years. During his tenure, Schmued also designed the F-82 and, the other iconic NAA designs, the F-86 Sabre and F-100 Super Sabre.

Northrop and later years After leaving North American in August 1952, Schmued spent five years as Vice President of Engineering for the Northrop Corporation. At Northrop he recruited a top engineering team he used to develop the successful F-5 supersonic light fighter and the closely related T-38 trainer. For these aircraft Schmued emphasized not only performance, but simplicity, safety, low cost, and long service life. The resulting F-5 was not only the most cost effective U.S. supersonic fighter, but likely also the most combat effective U.S. air-to-air fighter design in the 1960s and early 1970s. The well regarded and long lived F-5 and the T-38 aircraft remain in active service as of 2024 in Swiss Air Force. The F-5 serves as an adversary aircraft for the U.S. Air Force and Navy in fighter combat training, as well as a front line fighter in the air forces of more than 20 nations. The T-38 has served as the primary advanced/supersonic trainer for the U.S. Air Force for more than 50 years, a record unequaled by any other aircraft of this class.

Edgar Schmued continued his aircraft design work as an independent consultant following his retirement from Northrop in October, 1957. He consulted for the U.S. Department of Defense, allied nations, for private companies, and for the film industry making aviation related movies. He worked actively until shortly before his death from a heart condition

Honors Edgar Schmued was inducted into the International Aerospace Hall of Fame on 14 September 1991.