If there was anything better than a Mustang, it was two Mustangs. The North American P-82 Twin Mustang was precisely that: two Mustan fuselages joined by the wing and the horizontal stabilizer much in the same way as the experimental Bf 109Z Zwilling of World War II fame. It had originally been intended as a long range wartime escort fighter to reach targets deep into Germany, Northern Italy, and Eastern Europe but was too late to see action. Post-war, it fulfilled this role operating with Strategic Air Command but was also readapted as a night fighter for service with Air Defense Command, replacing the P-61 of wartime vintage and with radar installed in a large nacelle under the center section (and with a radar operator in the starboard cockpit). Three squadrons saw action in the Korean War where they obtained the USAF's first kill of the war against Yak-9s on 27 June 1950. The last was retired in 1953.

The XP-82 first flew on 6 July 1945 equipped with Packard-built Merlin engines, latter replaced by Allison V-1710s. The few Merlin-equipped production units were known as the P-82B, two of which were converted into the P-82C and -82D night fighter prototypes. Subsequent variants were all powered by Allison engines, these began with the P-82E long range escort fighter and the radar equipped P-82F and -82G night fighters. Lastly, the P-82H was a winterized version for use in Alaska. After 1948, all P-82s were redesignated F-82.