I bought a fountain pen from a pen retailer in the United States even though it came with exorbitant shipping because it looked like a P-51 Mustang.
This is not the strangest sentence I have ever written, but it is certainly in the running.
The pen is a limited-edition Retro 51 Tornado fountain pen inspired by the legendary WWII fighter aircraft. It is covered in rivets, military markings, weathered aluminium, and enough aviation detail to make any history enthusiast smile.
And yes, the rivets are real. Someone at Retro 51 was meticulous enough to think of physically indenting the rivets into the barrel. As a result, owners of the pen were able to run their fingers over the barrel and feel the aircraft skin beneath their fingers.
I have always been drawn to objects with stories attached to them. Beautiful objects are nice. Beautiful objects that carry history are irresistible.
The P-51 Mustang was not just another fighter aircraft. Introduced during World War II, it became one of the most important aircraft of the war. Equipped with the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and long-range fuel tanks, it could escort American bombers deep into Germany and bring them safely home.
Before the Mustang, bomber crews often found themselves unprotected once they flew beyond the range of escort fighters. German aircraft would attack the bombers, inflicting devastating losses. The Mustang changed that. It could accompany bombers all the way to their targets and back again while engaging enemy fighters along the way.
Historians generally regard it as one of the aircraft that helped the Allies gain air superiority over Europe. It was fast, dependable, heavily armed, and beloved by the pilots who flew it.
In other words, it earned its reputation.
Which is probably why I find it so appealing.
The pen itself looks as though it was assembled from salvaged aircraft parts. It has a weathered metal finish, rivet details, squadron-style markings, and even a bright checkerboard nose pattern reminiscent of those seen on wartime aircraft.
It is quite possibly, the only fountain pen I own that appears capable of escorting a formation of bombers over occupied Europe.
Unfortunately, my particular fighter plane spent several months grounded. The nib wrote poorly enough that I rarely used it, despite loving everything else about the pen. Recently, I had the nib adjusted by a nibmeister. The result was transformative.
My Mustang can now fly.
I inked it with Platinum Carbon Blue, a permanent blue-black ink that seems perfectly suited to a pen inspired by military aviation.
Perhaps that is the real reason I love fountain pens. They are not merely tools. They are tiny vessels for stories.
Some tell stories about literature. Some tell stories about art. Some tell stories about travel.
And some tell stories about a fighter aircraft that helped change the course of history.
Not bad for a pen.
