The North American A-36 (listed in some sources as "Apache" or "Invader", but generally called Mustang) was the
ground-attack
In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as Airstrike, air strikes by Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed or rotorcraft, rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration ...
/
dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...
version of the
North American P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team ...
, from which it could be distinguished by the presence of rectangular, slatted
dive brake
Dive brakes or dive flaps are deployed to slow down an aircraft when in a dive. They often consist of a metal flap that is lowered against the air flow, thus creating drag and reducing dive speed.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, ...
s above and below the wings. A total of 500 A-36 dive bombers served in the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
and
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
theaters during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
before being withdrawn from operational use in 1944.
The A-36 project was a stopgap measure intended to keep
North American Aviation
North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F ...
(NAA) assembly lines running during the first half of 1942 despite the US having exhausted its funds earmarked for fighter aircraft. When the order came for more P-51s in June 1942, the NAA workforce was thoroughly experienced.
Design and development
With the introduction of the North American Mustang Mk.I with the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
's
Army Co-operation Squadrons in February 1942, the new fighter began combat missions as a low-altitude reconnaissance and ground-support aircraft. Supplementing the
Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks already in service, Mustang Mk Is were first supplied to
No. 26 Squadron RAF
No. 26 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1915 and was disbanded for the last time in 1976.
The squadron's motto is ''N Wagter in die Lug'' (Afrikaans) (A guard in the sky), and the badge is a springbok's head couped.
History 1915 ...
, then rapidly deployed to 10 additional squadrons by June 1942. First used in combat over the
Dieppe Raid
Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was an Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a regiment o ...
on 19 August 1942, a Mustang of
No. 414 (RCAF) Squadron downed one of the formidable
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...
s, the first victory for a Mustang. Despite the limited high-altitude performance of the
Allison V-1710
The Allison V-1710 aircraft engine designed and produced by the Allison Engine Company was the only US-developed V-12 liquid-cooled engine to see service during World War II. Versions with a turbocharger gave excellent performance at high a ...
engine, the RAF was enthusiastic about its new mount, which "performed magnificently".
![RAF A-36A 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/RAF_A-36A_1.png)
During the Mustang Mk. I's successful combat initiation,
North American
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...
's president
Howard "Dutch" Kindelberger pressed the newly redesignated
U.S. Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
(USAAF) for a fighter contract for the essentially similar P-51, 93 of which had passed into the USAAF when the
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...
contract with
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
ran out of funds. The Mustang Mk IA/P-51 used four
20 mm Hispano wing cannon in place of the original armament, a combination of four wing-mounted .
M1919 Browning machine gun
The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and ...
s and four
M2 Browning machine gun
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...
s, two of which were mounted in the wings, while the second pair was mounted in the "chin", or lower
engine cowling
A cowling is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings are a cove ...
, and
synchronized to fire through the propeller. No funds were available for new fighter contracts in fiscal year 1942, but General
Oliver P. Echols and Fighter Project Officer
Benjamin S. Kelsey
Benjamin Scovill Kelsey (March 9, 1906 – March 3, 1981) was an American aeronautical engineer and test pilot. Serving as America's chief fighter projects officer, he helped bring success in World War II to the United States Army Air Forces ...
["P-51 History: Mustang Mk I."]
''The Gathering of Mustangs & Legends'', 26 March 2009. Retrieved: 13 June 2010. wanted to ensure that the P-51 remained in production.
Since appropriations were available for an attack aircraft, Echols specified modifications to the P-51 to turn it into a dive bomber. The contract for 500 A-36A aircraft fitted with bomb racks, dive brakes, and heavier-duty wing, was signed by Kelsey on 16 April 1942,
even before the first flight of the first production P-51 in May 1942. With orders on the books, North American Aviation (NAA) began modifying the P-51 to accept the bomb shackles which had already been tested in a "long-range ferry" program that the RAF had stipulated. Engineering studies totaling 40,000 hours and wind tunnel testing with a ⅛-scale model were completed in June 1942. Utilizing the basic P-51 airframe and Allison engine, structural reinforcing "beefed up" several high stress areas and "a set of hydraulically operated dive brakes were installed in each main wing plane".
[Grinsell 1984, p. 60.] Due to the slightly inboard placement of the bomb racks and unique installation of four cast aluminum dive brakes, a complete redesign of the P-51 wing was required.
[Gruenhagen 1969, p. 61.]
![A-36A production Inglewood Oct 1942](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/A-36A_production_Inglewood_Oct_1942.jpg)
The first A-36A (''42-83663'') was rolled out of the NAA Inglewood plant in September 1942, rapidly going through flight testing with the first flight in October, with deliveries commencing soon after of the first production machines. The A-36A continued the use of nose-mounted machine guns along with wing armament of four caliber machine guns. The USAAF envisaged that the dive bomber would operate mainly at altitudes below and specified the use of a sea level-rated Allison V-1710-87, driving a -diameter three bladed Curtiss-Electric propeller and delivering at . The main air scoop inlet was redesigned to become a fixed unit with a larger opening, replacing the earlier scoop which could be lowered into the airstream. In addition the A-36 carburetor air intake was later fitted with a tropical air filter to stop sand and grit being ingested into the engine.
[Gruenhagen 1969, p. 61.]
The USAAF later ordered 310 P-51As, which were essentially A-36s without the dive-brakes and nose-mounted weapons, leaving an armament of four wing-mounted Browning machine guns.
[Kinzey 1996, p. 41.] An Allison V-1710-81 was fitted and used the same radiator and air intake as the A-36A. The P-51A was still fitted with bomb racks although it was not intended to be used primarily as a fighter-bomber and the racks were mainly used to carry drop tanks.
Operational history
![86fg-a36-italy-1944](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/86fg-a36-italy-1944.jpg)
The A-36A-1-NA "Apache" (although Apache was the A-36A's official name, it was rarely used)
[Gunston and Dorr 1995, p. 68.] joined the
27th Fighter-Bomber Group (27th FBG) composed of four squadrons based at
Ras el Ma Airfield
Ras el Ma Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Morocco, located in the southeast suburbs of Ras Kebdana. The airfield served as a support facility for the port, allowing Allied aircraft to be assembled and parepared for ...
in French Morocco in April 1943 during the campaign in
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
.
The 27th had a mixed component of
Douglas A-20 Havoc
The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II.
Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement f ...
s and A-36As while the second operational unit, the
86th Fighter Bomber Group (Dive) arrived in March 1943 with the first pilots trained and qualified on the A-36A.
On 6 June 1943, both of these A-36A units flew combat missions directed against the island of
Pantelleria
Pantelleria (; Sicilian: ''Pantiddirìa'', Maltese: ''Pantellerija'' or ''Qawsra''), the ancient Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunis ...
. The island fell to Allied attack and became the home base for the two A-36A groups during the
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...
. The A-36A proved to be a potent weapon: it could be put into a vertical dive at with deployed dive brakes, thus limiting the dive speed to ("A36A-1 Flight Manual requires deployment before starting a dive"). Pilots soon recognized that extending the dive brakes after "peel-off" led to some unequal extension of the brakes due to varying hydraulic pressure, setting up an invariable slight roll, which impeded aiming. Proper technique soon cured this anomaly and, subsequently, pilots achieved extremely consistent results.
Depending on the target and defenses, the bomb release took place between , followed by an immediate sharp "pull up."
Dive brakes in the wings gave the A-36A greater stability in a dive; however, a myth has arisen that they were useless due to malfunctions or because of the danger of deploying them and that they should be wired closed. Capt. Charles E. Dills,
522d Fighter Squadron, 27th FBG, XIIth Air Force emphatically stated in a postwar interview: "I flew the A-36 for 39 of my 94 missions, from 11/43 to 3/44. They were never wired shut in Italy in combat. This 'wired shut' story apparently came from the training group at
Harding Field, Baton Rouge, LA."
![A-36](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/A-36_%22Apache%22_of_the_27th_Fighter_Bomber_Group.jpg)
However, tactical reconnaissance training with P-51 and A-36 aircraft had delivered some disquieting accident rates. At one time, A-36 training had resulted in the type having "the highest accident rate per hour's flying time" of any USAAF aircraft. The most serious incident involved an A-36A shedding both wings when its pilot tried to pull out from a dive.
Combat units flying the A-36A were ordered to restrict their approach to a 70° "glide" attack and refrain from using dive brakes.
[Grinsell 1984, p. 69.] This order was generally ignored by experienced pilots, but some units did wire dive brakes shut until modifications made to the hydraulic actuators.
Nevertheless, the A-36 was used with great success as a dive-bomber, acquiring a reputation for precision, sturdiness and silence.
[Hess 1970, p. 14.]
By late May 1943, 300 A-36As had been deployed to the Mediterranean Theater, with many of the first batch sent to the 27th FBG to re-build the group following losses as well as completing the final transition to an all-A-36A unit.
Both groups were actively involved in air support during the Sicilian campaign, becoming especially adept at "mopping up" enemy gun positions and other strong points as the Allies advanced. During this operation, the 27th FBG circulated a petition to adopt the name "Invader" for their rugged little bomber, receiving unofficial recognition of the more fitting name.
Despite the name change, most combat reports preferred the name "Mustang" for all of the variants. Author William Hess claims that the Germans gave it a flattering, if fearsome, accolade, calling the A-36As: "screaming helldivers."
Besides dive bombing, the A-36A racked up aerial victories, totaling 84 enemy aircraft downed and creating an "ace", Lieutenant Michael T. Russo from the 27th FBG (ultimately, the only ace using the Allison-engined Mustang).
As fighting intensified in all theaters where the A-36A operated, the dive bomber began to suffer an alarming loss rate with 177 falling to enemy action.
The main reason for the attrition was the hazardous missions that placed the A-36A "on the deck" facing murderous ground fire. German defenses in southern Italy included placing cables across hill tops to snare the attacking A-36As.
[Gruenhagen 1969, p. 63.] Despite establishing a reputation for reliability and performance, the one "Achilles' heel" of the A-36A (and the entire Mustang series) remained the ventral-fuselage location of the radiator/cooling system, leading to many of the losses. By June 1944, A-36As in Europe were replaced by
Curtiss P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...
s and
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
s.
[Gruenhagen 1969, p. 61.]
A-36As also served with the
311th Fighter Bomber Group in the
China-Burma-India theater
China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was officia ...
. The 311th had arrived in
Dinjan
Dinjan (or Dinjoy gaon) is a small township in Dibrugarh district of Assam, India. It is located in the tea growing area of Assam. The closest town to it is Tinsukia. During World War II, nearby Dinjan Airfield was used by transport aircraft whi ...
, India by late summer 1943 after being shipped across the Pacific via Australia. Two squadrons were equipped with the A-36A while the third flew P-51As. Tasked with reconnaissance, dive bombing, attack and fighter missions, the A-36A was outclassed by its main opposition, the
Nakajima Ki-43
The Nakajima Ki-43 ''Hayabusa'' (, "Peregrine falcon", "Army Type 1 Fighter" ) is a single-engine land-based tactical fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in World War II.
The Allied reporting name was "Oscar", but it was o ...
"Oscar." The light and highly agile Japanese fighter could outmaneuver the A-36A at all altitudes but did have some weak points: it was lightly armed and offered little protection for pilot or fuel tanks. However, the A-36A fought at a significant disadvantage, having to carry out long-range missions often at altitudes above
The Hump
The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek and t ...
that meant its Allison engine was below peak performance. In a fighter escort mission over Burma, three A-36As were lost without scoring a single victory. The A-36A CBI missions continued throughout 1943–1944 with indifferent results. The A-36A remained in service in small numbers throughout the remaining year of the war, some being retained in the US as training aircraft.
"The type's relatively brief service life should not camouflage the fact that it made a major contribution to the Allied war effort"
especially in the Mediterranean and it amounted to the first USAAF combat use of a Mustang variant. The effectiveness of the A-36 as a ground attack aircraft was demonstrated on 5 June 1944. In a well-planned attack on the large, well defended rail depot and ammunition dump at
Orte
Orte is a town, ''comune'', former Catholic bishopric and Latin titular see in the province of Viterbo, in the central Italian region of Lazio, located about north of Rome and about east of Viterbo.
Geography
Orte is situated in the Tiber vall ...
, Italy, Lieutenant Ross C. Watson led a flight of four A-36s through a heavy overcast on the approach to the target. Watson's A-36s scored several hits under intense anti-aircraft fire although his aircraft was damaged by ground fire. Under continuing heavy ground fire, Watson pressed home his attack and destroyed the ammunition dump before making an emergency landing at an advanced Allied airfield.
Operators
![RAF A-36A 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/RAF_A-36A_2.png)
;
*
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
: One A-36A was supplied to the RAF in March 1943 for experimental purposes. Its RAF
serial number
A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it.
Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...
was ''EW998''.
;
*
US Army Air Force
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
**
27th Fighter-Bomber Group
**
86th Fighter-Bomber Group
The 86th Operations Group (86 OG) is the flying operational component of the 86th Airlift Wing, United States Air Force. The group is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
The mission of the 86 OG (Tail Code: RS) is to conduct airlift, air ...
**
311th Fighter Bomber Group
Surviving aircraft
![North American A-36A Apache USAF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/North_American_A-36A_Apache_USAF.jpg)
Relatively few A-36As survived the war and the subsequent postwar retirement and scrapping of obsolete types. One A-36A, bearing race number #44, owned and flown by Kendall Everson, was entered in the 1947 Kendall Trophy Race. It was able to reach , finishing second to the winning P-51D flown by Steve Beville.
;Airworthy
;;A-36A
* 42-83731 – private owner in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
* 42-83738 ''Baby Carmen'' –
Collings Foundation
The Collings Foundation is a private non-profit educational foundation located in Stow, Massachusetts, with a mission dedicated to the preservation and public display of transportation-related history, namely automobile and aviation history. The C ...
in
Stow, Massachusetts
Stow is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located west of Boston, in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts. The population was 7,174 at the 2020 United States Census. Stow was officially incorporated in 1683 ...
"FAA Registry: N4607V."
''FAA.gov'' Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
;On display
;;A-36A
* 42-83665 ''Margie H'' – National Museum of the United States Air Force
The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the ...
at Wright-Patterson AFB
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wri ...
in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
.
Specifications (A-36A)
See also
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Delve, Ken. ''The Mustang Story''. London: Cassell & Co., 1999. .
*
* Grinsell, Robert. "P-51 Mustang". ''Great Book of World War II Airplanes''. New York: Wing & Anchor Press, 1984. .
* Gunston, Bill and Robert F. Dorr. "North American P-51 Mustang: The Fighter that Won the War." ''Wings of Fame Vol. 1''. London: Aerospace Publishing Ltd., 1995. .
* Gruenhagen, Robert W. ''Mustang: The Story of the P-51 Mustang''. New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc., 1969. .
* Hess, William N. ''Fighting Mustang: The Chronicle of the P-51''. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1970. .
* Kinnert, Reed. ''Racing Planes and Air Races: A Complete History, Volume IV: 1946–1967''. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, Inc., 1969 (revised ed.) .
* Kinzey, Bert. ''P-51 Mustang Mk In Detail & Scale: Part 1; Prototype through P-51C''. Carrollton, Texas: Detail & Scale Inc., 1996.
* Mizrahi, Joe. "Pursuit Plane 51." ''Airpower'', Vol. 25, no. 5, September 1995, pp.5–53.
* Smith, Peter C. ''Straight Down! The North American A-36 Dive Bomber in Action''. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2000.
* Spick, Mike. "The North American P-51 Mustang." ''Great Aircraft of WWII''. Leicester, UK: Abbeydale Press, 1997. .
* Taylor, John W.R. "North American P-51 Mustang." ''Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. .
* ''United States Air Force Museum Guidebook''. Dayton, Ohio: Air Force Museum Foundation, Wright-Patterson AFB, 1975.
External links
North American A-36A Apache
WW II History of the 86th Fighter Group
{{USAF attack aircraft
North American A-36
The North American A-36 (listed in some sources as "Apache" or "Invader", but generally called Mustang) was the ground-attack/dive bomber version of the North American P-51 Mustang, from which it could be distinguished by the presence of rectang ...
World War II ground attack aircraft of the United States
World War II dive bombers of the United States
A-36
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
North American P-51 Mustang
Aircraft first flown in 1942