North American A-36 Apache

North American A-36 Apache dérivé du P-51 Mustang sur Wikipedia de langue anglaise :

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The North American A-36 Apache (listed in some sources as "Invader", but also called Mustang) was the ground-attack/[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] version of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], from which it could be distinguished by the presence of rectangular, slatted [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] above and below the wings.

A total of 500 A-36 dive bombers served in North Africa, the Mediterranean, Italy and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] during [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] before being withdrawn from operational use in 1944.

Design and development

With the introduction of the North American Mustang I with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in February 1942, the new fighter began combat missions as a low-altitude reconnaissance and ground-support aircraft.

Supplementing the Curtiss [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] already in service, Mustang Is were first supplied to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], then rapidly deployed to ten additional squadrons by June 1942.

First used in combat over the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] on 19 August 1942, a Mustang of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] downed one of the formidable [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], the first victory for a Mustang.

Despite the limited high-altitude performance of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] engine, the RAF was enthusiastic about its new mount which "performed magnificently."

During the Mustang I's successful combat initiation, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s president [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] pressed the newly redesignated [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (USAAF) for a fighter contract for the essentially similar P-51, 47 of which had passed into the USAAF when the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] contract with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] ran out of funds.

The P-51 used four [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] wing cannon in place of the original four .30 in (7.62 mm) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and two .50 in (12.7 mm) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] mounted in the wings and two .50 in (12.7 mm) "chin" machine guns.

No funds were available for new fighter contracts in fiscal year 1942, but General [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and Fighter Project Officer [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] wanted to ensure 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 and dive brakes
was signed by Kelsey on 16 April 1942^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]} 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 already tested in a "long-range ferry" program RAF had stipulated.

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Engineering studies totaling 40,000 hours and wind tunnel testing with a ⅛-scale model was 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."

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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.[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

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 emerged.

The A-36A continued the use of nose-mounted .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns along with wing armament of four .50 in (12.7 mm) caliber machine guns.

The USAAF envisaged that the dive bomber would operate mainly at altitudes below 12,000 ft (3,658 m) and specified the use of a sea level-rated Allison V-1710-87, driving a 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)-diameter three bladed Curtiss-Electric propeller and delivering 1,325 hp (988 kW) at 3,000 ft (914 m).

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.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien][Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}
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 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns. An Allison V-1710-81 1,200 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (895 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) 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

The A-36A-1-NA "Apache" (although Apache was the A-36A's official name, it was rarely used) joined the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] composed of four squadrons based at Rasel Ma in French Morocco in April 1943 during the campaign in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The 27th had a mixed component of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Havocs and A-36As while the second operational unit, the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (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.

The island fell to Allied attack and became the home base for the two A-36A groups during the invasion of Sicily.

The A-36A proved to be a potent weapon; it could be put into a vertical dive at 12,000 ft (3,658 m), deploying its dive brakes, limiting the dive speed to 390 mph (628 km/h).

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 defences, the bomb release took place between 2,000 ft and 4,000 ft (610 and 1,219 m), 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, 27th Fighter-Bomber Group, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], 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."

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"^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}of any USAAF aircraft. The most serious incident involved an A-36A shedding both wings when its pilot tried to pull out from a 450 mph
(724 km/h) dive.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}

Combat units flying the A-36A were ordered to restrict their approach to a 70° "glide" attack and refrain from using dive brakes.

This order was generally ignored by experienced pilots but some units did wire dive brakes shut until modifications were 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.

By late May 1943, 300 A-36As had been deployed to the Mediterranean Theater, with many of the first batch sent to the 27th 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 Group 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.

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, totalling 84 enemy aircraft downed and creating an "ace", Lieutenant Michael T. Russo from the 27th Fighter Bomber Group (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 defences in southern Italy included placing cables across hill tops to snare the attacking A-36As.

Despite establishing a "reputation for reliability and performance, "the one "Achilles' heel" of the A-36A (and the entire Mustang series) remained its vulnerable cooling system leading to many of the losses.

By June 1944, A-36As in Europe were replaced by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and Republic [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

A-36As had also served with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The 311th had arrived in Dinjan, 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] "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" 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 ammo dump at Orte, Italy, Lieutenant Ross C. Watson lead 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 while Lt. Watson's aircraft was hit and damaged by ground fire.

Under continuing heavy ground fire. Lt. Watson pressed home his attack and destroyed the ammo dump before making an emergency landing at an advanced Allied airfield.

A british A 36A

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Operators

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One A-36A was supplied to the RAF in March 1943 for experimental purposes. Its RAF [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] was EW998.