EWA Plane idea

[Col. Flashman]

The A-36 APACHE/INVADER


April 1942 marked the first order of any P-51 variant by the US Army. 500 NA-97s were ordered. First named "Apache" by the Army, it was also called "Invader" and later mostly just "Mustang". The U.S. serials were 42-83663 to 42-84162.

The design was very similar to the Mustang I and P-51A. The powerplant was the Allison V-1710-87. The A-36 was a dive-bomber so the addition of hard points for two 500 lb bombs and dive brakes to slow the fast acceleration of the P-51 in a dive were added. The belly scoop was now fixed at the front. Armament was 2 guns in the nose and 4 in the wings, all .50 calibur.

The dive brakes were operated hydraulically and located on the top and bottom of each wing outboard of the guns. Plan was that they limit the dive speed to 250 mph but in practice the angle of dive was reduced to 70 degrees because the high stress of pull-out from a higher angle.

The hard points for the bombs were also capable of holding 75 gallon drop tanks for extended range. The top speed of the A-36 was down from added weight to about 358 mph at 5,000 feet (without external stores).


 Only one A-36 was sent to the RAF for evaluation as A-36 EW998 in March 1943. The US used the A-36 in the Mediterranean theatre with first deliveries beginning in early 1943. When not in the ground attack role, the A-36 was essentially a low-altitude P-51A and was used as a fighter. The A-36 scored 101 air-air victories during WWII.

The A-36 proved to be a very stable platform for accurate weapons delivery. 177 were lost in action mostly due to the dangerous mission of low-level operations.  


Specifications

Model     -     A-36
Production     -     500
Length     -     32.25
Height     -     12.2
Wingspan     -     37.04
Weight - empty     -     6087
Weight - normal T.O.     -     8600
Weight - max G.W.     -     10,700
Powerplant     -     Allison V-1710-87
Horsepower     -     1325
Propeller     -     Curtiss 3-bladed electric 10'9"
Max Speed     -     356 @ 5k
Service Ceiling     -     25,100
Fuel Capacity     -     180
Drop Tanks     -     2x 75 gal
Range     -     750 / 1375+
Guns     -     6x .50 cal
Bomb / Rockets     -     2x 500 lb bombs

[Col. Flashman]

Originally posted by TwinBoom
did some1 say mustang mk1a?

All of the 57 US P-51-NA models were cannon equipped & 35 were fitted with cameras designated F-6A and sent to Morrocco in March 1943 to the 111th Tactical Recon Squadrons at Oujda.
A small number of these aircraft (at least 4 are known) were passed to RAF 225 Squadron in June. The 111th TacR later recieved some A-36A's which were fitted with cameras. A-36's arrived in Morrocco in March 1943 with the 86th and 27th Bomb Groups.
The 27th converted to P-40's in January 1944, and the 86th to P-47's in July 1944 due to lack of replacement A-36's, the few remaining A-36's went to the 111th TacR with some being sent back to the US for use as trainers.
The only other A-36 unit was the 311th in India, 2 squadrons of A-36A's and one Squadron the 530th equipped with P-51A's.
The only other combat units recieving P-51A's were the the 1st and 2nd Air Commado in India/Burma. 24 F-6B's (P-51A recon) went to the 107th TacR in the UK September 1943.

The first RAF Unit to get the Mk.I was 26 Squadron. They were also the last RAF unit to operate Mustang Mk.I's & still flying them up to the end of the war, since they were still the best planes for the job.