Accurate Miniatures A-36 Apache
The birth of the A-36 is attributed to USAAF General Oliver P. Echols, responsible for the development, procurement and supply of aircraft and aeronautical equipment, when he specified modifications which would turn the P-51 into a dive bomber. The resulting contract for 500 A-36 aircraft fitted with bomb racks, dive brakes and heavier-duty wing that was signed on 16 April 1942.
The “Apache”, basically utilizing the P-51 air frame and Allison engine, was structurally reinforced at several high stress areas, with the engine optimized for use at low altitudes. A set of hydraulically operated dive brakes were installed in each main wing plane, which, combined with the slightly inboard placement of the bomb racks, necessitated a complete redesign of the P-51 wing.
Primarily deployed in the Mediterranean theater, the plane proved to be a potent weapon: thanks to its dive brakes, it could dive vertically from 12,000 ft with a dive speed not exceeding 390 mph. Depending on the target and defenses, the bomb release would take place between 2,000 and 4,000 ft, followed by an immediate sharp "pull up."
Despite establishing a reputation for reliability and performance, the one "Achilles' heel" of the type (and the entire Mustang series, as a matter of fact) remained the ventral-fuselage location of the radiator/cooling system, leading to many of the losses.
It is reported that some disquieting accident rates were attributed to the dive brakes' tendency to extend unequally due to variations in hydraulic pressure and set up an invariable roll. Also, it is reported that "orders" were consequently issued to Combat Units to restrict their approach to a 70° "glide" attack and refrain from using the dive brakes, with the latter mostly wired shut. Turns out that this is an A-36 myth, since, both the 27th and 86th FB Groups, the ones who used it in combat as a dive bomber, never wired the brakes shut and there was never a case of differential deployment in combat. That's per the statements of five different pilots in the two groups.
As for the restricting orders, even if they were issued, they were generally ignored by combat pilots who made full use of the dive brakes, achieving extremely consistent results. The "Apache" dive brakes were a most successful design, much appreciated by pilots, offering the plane the required stability and control when in a dive.
Besides dive bombing, the type 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).
The plane also served in the China-Burma-India theater, tasked with reconnaissance, dive bombing, attack and fighter missions. Its main opponent, the Ki-43, being light and highly agile, could outmaneuver it at all altitudes, but it was lightly armed and offered little protection for pilot or fuel tanks.
The A-36 was a great dive-bomber, acquiring a reputation for precision, sturdiness and silence. Its 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.
This is the well known Accurate Miniatures 1/48 A-36, a by all means nice kit that can easily hold its own three decades after its initial release. All you have to do is make sure that you glue each nose half to each fuselage half first, then join the fuselage halves and, for the rest, the kit builds as easily as the Tamiya Mustang.
https://imodeler.com/groups/work-in-progress-aircraft/forum/topic/north-american-p-51b-mustang-1-48-tamiya/
My sincere thanks to my friend Tom Cleaver @tcinla for (as usual) providing valuable info, this time regarding the "A-36 myths", mainly the type's "major" contribution to keep the P-51 program alive (no need, the program was already running), that it was "a stop-gap measure" (it was not) and the wire-shut dive brakes in combat due to hydraulic anomalies (they were neither wire-shut in combat nor hydraulic anomalies were reported).
Should you wish to read my Apache's full build review, you may do so by visiting my beloved site Modelingmadness:
https://modelingmadness.com/review/allies/us/usaaf/attack/pen36.htm
Happy Modelling!
Looks great, Spiros. Well done!
Thanks my friend @gwskat!
As John says,me too!
Thanks my friend @mvtb!
Great result, Spiros. It’s hard to believe that kit is almost 30 years old.
Thanks my friend @j-healy!
You have the knack in bringing these older kits up to scratch, Spiros, this Apache looks great, and the write-up is very interesting as well. Full marks.
Thanks a lot as always, my friend @chinesegeorge!
One of your best so far Spiros! Nice weathering on the top surfaces particularly;-)
Thanks so much my friend @holzhamer!
@fiveten - Fantastic work Spiros. I always enjoy reading your articles. So much historic information makes it worth the read every time. Beyond that, your build itself is really great. The weathering looks spot on and I really like the winding line of bomb icons. That's a lot of combat missions.
Thanks my friend @brithebuilder!
This Apache turned out amazingly, Spiros @fiveten
Your presentation of the aircraft combined with the informative article is really great.
It was a pleasure from my side as well to be in this group build with so many enthusiastic modellers.
Well done.
Thank you so much for the kind comments and equally for creating this great Group, my friend @johnb!
That's a great result. I still like Accurate miniature stuff - I've done several Apaches and all their other Mustangs long before the Eduard Mustangs came along.
Thanks my friend @chasbunch! Ditto for me: building the AM kit was a great experience!
Nice Apache Spiros! Looks great!
Thanks my friend @gkittinger!
Another dynamite build, Spiros @fiveten. Those AM early Allison Mustangs are terrific kits, aren't they? Terrific write up.
Thanks my friend @eb801! Yes, they are terrific kits!
Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten), I enjoyed reading your build log and this article. Your invitation to join in the group build and your own progress has really been fun and has made watching your progress and my own more appreciative of the history of this aircraft and the act of doing the hobby . Some strong work on the A-36 too.
Thank you for sharing your time and gifts Spiros.
Thanks so much my friend @stephen-w-towle!
Nice work and a great result Spiros @fiveten.
Thanks a lot my friend @tcinla!
G'day Spiros (@fiveten),
Another masterpiece!
I have one of these in the stash and one day...
Thanks my friend @michaelt! Looking forward to yours!
Very Nice! Mission markings looks impressive!
Thanks my friend @lis!
She is a lovely looking A-36, great job Spiros @fiveten!
Thanks my friend @v1pro!
Spiros, @fiveten
I saw this one earlier today when I stopped by M2. You have done a magnificent job with your razor back pony. Now I'm guessing that QC1 and QC2 can have mock dogfights with one flying the Mustang and the other flying the Re-2000.
I definitely clicked on the "like" button on both models. I don't know how you manage to build so many kits, but I'm glad you do.
Take care my friend. Sandy said hello too.
Thanks so much my friend @lgardner!
Greetings from all of us to you and Sandy!
@fiveten - Spiros, this is a really lovely result on your A-36. Thank you for including the historical information. I remember reading books by the great war correspondent Ernie Pyle, and one of them had quite some coverage of an A-36 unit in North Africa. Those guys told Ernie they loved this plane.
I need to get one of these kits, I actually got the Accurate Miniatures decals for this and a P-51 for .50 cents USD each from Sprue Brothers, spares just-in-case when I can acquire the kits.
Thanks my friend @tankgrrl! It is a very nice kit, also reboxed by Italeri in 2013 witb very nice decals.
Great build! This is one of the best renditions of this kit I've seen, very well done!
Thanks si much, my friend @jimh!