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54-510: A36 , A 36 or A-36 may refer to: Aircraft [ edit ] A-36 Halcon , a variant of Spanish CASA C-101 fighter aircraft North American A-36 Apache , a 1942 American ground-attack/dive bomber aircraft Aeroprakt A-36 Vulcan , a light twin-engined aircraft from Ukraine Beechcraft A36 Bonanza, a variant of the Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft Saab A 36 , also known as Projekt 1300,

108-598: A 450 mph (720 km/h) dive. 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 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

162-682: A complete redesign of the P-51 wing was required. 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 .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

216-523: A mixed component of Douglas A-20 Havoc light bombers 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 as part of Operation Corkscrew in June 1943 to take the island prior to attack on Sicily. After

270-667: A nuclear strike bomber Roads [ edit ] A36 road , a road connecting Southampton and Bath A36 autoroute , a road connecting the German border with Burgundy Bundesautobahn 36 , a motorway in Germany A36 road (Isle of Man) , a road connecting the A7 Ballasalla and Port Erin A36 road (Northern Ireland) , a road in County Antrim connecting Ballymena and Larne Autovía A-36 ,

324-615: 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

378-574: A public company. Nevertheless, NAA continued with new designs, including the T-28 Trojan trainer and attack aircraft, the F-82 Twin Mustang fighter, B-45 Tornado jet bomber, the FJ Fury fighter, AJ Savage , the revolutionary XB-70 Valkyrie Mach-3 strategic bomber , Shrike Commander , and T-39 Sabreliner business jet. The Columbus, Ohio division of North American Aviation was instrumental in

432-608: A road connecting Xativá and Alcoy A36 road (Sydney) , a road in Sydney, much of which follows the course of the Princes Highway between Kogarah and Glebe Other uses [ edit ] A36 (rapper) , a Swedish hip hop artist A36 steel , a standard alloy specification for structural steel HLA-A36 , a human serotype A36, English Opening code in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings [REDACTED] Topics referred to by

486-575: 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

540-470: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages North American A-36 Apache The North American A-36 (company designation NA-97 , listed in some sources as "Apache" or "Invader" , but generally called Mustang ) is the ground-attack / dive bomber version of the North American P-51 Mustang , from which it could be distinguished by

594-553: Is now part of Boeing . On December 6, 1928, Clement Melville Keys founded North American as a holding company that bought and sold interests in various airlines and aviation-related companies. However, the Air Mail Act of 1934 forced the breakup of such holding companies. North American became a manufacturing company, run by James H. "Dutch" Kindelberger , who had been recruited from Douglas Aircraft Company . NAA did retain ownership of Eastern Air Lines until 1938. In 1933,

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648-645: The China-Burma-India theater . 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 Nakajima Ki-43 "Oscar." The light and highly agile Japanese fighter could outmaneuver

702-642: The Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942, a Mustang of No. 414 (RCAF) Squadron downed one Focke-Wulf Fw 190s , the first victory for a Mustang. Despite the limited high-altitude performance of the Allison V-1710 engine, the RAF was enthusiastic about its new mount, which "performed magnificently". During the Mustang Mk I's successful combat initiation, North American Aviation 's president Howard "Dutch" Kindelberger pressed

756-624: The GA-15 observation plane and the GA-16 trainer, followed by the O-47 and BT-9 , also called the GA-16. The BC-1 of 1937 was North American's first combat aircraft; it was based on the GA-16. In 1940, like other manufacturers, North American started gearing up for war, opening factories in Columbus, Ohio , Dallas, Texas , and Kansas City, Kansas . North American ranked eleventh among United States corporations in

810-700: The General Motors Corporation purchased a controlling interest in NAA, and merged it with the General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation , but retained the name North American Aviation. Kindelberger moved the company's operations from Dundalk, Maryland to Los Angeles, California , which allowed flying year-round, and decided to focus on training aircraft, on the theory that it would be easier than trying to compete with established companies on larger projects. NAA's first planes were

864-597: The S-II second stage of the Saturn V . The fatal Apollo 1 fire in January 1967 was initially blamed on the company in the press, although a Congressional Hearing later ruled otherwise. In September, it merged with Rockwell-Standard, and the merged company became known as North American Rockwell . During this period the company continued its involvement with the Apollo program , building

918-623: The US Navy and US Marine Corps for four decades. The Buckeye's name would be an acknowledgment to the state tree of Ohio , as well as the mascot of Ohio State University . The North American F-86 Sabre started out as a redesigned Fury and achieved fame shooting down MiGs in the Korean War . Over 9,000 F-86s were produced. Its successor, the North American F-100 Super Sabre , was also popular. Some 6,656 F-86s were produced in

972-557: The X-15 , a rocket-powered aircraft that first flew in 1959. In 1959, North American built the first of several Little Joe boosters used to test the launch escape system for the Project Mercury spacecraft . In 1960, the new CEO Lee Atwood decided to focus on the space program , and the company became the prime contractor for the Apollo command and service module , a larger Little Joe II rocket to test Apollo's launch escape system, and

1026-507: 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

1080-403: 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

1134-512: 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

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1188-636: The Columbus plant grew from 1,600 in 1950 to 18,000 in 1952. The cancellation of the F-107 and F-108 programs in the late 1950s, as well as the cancellation of the Navaho intercontinental cruise missile program, was a blow to North American from which it never fully recovered. Atomics International was a division of North American Aviation which began as the Atomic Energy Research Department at

1242-833: The Command and Service modules for all eleven missions. Within two years the new company also was studying concepts for the Space Shuttle , and won the orbiter contract in 1972. In 1973, the company changed its name again to Rockwell International and named its aircraft division North American Aircraft Operations. Rockwell International's defense and space divisions (including the North American Aviation divisions Autonetics and Rocketdyne) were sold to Boeing in December 1996. Initially called Boeing North American, these groups were integrated with Boeing's Defense division. Rocketdyne

1296-554: The Downey plant in 1948. In 1955, the department was renamed Atomics International and engaged principally in the early development of nuclear technology and nuclear reactors for both commercial and government applications. Atomics International was responsible for a number of accomplishments relating to nuclear energy: design, construction and operation of the first nuclear reactor in California (a small aqueous homogeneous reactor located at

1350-582: 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

1404-820: The NAA Downey plant), the first nuclear reactor to produce power for a commercial power grid in the United States (the Sodium Reactor Experiment located at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory ) and the first nuclear reactor launched into outer space by the United States (the SNAP-10A ). As overall interest in nuclear power declined, Atomics International transitioned to non-nuclear energy-related projects such as coal gasification and gradually ceased designing and testing nuclear reactors. Atomics International

1458-498: The P-51 into what many consider to be the best American fighter of the war. Labor troubles became a grave issue in 1941. During the 22 months from August 1939 to June 1941 Stalin and Hitler supported each other as war raged in Europe. In the U.S., local union officials opposed American aid to Britain's war against Germany. They called strikes in war industries that were supplying Lend Lease to Britain. The United Auto Workers (UAW) won

1512-469: 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

1566-461: 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". Due to the slightly inboard placement of the bomb racks and unique installation of four cast aluminum dive brakes,

1620-641: The Royal Air Force 1437th Strategic Reconnaissance Flight, in Foggia, Italy. The 1437th Flight took the aircraft on loan from the USAAF to replace their Martin Baltimores . These aircraft were painted with RAF roundels and individual aircraft letters and they were also given RAF serial numbers These Royal Air Force had their aircraft chin .50 Browning guns removed. A-36As also served with the 311th Fighter Bomber Group in

1674-512: The USSR on June 22, the Communist activists suddenly became the strongest supporters of war production; they crushed wildcat strikes. Post-war, North American's employment dropped from a high of 91,000 to 5,000 in 1946. On V-J Day , North American had orders from the U.S. government for 8,000 aircraft. A few months later, that had dropped to 24. Two years later in 1948, General Motors divested NAA as

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1728-488: The United States, the most produced postwar military aircraft in the West, as well as another 2,500 elsewhere. To accommodate its Sabre production, North American opened facilities in a former Curtiss-Wright plant in Columbus, Ohio . It also moved into a former Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft plant at Downey, California , and in 1948, built a new plant at Downey. By the end of 1952, North American sales topped $ 315 million. Employment at

1782-419: 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 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-40s and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts . In the Mediterranean, the A-36A was also used briefly by

1836-409: 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 2,000 and 4,000 ft (610 and 1,220 m), followed by an immediate sharp "pull up." Dive brakes in the wings gave

1890-412: The dive bomber would operate mainly at altitudes below 12,000 ft (3,700 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 (910 m). The main air scoop inlet was redesigned to become a fixed unit with a larger opening, replacing

1944-468: 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. 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 .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns. A 1,200 hp (890 kW) Allison V-1710-81 engine

1998-580: The election over the International Association of Machinists and represented all the employees at the North American factory in Inglewood, California. UAW negotiators demanded the starting pay be raised from 50 cents an hour to 75 cents, plus a 10 cents raise for the 11,000 current employees. The national union had made a no-strike pledge but suddenly a wildcat strike by the local on June 5 closed

2052-722: The exclusive development and production of the A-5 Vigilante , an advanced high speed attack aircraft that saw significant use as a naval reconnaissance aircraft during the Vietnam War , the OV-10 Bronco , the first aircraft specifically designed for forward air control (FAC), and counter-insurgency (COIN) duties, and the T-2 Buckeye Naval trainer, which would serve from the late 1950s until 2008 and be flown in training by virtually every Naval Aviator and Naval Flight Officer in

2106-440: 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 , 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

2160-541: The newly redesignated U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) for a fighter contract for the essentially similar P-51, 93 of which had passed into the USAAF when the Lend-Lease contract with Britain ran out of funds. The Mustang Mk IA/P-51 used four 20 mm Hispano wing cannons in place of the original armament, a combination of four wing-mounted .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns and four .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns . Two were mounted in

2214-777: The order came for more P-51s in June 1942, the NAA workforce was thoroughly experienced. With the introduction of the North American Mustang Mk I with the Royal Air Force '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 , then rapidly deployed to 10 additional squadrons by June 1942. First used in combat over

A36 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2268-574: The plant that produced a fourth of the fighters. The UAW national leader Richard Frankensteen flew in but was unable to get the workers to return. So Washington intervened. With the approval of national CIO leadership, President Franklin Roosevelt on June 8 sent in the California national guard to reopen the plant with bayonets. Strikers were told to return immediately or be drafted into the US Army. They sullenly complied. However, when Germany suddenly invaded

2322-522: The presence of rectangular, slatted dive brakes above and below the wings. A total of 500 A-36 dive bombers served in the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia theaters during World War II before being withdrawn from operational use in 1944. The A-36 project was a stopgap measure intended to keep North American Aviation (NAA) assembly lines running during the first half of 1942 despite the US having exhausted its funds earmarked for fighter aircraft. When

2376-448: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title formed as a letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A36&oldid=1213327934 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

2430-488: The surrender of Italian forces on Pantelleria, it became the home base for the two A-36A groups during the Allied invasion of Sicily . The A-36A proved to be a potent weapon: it could be put into a vertical dive at 12,000 ft (3,700 m) with deployed dive brakes, thus limiting the dive speed to 390 mph (630 km/h) . Pilots soon recognized that extending the dive brakes after "peel-off" led to some unequal extension of

2484-412: 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" of any USAAF aircraft. The most serious incident involved an A-36A shedding both wings when its pilot tried to pull out from

2538-724: The value of wartime production contracts. North American's follow-on to the BT-9 was the T-6 Texan trainer, of which 17,000 were built, making it the most widely used trainer ever. The twin-engine B-25 Mitchell bomber achieved fame in the Doolittle Raid and was used in all combat theaters of operation. The P-51 Mustang was initially produced for Britain as an alternative to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk , which North American had declined to produce under licence. The derivative A-36 Mustang

2592-440: The wings, while the second pair was mounted in the "chin", or lower engine cowling , 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 wanted to ensure that the P-51 remained in production. Since appropriations were available for an attack aircraft, Echols specified modifications to

2646-410: 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. Compared to the P-51 Mustang, 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,

2700-435: Was developed as a ground attack aircraft and dive bomber. This was done, in part, to keep the airframe in production as the US Army Air Corps had not yet decided to purchase the type as a fighter. A suggestion by the RAF that North American switch the P-51's powerplant from its original Allison engine to the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine may have been one of the most significant events in World War II aviation, as it transformed

2754-527: Was entered in the 1947 Kendall Trophy Race. It was able to reach 377.926 mph (608.213 km/h), finishing second to the winning P-51D flown by Steve Beville. Data from National Museum of the United States Air Force General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Related lists North American Aviation Through a series of mergers and sales, North American Aviation became part of North American Rockwell , which later became Rockwell International , and

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2808-471: Was eventually merged with the Rocketdyne division in 1978. Autonetics began in 1945 at North American's Technical Research Laboratory, a small unit in the Los Angeles Division's engineering department based in Downey, California . The evolution of the Navaho missile program resulted in the establishment of Autonetics as a separate division of North American Aviation in 1955, first located in Downey, later moving to Anaheim, California in 1963. The division

2862-443: Was fitted and used the same radiator and air intake as the A-36A. The P-51A was still fitted with bomb racks that were mainly used to carry drop tanks. The A-36A-1-NA "Apache" (although Apache was the A-36A's official name, it was rarely used) joined the 27th Fighter-Bomber Group (27th FBG) composed of four squadrons based at Ras el Ma Airfield in French Morocco in April 1943 during the campaign in North Africa . The 27th had

2916-405: Was involved in the development of guidance systems for the Minuteman ballistic missile system. In 1955, the rocket engine operations were spun off into a separate division as Rocketdyne . This division furnished engines for the Redstone , Jupiter , Thor , Delta , and Atlas missiles, and for NASA 's Saturn family of launch vehicles . North American designed and built the airframe for

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