North American A-36A Invader
Unit: 533Rd FBS, 27th FBG at Sicily 1943
April 1942 marked the first order of any P-51 variant by the US Army. 500 NA-97s were ordered. The U.S. serials were 42-83663 to 42-84162. The P-51 was never intended to be a dive bomber. Budgets for pursuit fighters were limited at that time, but there were funds available for dive bombers. NAA's President, Dutch Kindelberger, made proposals for a quick design modification to the P-51 and landed a contract for 500 A-36A's.
Although "Apache" was the A-36A's official name, it was rarely used. Units in Africa and Italy called it the "Invader" and the name eventually found its way into official USAAF use.
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.
Credits
Captain Kurt: Aircraft model, drop tank, VC, paint textures, 2D panel, aircraft.cfg, air file, and .dp
Shessi: Pilot figure
Kelticheart: Prop blurred texture
Other ordinance: FDG Team
Gauges: AliCat, ACWai, Microsoft, and others unknown
Sound: razcal -- The Allison V-1710-81 for the P-40 but same engine in the P-51A
Unit: 533Rd FBS, 27th FBG at Sicily 1943
April 1942 marked the first order of any P-51 variant by the US Army. 500 NA-97s were ordered. The U.S. serials were 42-83663 to 42-84162. The P-51 was never intended to be a dive bomber. Budgets for pursuit fighters were limited at that time, but there were funds available for dive bombers. NAA's President, Dutch Kindelberger, made proposals for a quick design modification to the P-51 and landed a contract for 500 A-36A's.
Although "Apache" was the A-36A's official name, it was rarely used. Units in Africa and Italy called it the "Invader" and the name eventually found its way into official USAAF use.
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.
Credits
Captain Kurt: Aircraft model, drop tank, VC, paint textures, 2D panel, aircraft.cfg, air file, and .dp
Shessi: Pilot figure
Kelticheart: Prop blurred texture
Other ordinance: FDG Team
Gauges: AliCat, ACWai, Microsoft, and others unknown
Sound: razcal -- The Allison V-1710-81 for the P-40 but same engine in the P-51A
