North American A-36

what is it?

The North American A-36 (company designation NA-97, listed in some sources as "Apache" or "Invader", but officially called Mustang) is the ground-attack/dive bomber version of the North American P-51 Mustang, from which it could be distinguished by 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total of 500 A-36 dive bombers served in the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia theaters during World War II before being withdrawn from operational use in 1944.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.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11.3 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 590 km/htop speed
• range 885 kmwithout refuelling
• size 4,535 kgmax take-off weight
• built 500made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 84 years ago, in 1942.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11.3 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1942-10

introduced

1943

retired

1945

status

retired

number built

500

role

ground-attack/dive bomber

makers

North American Aviation

engines

1× Allison V-1710-87

crew

1

length

9.8 m

wingspan

11.3 m

height

3.7 m

max take-off weight

4,535 kg

top speed

590 km/h

cruise speed

400 km/h

range

885 km

ceiling

7,650 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family