MMP Books – Maritime Series 3103
North American
A-36A Apache

by Przemyslaw Skulski

Reviewed by Rob Baumgartner

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The exploits of the P-51 during WWII are legendary but it wasn’t the first of its breed to go into action with the USAAF. That distinction belonged to an earlier version from NNA’s “Mustang” family… the A-36 Apache.

Initially the British Purchasing Commission approached NNA (North American Aviation) in early 1941 to license build Curtiss P-40s. Instead the NAA president offered to design a completely new aircraft using the same Allison V-1710 engine. The logic being that this could be done in a similar amount of time it would take to tool up for the P-40; thus the British named “Mustang I” came into being.

At first the USAAC were not interested in this British specified machine. They presumed to already have adequate supplies of “Pursuit” aircraft, either in production or on order. Later versions did interest the USAAF however and although the budget for Pursuit types was empty, there was still money available for “Attack” aircraft. So North American Aviation offered up a version based on the Mustang’s good diving characteristics. This was accepted and a contract was signed on 16 April 1942, thus paving the way for the development of this new “fighter-bomber”.

The A-36A “Apache” acquitted itself well in combat and operated in the Mediterranean and Far East. In its short career, the American A-36 pilots carried out over 23,000 combat missions and dropped over 8,000 tons of bombs. After debuting in June 1943, it was removed from USAAF combat Units approximately one year later.

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Between the soft card covers are 128 A5 sized pages. The author’s narrative is pleasant to read and is divided into a logical sequence of chapters. Naturally the birth of the “Apache” starts proceedings before we head into the aircrafts military debut.

Its areas of operation are covered in chapters relating to Sicily, Italy, and the Far East as well as mentioning the aircraft’s role in British hands. Michael Russo is purported to have made “Ace” in the type and a section has been allocated to his exploits.

The meat of the book now starts with a 6 page technical description of the A-36A-1-NA.

58 pages of detail photos follow which include close-ups of the fuselage, wings, canopy, cockpit, engine, wheel wells, armament, dive brakes and much more. These come not only from surviving airframes but from numerous images and illustrations from the aircraft’s handbook.

Colour profiles are not forgotten and these number 28 in total. Top and bottom views are displayed where appropriate as well any detail relating to nose art. The artwork is beautifully done and is accompanied by informative captioning.

Modellers will be pleased to see that scale plans are also included. These are courtesy of Juanita Franzi and include a few of the field modifications found on some airframes. Those printed as part of the book are to 1:72 scale while a special insert caters for 1:48 and 1:32 sizes.

This is an excellent “one stop shop” for the enthusiast.

I had forgotten about my Accurate Miniatures kit and this publication gave me the enthusiasm to get it onto the workbench. It allows the reader to have a good overview of the aircraft in question and also provides the information necessary to add some extra detail to your chosen model.

Another worthy addition to Mushroom Models “Yellow Series”.

Thanks to MMP Books  for the sample.

All MMP Publications books are available direct from the publishers, who now accept credit cards (Visa, MC, Amex, Switch)  

North American distributors are MMD, Australian distributors are Platypus Publications. In Europe, the books are available from any good bookshop (via our UK distributors, Orca). Contact MMP direct in case of difficulties. 

Thanks to Roger at MMP Books  for the sample.

Review Copyright 2012 by Rob Baumgartner
This Page Created on 20 June, 2012
Last updated 20 June, 2012

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