Brother Blackwell - A-36 Apache pilot

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Greg Boeser said:
Probably the squadron hack. The 27th Bomb Group (Light), after being reconstituted in the US after the original unit had been lost in the Phillippines, was equipped with A-20s before being reorganized as an FB group in North Africa with A-36s.
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By the context I don't belive that. Seems like the 86th FBG needed pilots and got one that flew A-20s with the 27th FBG during the transition from A-20 to A-36.
 
Schweik said:
I have an eccentric and very intelligent buddy who is something of a mad scientist who lives out in a very rough part of town, where he makes (to me) uncanny devices such as Tesla coils, hovercrafts, flame organs and other odd but impressive machines. My mad scientist friend knows I am a history buff, so to speak, and that I have an interest in WW2, so he occasionally passes on relics related to these subjects.

The most recent such historical relic was a collection of papers, a book, and a flying cap from a WW2 dive bomber or fighter bomber pilot who was a family friend that he knew as 'Brother Blackwell'. Apparently brother Blackwell, whose full name was Gilbert Alonzo Blackwell, either has no next of kin who are still around or they have lost touch. My friend ended up with his war memorabilia, which has temporarily been entrusted to me. We are going to look for family (I already tried but failed to find the daughter mentioned in the book) and failing that, donate it to a local museum which specializes in WW2 history.

In the meantime, I have taken photos of fifteen pages of the book, which cover his active career flying missions in the A-36a 'Apache' in Italy. During his flying career 'Brother Blackwell was awarded the DFC, the Air medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the POW Medal, the American Campaign medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Medal with two bronze campaign stars, and the Individual Decoration of the Distinguished Unit Citation.

Aside from these fifteen pages, the rest of the book covers his training and early military experiences, and his captivity by the Germans after being shot down, (a brutal experience in which he lost his leg which he wounded while bailing out when he was shot down over enemy lines), and then some of his long and painful postwar recovery, along with a lot of military records. This was all compiled into a nicely bound hardback book of 167 pages.

These fifteen pages, fourteen of interview transcripts, which I thought would be of interest here are going to appear in the next five posts. A lot of this basically corroborates what I had already read about how the A-36 was used in Italy, but there are some interesting details as there always are with primary sources. Hopefully some people here may find this useful or interesting. The images are not super clear as they were taken with a phone, but are hopefully legible. Anyone with any questions feel free to ask.

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Maybe I missed it, but where in the OFFICIAL report does it call the A-36A "Apache"?
 
Schweik said:
Are you asking if there is a reference to the name Apache as opposed to the designation A-36A?
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I am just trying to see (BTW, I finally saw how to read the following pages...thanks for posting!!!) if Mr Blackwell on his own, called the A-36A "Apache" in any context ... either as an OFFICIAL name, a NICKNAME used by anyone who flew or maintained them or a "house" name at NAA for the A-36A.

It should be simple, but it reminds me of a favorite Beatles' song of mine: "Rocky Raccoon." Singing about a woman that Rocky the Raccoon was "courting" (whatEVER!)...the words: "her name was Magill, and she called herself "Lil,"
but everyone knew her as "Nancy."

As a serious "student of Mustangology" it would be optimum if everyone knew the only official name that the A-36A had was "Mustang." Sure, the guys in the 27th F-BG in the MTO called it the "Invader," just as today's USAF guys call the F-16 "Fighting Falcon" by the nickname "Viper," or the A-10 "Thunderbolt II" is called the "Warthog" or just the "Hog." As far as I can find in my own research, "Apache" became used commonly many years AFTER WWII was over, because someone saw one of those 1941-192 ads for the Mustang Mk I that was built for the RAF where the term "Apache" was used. The artwork was unclear, and while it DID look like the Mustang Mk I, of which the USAAC/F had two of (the XP-51s), which was named "Apache" by NAA. That "Apache" name, "went away" on 13 July, 1942, when Dutch Kindelberger sent a Telegram to the Chief of the USAAF P.R. Dept, Col. Arthur I. Ennis specifying names to be used for the AT-6, B-25 and essentially every NAA aircraft of the P-51 fighter type...as "Texan," "Mitchell," and "Mustang," respectively.

The contract for the A-36A was not FINALIZED until a month later, so it therefore did NOT even have a chance to have been called "Apache" in the contract. It was always officially "Mustang" and always will be.

THIS is the reason that I always want to make sure that NO ONE is draw into thinking that the A-36A Mustang was ever, even for ONE second, OFFICIALLY named "Apache." Check with the National Museum of the U S Air Force ... see what THEY have on their A-36A sign. OH, and I have a TON of official documentation from the USAAF and NAA and trusted aviation historians.

Thanks for taking time to read this (and I shall read the documents you've put up!).

Tom
 
I'd love to know the origin of "Pork Falcon". Every weapons system seems to have cost overruns so I'm wondering if the F-16's program was especially egregious.
 
Schweik said:
I have an eccentric and very intelligent buddy who is something of a mad scientist who lives out in a very rough part of town, where he makes (to me) uncanny devices such as Tesla coils, hovercrafts, flame organs and other odd but impressive machines. My mad scientist friend knows I am a history buff, so to speak, and that I have an interest in WW2, so he occasionally passes on relics related to these subjects.

The most recent such historical relic was a collection of papers, a book, and a flying cap from a WW2 dive bomber or fighter bomber pilot who was a family friend that he knew as 'Brother Blackwell'. Apparently brother Blackwell, whose full name was Gilbert Alonzo Blackwell, either has no next of kin who are still around or they have lost touch. My friend ended up with his war memorabilia, which has temporarily been entrusted to me. We are going to look for family (I already tried but failed to find the daughter mentioned in the book) and failing that, donate it to a local museum which specializes in WW2 history.

In the meantime, I have taken photos of fifteen pages of the book, which cover his active career flying missions in the A-36a 'Apache' in Italy. During his flying career 'Brother Blackwell was awarded the DFC, the Air medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the POW Medal, the American Campaign medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Medal with two bronze campaign stars, and the Individual Decoration of the Distinguished Unit Citation.

Aside from these fifteen pages, the rest of the book covers his training and early military experiences, and his captivity by the Germans after being shot down, (a brutal experience in which he lost his leg which he wounded while bailing out when he was shot down over enemy lines), and then some of his long and painful postwar recovery, along with a lot of military records. This was all compiled into a nicely bound hardback book of 167 pages.

These fifteen pages, fourteen of interview transcripts, which I thought would be of interest here are going to appear in the next five posts. A lot of this basically corroborates what I had already read about how the A-36 was used in Italy, but there are some interesting details as there always are with primary sources. Hopefully some people here may find this useful or interesting. The images are not super clear as they were taken with a phone, but are hopefully legible. Anyone with any questions feel free to ask.

View attachment 637536
Click to expand...
Great Post-that said, the A-36 was Never Apache. The only 'official' use of that noun for Mustang was briefly out of US Army Air Force Public Relations when the P-51-NA made its first flight in May 1942. Kindelberger wrote a letter in July to request that all NAA fighter/Mustang type be named Mustang.

The MTO pilots sponsored the name Invader but was turned down by Army as A-26 already had that name. In 1944 the Army Air Force officially branded all P-51/P-51 'Type' including A-36, as Mustangs.
 
Glad y'all are interested in the story. The pages I posted are the parts about active duty air combat, which I thought was relevant to this forum. I'll post a few more pages, but I can't scan and post the whole book, I don't really have the time right now. I also have his leather pilots helmet which appears to be the one he was wearing when he was shot down so I'll post a couple of pics of that too.
 
As for the name 'Apache' or 'Mustang' - I don't have an opinion on that and wasn't trying to make a statement. Anachronism or not, I used "Apache" to help avoid confusion because it's an easy signifier that this is the dive-bomber version not the Allison engined fighter or the Merlin engined fighter. I think this issue about names was true for many WW2 fighters and other combat aircraft.
 
Schweik said:
Glad y'all are interested in the story. The pages I posted are the parts about active duty air combat, which I thought was relevant to this forum. I'll post a few more pages, but I can't scan and post the whole book, I don't really have the time right now. I also have his leather pilots helmet which appears to be the one he was wearing when he was shot down so I'll post a couple of pics of that too.
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Many thanks to YOU !
However one person did write that he could read the follow up, so I was just asking how.
But no wonder, it's brilliant post as it is. Thx again.
(Love the A-36 Apch... hm... Invdr.. hm.., Mustang alright. The Apache name fits very well though.)
 
I always liked the A-36, it's just a good-looking clean little aircraft.
 

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I really want to make a model of one now. There are a few older kits. Not sure if any new ones. Any recommendations (anybody)?
 
l'Omnivore Sobriquet said:
Many thanks to YOU !
However one person did write that he could read the follow up, so I was just asking how.
But no wonder, it's brilliant post as it is. Thx again.
(Love the A-36 Apch... hm... Invdr.. hm.., Mustang alright. The Apache name fits very well though.)
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I say this with all due respect for you and other posters, concerning the "Apache" name for the A-36A Mustang.

Simultaneously, though, I see where folks who typically are in these forums, will go to great lengths to state that a particular Mustang (or any OTHER historic warbird) has a wrong color inside the wheel wells or has an antenna mast that's metal and should be wood, etc, etc. Ya know what I'm talking about?

Then, why would anyone want to not want to have the OFFICIAL name for a particular aircraft type/model used behind its official designation?

I could be wrong - I have been many times before - but ... why would we purposefully want to be incorrect?

Cheers!
 
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