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#Post#: 10023--------------------------------------------------
Plane of the Week: Douglas A-20 Havoc
By: vonofterdingen Date: February 24, 2020, 4:46 pm
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Back when Beo started the Plane of the Week thread, he noted
that the Bristol Blenheim was an important but little mentioned
plane. Here is another: the American-built Douglas A-20 medium
bomber. The A-20 is one of those planes that seemed to play a
vital role in every theater we play: Western Front, Eastern
Front, Pacific, Burma, North Africa…Just about every air force
on the Allied side had A-20 Havocs (or Bostons, or DB-7s, as
they were also known). And why not? The A-20 was fast,
formidable, and available through lend-lease. I think Lend-Lease
is arguably one of the most noble things my country has ever
done on the world stage, and the A-20 was a lynchpin item of
Lend Lease throughout the war.
From Wikipedia:
The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an
American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night
fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II.
It served with several Allied air forces, principally the
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), the Soviet Air Forces
(VVS), Soviet Naval Aviation (AVMF), and the Royal Air Force
(RAF) of the United Kingdom. A total of 7,478 aircraft were
built, of which more than a third served with Soviet units.
It was also used by the air forces of Australia, South
Africa, France, and the Netherlands during the war, and by
Brazil afterwards.
In most British Commonwealth air forces, the bomber variants
were named Boston, while the night fighter and intruder variants
were named Havoc. The exception was the Royal Australian Air
Force, which used the name Boston for all variants. The USAAF
used the P-70 designation to refer to the night fighter
variants.
The French order called for substantial modifications to meet
French standards, resulting in the DB-7 (for Douglas Bomber 7)
variant. It had a narrower, deeper fuselage, 1,000 hp (750 kW)
Pratt & Whitney R-1830-SC3-G radials, French-built guns, and
metric instruments. Midway through the delivery phase, engines
were switched to 1,100 hp (820 kW) Pratt & Whitney
R-1830-S3C4-G. The French designation was DB-7 B-3 (the B-3
signifying "three-seat bomber").
The DB-7s were shipped in sections to Casablanca for assembly
and service in France and French North Africa. When the Germans
attacked France and the Low Countries on 10 May 1940, the 64
available DB-7s were deployed against the advancing Germans.
Before the armistice surviving planes were evacuated to North
Africa to avoid capture. Here, they came under the control of
the Vichy government and briefly engaged the Allies during
Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa in
November 1942.
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After French forces in North Africa had joined the Allies,
DB-7s were used as trainers and were replaced in front line
escadrilles with Martin B-26 Marauders. Free French I/120
Lorraine, under RAF control, was based in England and
re-equipped in 1943 with Boston IIIAs, later with Boston IVs. It
was part of Second Tactical Air Force and carried out numerous
raids against targets in mainland Europe.
In early 1945, a few DB-7s were moved to mainland France, where
they saw action against the remaining isolated German pockets on
the western coast.
After the fall of France, there were still a substantial
number of DB-7s which had not yet been delivered to the Armee de
l'Air. The remainder of the order which was to have been
delivered to France was instead taken up by the UK via the
British Purchasing Commission. In the course of the war, 24
squadrons operated the Boston. They saw action in Mediterranean
and North Africa.
The French had originally intended to use the DB-7 as a
short-range tactical attack aircraft, but its range was too
short for the RAF to be able to use them as light bombers
against German targets in Europe. But RAF was in desperate need
of any aircraft suitable for night fighting and intruder duties.
The type saw its first active operations with the RAF in early
1941, when 181 Boston IIs began to be deployed in night fighter
and intruder roles. There were two basic versions of the Havoc
I, an Intruder version (glazed nose, five 0.30-inch machine guns
and 2.400 pounds of bombs) and a Night Fighter version (AI Mk.IV
radar and eight 0.30-inch machine guns).
Some Havocs were converted to Turbinlite aircraft which
replaced the nose position with a powerful searchlight. The
Turbinlite aircraft would be brought onto an enemy fighter by
ground radar control. The onboard radar operator would then
direct the pilot until he could illuminate the enemy. At that
point a Hawker Hurricane fighter accompanying the Turbinlite
aircraft would make the attack. The Turbinlite squadrons were
disbanded in early 1943.
All the French DB-7As, improved DB-7 version, were delivered
to the RAF, where they were given the name Havoc II and
converted to night fighter role. Eventually British Purchasing
Commission ordered a British version that was designated DB-7B,
RAF named it Boston III. The Boston III was the first to operate
with the RAF as a light bomber. They were supplied to Squadrons
in the United Kingdom and Middle East (later moved to bases in
Italy) replacing Bristol Blenheims. Their first raid took place
on February 1942. Many Boston IIIs were modified to Turbinlite
or Intruder planes.
In Iran, an American mechanic completes maintenance on an
A-20 before delivery to Soviet Union, 1943
Through Lend-Lease, Soviet forces received more than
two-thirds of the A-20B variant manufactured and a significant
portion of G and H variants. The A-20 was the most numerous
foreign aircraft in the Soviet bomber inventory. The Soviet Air
Force had more A-20s than the USAAF.
They were delivered via the ALSIB (Alaska-Siberia) air ferry
route. The aircraft had its baptism of fire at the end of June
1942. The Soviets were dissatisfied with the four .30-calibre
Browning machine guns, capable of 600 rounds per gun per minute,
and replaced them with the faster-firing, 7.62 mm (0.300 in)
calibre ShKAS, capable of up to 1,800 rounds per gun per minute.
During the summer of 1942, the Bostons flew ultra-low-level
raids against German convoys heavily protected by flak. Attacks
were made from altitudes as low as 33 ft (10 m) and the air
regiments suffered heavy losses.
By mid-1943 Soviet pilots were familiar with the A-20B and
A-20C. The general opinion was that the aircraft was overpowered
and therefore fast and agile. It could make steep turns of up to
65° of bank angle, while the tricycle landing gear made for
easier take-offs and landings. The type could be flown even by
crews with minimal training. The engines were reliable but
sensitive to low temperatures, so the Soviet engineers developed
special covers for keeping propeller hubs from freezing up.
Some of these aircraft were armed with fixed-forward cannons
and found some success in the ground attack role.
By the end of the war, 3,414 A-20s had been delivered to the
USSR, 2,771 of which were used by the Soviet Air Force.
In October 1941 the Netherlands government in exile ordered
48 DB-7C planes for use in the Dutch East Indies. Delivery had
been scheduled for May 1942 but because of the desperate
situation US government agreed to divert 32 DB-7B Boston III
aircraft to the Dutch East Indies in advance.
The first 6 were delivered by ship in February 1942. Only one
aircraft was assembled in time to take part in the action. The
Japanese captured the remaining aircraft of the delivery, and at
least one was repaired and later tested by the Japanese Army.
Loading .50-inch ammunition onto a Boston of No. 22 Squadron
RAAF at Noemfoor Island, Netherlands New Guinea, in August 1944.
The next 22 DB-7Bs to be delivered to East Indias were
diverted to the Royal Australian Air Force. They served with No.
22 Squadron RAAF and fought in the East Indies from September
1942. RAAF Bostons took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea
and in attacks on a large Japanese convoy headed toward Lae.
Some A-20A/C/G planes arrived from the US from September
1943. By November 1944, No 22 Squadron was going to be assigned
to the Philippines. 13 Bostons were destroyed on the ground
during a Japanese raid on Morotai. The squadron was withdrawn to
Noemfoor, where it was re-equipped with Beaufighters before it
returned to action. Surviving Bostons were relegated to
transport, mail delivery and communications.
In 1940, the US military's indifference to the type was
overcome by improvements made for the French and British
Commonwealth air forces.
The USAAC was impressed enough by the A-20A's high power to
weight ratio and easy handling characteristics. Two variants
were ordered, in a tranche of more than 200 aircraft: the A-20
for high-altitude daylight bombing and the A-20A for low- and
medium-altitude missions. It was intended that the high-altitude
variant would be fitted with turbosupercharged Wright R-2600-7
engines; after a prototype suffered technical problems, the
USAAC changed its order and an initial shipment of 123 A-20As
(with less-powerful R-2600-3 engines) and 20 A-20s (R-2600-11)
entered service in early 1941. A further 59 aircraft from this
first order were received as P-70 night fighters, with two-stage
supercharged R-2600-11 engines.
The A-20B, another high-altitude bomber variant – lacking
heavy armor and self-sealing fuel tanks – received a significant
order from the USAAC: 999 aircraft (although two-thirds of these
were exported to the USSR). With the lessons of the Pacific in
mind USAAF ordered A-20G in June 1942.
A major shipment of DB-73s originally destined for France was
retained by the US government and converted to A-20C/G attack
configuration. The USAAF received 356, most of which were
operated by the 5th Air Force in the South West Pacific theater.
When the war started 27th Bombardment Group (minus its A-20As)
was in the process of being sent to the Philippines where it was
to have been re-established as an A-20 unit, but the first
operational unit in actual combat was the 89th Bombardment
Squadron which began operations in New Guinea on August 31,
1942.
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In early 1944, 312th and 417th Bombardment Groups were sent
to New Guinea, equipped with A-20Gs. Most sorties were flown at
low level, as Japanese flak was not as deadly as German flak,
and it was soon found that there was little need for a bomb
aimer. Consequently, the bomb aimer was replaced by additional
machine guns mounted in a faired-over nose. A-20Gs were an ideal
weapon for pinpoint strikes against aircraft, hangars, and
supply dumps. When operating in formation their heavy forward
firepower could overwhelm shipboard antiaircraft defenses and at
low level they could skip their bombs into the sides of
transports and destroyers with deadly effect.
With the end of the New Guinea campaign the A-20s squadrons
moved to the Philippines and in 1944 three full four-squadron
A-20 groups were active in the campaign that led to the invasion
of Luzon. After the Philippines were secured, A-20s started
attacks on Japanese targets in Formosa.
The first night fighter squadron that used its P-70 in combat
was based at Henderson Field to intercept high-flying Japanese
night raiders. The 418th and 421st Night Fighter Squadrons flew
P-70s in New Guinea for a brief time. The P-70s scored only two
kills during the entire Pacific war as its performance was not
good enough to intercept Japanese night raiders, and were
replaced by Northrop P-61 Black Widows as soon as possible.
In Europe it was decided USAAF A-20 crews would fly their
first combat missions attached to RAF units. On 4 July 1942, 12
crews from the 15th Bombardment Squadron became the first
members of the 8th Air Force to enter combat, operating Bostons
belonging to No. 226 Squadron RAF, from bases in England,
attacking enemy airfields in the Netherlands.
USAAF A-20s were assigned to North Africa and flew their
first combat mission from Youks-les-Bains, Algeria, in December
1942. They provided valuable tactical support to allied ground
troops, especially during and following the Battle of Kasserine
Pass. During the North African campaign, many of the A-20s were
fitted with additional forward-firing machine guns. Following
the German surrender in Tunisia, the A-20s moved to bases in
Italy, Corsica, France, and then back to Italy in January 1945.
Four P-70 night fighter squadrons were sent to North Africa
in 1943. When they arrived they operated Bristol Beaufighter
night fighters. Later the 427th Night Fighter Squadron was
deployed to Italy, but the squadron exchanged its P-70s for
Northrop P-61 Black Widows and so no night fighter squadron used
their P-70s in combat in Europe.
Meanwhile, in England, three A-20 equipped Bombardment Groups
were assigned to the 9th Air Force and became operational in
1944. They started using the same low-level tactics that had
been so successful in the Pacific, but due to heavy German flak,
losses were too high and the tactics were changed to
medium-level raids. After supporting advancing Allied forces
into France until the end of 1944, all units transitioned to the
Douglas A-26 Invader.
[img width=1024
height=585]
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In game…
I’ve often said that I prefer to fly fighters in game, and
that remains true. If I am going to bomb, however, it will be
the Dauntless or the Havoc. The A-20 is no Mosquito, but it is
fast. The A-20 also supports a wide variety of armament and bomb
configurations, which makes it a mission builder’s dream. It is
also attractive to mission builders because it played such an
important role in so many different theaters of the war, and it
performed those roles from the beginning to the end of the
conflict.
#Post#: 10025--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Douglas A-20 Havoc
By: larsresult Date: February 24, 2020, 6:03 pm
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Good choice Von. A very versatile plane.
#Post#: 10026--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Douglas A-20 Havoc
By: cafs Date: February 24, 2020, 6:36 pm
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Good plane, more versatile than the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
Was a good medium bomber, great low-level attack bomber and a
descent nightfighter.
Good show Von. 👍👍
#Post#: 10043--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Douglas A-20 Havoc
By: E69_Haukka Date: February 25, 2020, 11:10 am
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Your weekly research paper is a good history class for me. Thank
you Von!
#Post#: 10047--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Douglas A-20 Havoc
By: vonofterdingen Date: February 25, 2020, 3:45 pm
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Thanks Haukka. I think many of us are drawn to the game because
we are interested in the history ourselves. Before I wrote this
article, I had no idea that the Soviet air forces used more
A-20s than the US. I found that very interesting.
#Post#: 10053--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Douglas A-20 Havoc
By: Beowolff Date: February 25, 2020, 4:41 pm
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Outstanding job, my friend! Outstanding... Well written, well
researched, well done! (nice pics too!) A truly GREAT plane!
;D ;D ;D
Yes... we WILL be flying this plane in OFFLINE competition VERY
soon now that you've got it on my mind. ;) Gentlemen, best do
some multi-engine practice over the next week or so! And be
sure to choose a good crew to go with ya! Von done started
something now...lol.
S! ;D
Beo
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