Douglas Boston

Light bomber · Douglas Aircraft · United States

Douglas Boston
ⓘ licence & creditUSAAF (via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Typical crew3
Engines2 × Wright Cyclone
First flight1938
Number built7,478

Photographs

Douglas A-20 "Havoc"
ⓘ licence & creditAFHRA / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A-20.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPublic domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A-20_Boston_in_flight_.75_right.jpgView source & full licence →
Low-level attack run of A USAAF Douglas A-20 Havoc on a Japanese Mitsubishi G4M Betty bomber in Lae, New Guinea, circa 1943.
ⓘ licence & creditUSAAF / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A-20_attacking_Lae_airfield_with_G4M_c1943.jpgView source & full licence →
Original caption: 9th Air Force Havocs Operating from Bases in France Use the Newly Developed Pathfinder Radar
ⓘ licence & creditOffice of Scientific Research and Development / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:9th_Air_Force_Havocs_with_Pathfinder_Radar.jpgView source & full licence →
Combat Crews of the 674th Bombardment Squadron in front of one of the squadron's Douglas A-20s in the Southwest Pacific Theater
ⓘ licence & creditUS Army Air Forces photograph / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:674BombSqCombatCrews.PNGView source & full licence →
A-20 Havocs from the 646th Bombardment Squadron fly in formation from its base at RAF Gosfield (AAF-154), England, spring, 1944
ⓘ licence & creditUnited States Army Air Forces / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:646th_Bombardment_Squadron_-_A-20_Havocs.jpgView source & full licence →
"The Real McCoy" Douglas A-20J-15-DO Havoc s/n 43-21745 646th Bomb Squadron, 410th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force
ⓘ licence & creditUnited States Army Air Forces / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:646th_Bombardment_Squadron_-_A-20_Havoc.jpgView source & full licence →
"Helen" Douglas A-20K-15-DO Havoc s/n 44-613 645th BS, 410th BG, 9th AF This aircraft looks to be painted black and has flash suppressors on the turret guns...night intruder?
ⓘ licence & creditUnited States Air Force / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:645th_Bombardment_Squadron_-_A-20_Havoc.jpgView source & full licence →
59th Bombardment Squadron Douglas A-20A Havoc 40-0093
ⓘ licence & creditUnited States Army Air Forces / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:59th_Bombardment_Squadron_Douglas_A-20A_Havoc_40-0093.jpgView source & full licence →
Two A-20 Havocs (B, serial number 41-3379) and (F, serial number 41-3383) of the 495th Fighter Training Group fly over countryside.
ⓘ licence & creditUnited States Army Air Forces / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:495th_Fighter_Training_Group_-_A-20_Havocs_in_Flight.jpgView source & full licence →
422d Night Fighter Squadron Douglas A-20 Havoc
ⓘ licence & creditUnited States Army Air Forces / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:422d_Night_Fighter_Squadron_Douglas_A-20_Havoc.jpgView source & full licence →
Douglas A-20s of the 417th Bombardment Group showing group markings adopted in the Southwest Pacific Theater
ⓘ licence & creditUS Army Air Forces photographs / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:417BombGpA-20formation.PNGView source & full licence →
Flight of A-20 from the 416th Bomb Group making a bomb run
ⓘ licence & creditUnited States Army Air Force / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:416thbg-a20flight.jpgView source & full licence →
A-20 from the 416th Bomb Group making a bomb run on D-Day, 6 June 1944
ⓘ licence & creditUnited States Army Air Force / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:416thbg-a20-d-day.jpgView source & full licence →
Formation of A-20 Havocs of the 410th Bombardment Group
ⓘ licence & creditUnited States Army Air Force / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:410bg-a20formation.jpgView source & full licence →
British Boston III (Douglas A-20 Havoc) used by the 8th Air Force Headquarters staff at Bovingdon Airfield, England Source: US Army Air Forces via National Archives via Roger Freeman: The Mighty Eighth, The Colour Record, 1991
ⓘ licence & creditPublic domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:8AFHQ-boston3-bovington.jpgView source & full licence →
The 89th Bombardment Squadron, assigned to the 3rd Bombardment Group, flew the Douglas A-20 Havoc, an attack bomber, during World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations. (Photo courtesy of 3rd Wing History Office)
ⓘ licence & creditUS Air Force / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:89th_Bomb_Squadron_A-20.jpgView source & full licence →
American medium bombers destined for Russia are lined up on a field somewhere in Iran ready for transfer to USSR. All that remains to be done is to erase the American aviation emblem and substitute the Russian Red Star.
ⓘ licence & creditStanley Scott Collection / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:181_Airplanes_in_field_-_USACE-p15141coll5-9407.jpegView source & full licence →
155th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron Douglas A-20J-15-DO Havoc (F-3A) 43-21731 St Dizier/Robinson Airdrome (A-64), France, October 1944
ⓘ licence & creditUnited States Army Air Forces / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:155th_Photo_Reconnaissance_Squadron_Douglas_A-20J-15-DO_Havoc_(F-3A)_43-21731.jpgView source & full licence →

About

The Douglas Boston was the British name for the bomber versions of the American DB-7 family, the night-fighter and intruder variants being known as the Havoc. A fast, tricycle-undercarriage twin powered by two Wright Cyclone radials, it came to the RAF from 1941 and re-equipped the day-bomber squadrons of No. 2 Group, replacing the Bristol Blenheim.

As a Boston III the type flew low- and medium-level daylight raids over occupied Europe — airfields, power stations, docks and shipping — often behind a fighter escort. As the Havoc it served as a radar night fighter and intruder, and in one of the war’s odder experiments some carried the “Turbinlite”, a huge nose searchlight intended to illuminate enemy bombers for accompanying fighters. Roughly two dozen RAF squadrons flew the type, valued for its speed, sturdiness and pleasant handling.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including A-20 Havoc Medium Bomber — World War II Database and Douglas A-20 Havoc — Wikipedia. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.