Douglas PBD-1G (A-20G) Havoc
In 1937, a team consisting of three of the greatest American aircraft designers in history—Donald Douglas, Edward Heinemann, and Jack Northrop—designed a light bomber for Douglas Aircraft as an independent venture, capable of carrying a thousand pounds of bombs at 250 mph. In response to a US Army Air Corps specification for an attack aircraft, the design was upgraded and offered to the USAAC as the Douglas DB-7B. It lost to the North American design (which would become the B-25 Mitchell), but attracted the attention of France, who was in desperate need of aircraft as war approached. France ordered 270 modified DB-7s: these would be the beginning of the definitive shape of what would become the A-20 Havoc. The French DB-7B3 would have a narrow fuselage and increasingly powerful Twin Wasp engines, with for its time fairly heavy defensive armament. Only 64 were delivered before France fell to Germany in 1940, and the remaining order was taken up by the British Royal Air Force, who first gave it the name Boston and then Havoc—Boston referring to bomber aircraft and Havoc attack aircraft.
While the RAF found the Havoc unable to reach Germany itself, during the Battle of Britain the Havoc impressed the British by its ability to carry a significant bombload deep into France, attacking German bases there, damaging Luftwaffe bombers and depriving its crews of sleep. Its speed meant that it could evade the still-developing German nightfighter force, while British crews found that the Havoc was very durable as well. Even in daylight raids on France where it faced Messerschmitt Bf 109s, Havoc pilots loved its viceless handling and its surprising manueverability.
Based on British experience with the aircraft, the US Army Air Force began adopting the Havoc as the A-20A into dedicated attack squadrons; these pilots formed the nucleus of the USAAF’s medium bomber force on the eve of American entry into World War II. During training in Louisiana in summer 1941, A-20s returned to base with damage from hitting telephone wires. The first mission undertaken by the USAAF against Germany in July 1942 was with borrowed RAF Boston IIs; one aircraft, damaged by flak, hit the ground, destroying an engine, but the pilot struggled back into the air and returned to base.
Another nation that was impressed with the A-20’s performance was the Soviet Union, who ordered over 600 A-20Bs. These differed from the A-20A and British DB-7s by having a redesigned “stepped” nose rather than a rounded one, and often the V-VS would further modify their A-20s with Russian-designed cannon in the nose and dorsal turrets, rather than the flexible mounts used in USAAF and RAF A-20s. The V-VS used the A-20 in the light bomber role for the entire war, seeing service in the pivotal battles of Leningrad, Stalingrad, and Kursk, while other aircraft were passed to the Soviet Naval Air Force (AV-MF) to be used in the antishipping role and as minelayers, doing significant damage to German shipping in the Baltic Sea. Because of the tight confines of the Havoc’s fuselage, women were occasionally employed as gunners. Though not as widespread in Soviet service as the Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik, the A-20 remained in V-VS service even after World War II for a brief period, long enough to get the NATO reporting name of Box.
The early versions of the A-20 were the main light bomber available to the Allies in the early years of World War II and did notable service. By 1944, however, the design was becoming obsolete, and Douglas ceased production after 7478 A-20s had rolled off the production line (a significant number of these were also built by Boeing), switching to the A-26 Invader—closely based on the Havoc; the British replaced theirs with Mosquitoes.
The US Navy only operated a handful of A-20s, designating them PB-1s as target-towing aircraft. However, had the Navy decided against adopting the B-25 as the PBJ-1, there is a chance the Havoc might've entered widespread service as a land-based patrol/attack aircraft. Dad converted a 1/48 AMT kit from a USAAF A-20G to a "PBD-1G." This was a straightforward kitbash, using Russian-style 20mm cannon in the nose and adding rocket rails to the wings; the rockets consist of four 3.5-inch types and two 5-inch HVAR "Holy Moses" (the larger of the two types). It was painted in midwar US Navy tricolor camouflage, with fictional squadron markings (the Jolly Roger is taken from a VF-17 Corsair). The nose art is from a B-24 Liberator, "Cocktail Hour," but Dad renamed it "Man's Ruin: Wine Women and Song," after a tattoo my grandfather almost got while serving in the US Navy in World War II.
This was one of Dad's favorite models, and one that took 1st place in the Montana State Fair one year. He was subsequently offered $150 for it by an interested patron, but turned it down--he liked his Havoc too much!
Douglas PBD-1G (A-20G) Havoc
In 1937, a team consisting of three of the greatest American aircraft designers in history—Donald Douglas, Edward Heinemann, and Jack Northrop—designed a light bomber for Douglas Aircraft as an independent venture, capable of carrying a thousand pounds of bombs at 250 mph. In response to a US Army Air Corps specification for an attack aircraft, the design was upgraded and offered to the USAAC as the Douglas DB-7B. It lost to the North American design (which would become the B-25 Mitchell), but attracted the attention of France, who was in desperate need of aircraft as war approached. France ordered 270 modified DB-7s: these would be the beginning of the definitive shape of what would become the A-20 Havoc. The French DB-7B3 would have a narrow fuselage and increasingly powerful Twin Wasp engines, with for its time fairly heavy defensive armament. Only 64 were delivered before France fell to Germany in 1940, and the remaining order was taken up by the British Royal Air Force, who first gave it the name Boston and then Havoc—Boston referring to bomber aircraft and Havoc attack aircraft.
While the RAF found the Havoc unable to reach Germany itself, during the Battle of Britain the Havoc impressed the British by its ability to carry a significant bombload deep into France, attacking German bases there, damaging Luftwaffe bombers and depriving its crews of sleep. Its speed meant that it could evade the still-developing German nightfighter force, while British crews found that the Havoc was very durable as well. Even in daylight raids on France where it faced Messerschmitt Bf 109s, Havoc pilots loved its viceless handling and its surprising manueverability.
Based on British experience with the aircraft, the US Army Air Force began adopting the Havoc as the A-20A into dedicated attack squadrons; these pilots formed the nucleus of the USAAF’s medium bomber force on the eve of American entry into World War II. During training in Louisiana in summer 1941, A-20s returned to base with damage from hitting telephone wires. The first mission undertaken by the USAAF against Germany in July 1942 was with borrowed RAF Boston IIs; one aircraft, damaged by flak, hit the ground, destroying an engine, but the pilot struggled back into the air and returned to base.
Another nation that was impressed with the A-20’s performance was the Soviet Union, who ordered over 600 A-20Bs. These differed from the A-20A and British DB-7s by having a redesigned “stepped” nose rather than a rounded one, and often the V-VS would further modify their A-20s with Russian-designed cannon in the nose and dorsal turrets, rather than the flexible mounts used in USAAF and RAF A-20s. The V-VS used the A-20 in the light bomber role for the entire war, seeing service in the pivotal battles of Leningrad, Stalingrad, and Kursk, while other aircraft were passed to the Soviet Naval Air Force (AV-MF) to be used in the antishipping role and as minelayers, doing significant damage to German shipping in the Baltic Sea. Because of the tight confines of the Havoc’s fuselage, women were occasionally employed as gunners. Though not as widespread in Soviet service as the Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik, the A-20 remained in V-VS service even after World War II for a brief period, long enough to get the NATO reporting name of Box.
The early versions of the A-20 were the main light bomber available to the Allies in the early years of World War II and did notable service. By 1944, however, the design was becoming obsolete, and Douglas ceased production after 7478 A-20s had rolled off the production line (a significant number of these were also built by Boeing), switching to the A-26 Invader—closely based on the Havoc; the British replaced theirs with Mosquitoes.
The US Navy only operated a handful of A-20s, designating them PB-1s as target-towing aircraft. However, had the Navy decided against adopting the B-25 as the PBJ-1, there is a chance the Havoc might've entered widespread service as a land-based patrol/attack aircraft. Dad converted a 1/48 AMT kit from a USAAF A-20G to a "PBD-1G." This was a straightforward kitbash, using Russian-style 20mm cannon in the nose and adding rocket rails to the wings; the rockets consist of four 3.5-inch types and two 5-inch HVAR "Holy Moses" (the larger of the two types). It was painted in midwar US Navy tricolor camouflage, with fictional squadron markings (the Jolly Roger is taken from a VF-17 Corsair). The nose art is from a B-24 Liberator, "Cocktail Hour," but Dad renamed it "Man's Ruin: Wine Women and Song," after a tattoo my grandfather almost got while serving in the US Navy in World War II.
This was one of Dad's favorite models, and one that took 1st place in the Montana State Fair one year. He was subsequently offered $150 for it by an interested patron, but turned it down--he liked his Havoc too much!