The Douglas A-20 Havoc was an American twin-engine military light bomber and attack aircraft. Related export aircraft served under the Boston and Havoc names in British service. The family combined a compact fuselage, tricycle landing gear and two radial engines, and evolved from glazed-nose bombers into heavily armed low-level attackers.[1][2]
Development and export orders
Douglas began private design work in 1936 on a light attack and reconnaissance aircraft. Successive revisions increased its size and engine power and shifted the emphasis toward bombing. The resulting aircraft first flew in October 1938, attracting French orders before the U.S. Army adopted it.[2]
The collapse of France redirected aircraft to Britain, where Boston and Havoc designations entered use. American service followed, creating a family whose development was shaped by several air forces rather than by a single domestic requirement. The combination of speed and offensive armament suited a range of tactical missions.[2]
The A-20G attack model
The A-20G entered combat in 1943 and became the most numerous version. Its solid nose carried forward-firing weapons instead of the earlier bombardier's glazing. Production of the G-model reached 2,850 aircraft before ending in September 1944. Wright R-2600 engines powered the type.[1]
In the Southwest Pacific, Havoc crews attacked Japanese airfields, ships and ground positions at low altitude. Gunfire could be combined with bombs during a single pass. Parachute-retarded fragmentation bombs, known as parafrags, were among the weapons used for this work.[1][2]
Service in the Southwest Pacific
The 312th Bomb Group converted to A-20Gs in the field after its personnel had initially trained on fighters. Its campaign took it from New Guinea to the Philippines. The National Museum of the United States Air Force preserves an A-20G painted to represent an aircraft of the group's 389th Bomb Squadron, linking the surviving machine to this operational history.[1]