With war approaching America knew it would be called upon to aid their Allies so a new aircraft to be the new attack-bomber. The prototype flew in December 1938 with the first production aircraft flew on August 17, 1939. Production ran until September 1944 with 7,478 aircraft built. During WWII these were supplied to French, British, Australian, Dutch and Soviet forces as well as their own U.S. forces.
The men of the 312th BG had originally been trained on the P-40 but found themselves transitioning to the A-20G Havoc. The unit was called the “Roarin’ 20s” because of their goal was to roar across the Pacific and drive the Japanese back. Combat crews weren’t happy with the fire power so they began to field-modify the aircraft by getting rid of the bombardier position and replacing the glass nose with .50 caliber machine guns. So soon after Douglas began building aircraft with these modifications creating the A-20G.
Douglas DB-7 Boston / A-20 Havoc Role - Light Bomber Variants - A,B,C,G,H,J,K First Flight - October 26 , 1938 Entered Service - 1939 Manufacturing Period - 1939 - 1944 Number Built All Variants - 7,098 Douglas A-20G, J, K (Boston V) specifications Crew - 3 Powerplants K - same as the “J” variant except for the powerplants, R-2600-29s instead of R-2600-23s found on the “J” G and J - 2 X Wright R-2600-23 Double Cyclone 14 cylinder twin-row air-cooled w/two-speed superchargers rated @ 1,600 hp for take-off, 1,400 hp @ 10,000 ft Performance Speed G and J - Maximum - 339 mph @ 12,400 ft, 317 mph @ 10,000 ft Cruise G - 230 - 272 mph J - 257 mph Initial Climb Rate - G and J / 1,300 fpm Time to 10,000 feet G - 7.1 minutes J - 8.8 minutes Service Ceiling G - 25,800 ft J - 23,100 ft Range With 2,000 lbs of bombs @ 238 mph G - 1,025 miles J - 1,000 miles Maximum Ferry Range G - 2,035 miles J - 2,100 miles
Weights Empty G - 17,200 lbs J - 17,117 lbs Normal Combat Take-off G - 24,000 lbs J - 23,748 lbs Maximum Combat - G and J / 27,200 lbs Maximum G - 30,000 lbs J - 27,000 lbs
Dimensions G and J Length - 48 ft Wingspan - 61 ft 4 in Height - 17 ft 7 in
Armament G 6 X forward-firing 0.50 Colt-Browning machine guns in the nose, 350 rpg 2 X .050 inch machine guns in the dorsal power turret, 400 rpg 1 X 0.50 inch machine gun in ventral tunnel position, 400 rpg Models prior to A-20G-20-DO - 2 0.50 inch machine guns on a flexible dorsal mount Maximum internal bomb-load - 2,000 lbs in split bomb bay + On later models - an additional 2,000 lbs on four under-wing hard-points Armament J 2 X forward-firing 0.50-inch machine guns in lower fuselage 2 X .050 inch machine guns in the dorsal power turret, 400 rpg 1 X 0.50 inch machine gun in ventral tunnel position, 400 rpg Maximum internal bomb-load - 2,000 lbs in split bomb bay + On later models - an additional 2,000 lbs on four under-wing hard-points
Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA4210 Douglas A-20G Havoc “Little Joe” 43-21475, 389th BS, 312th BG, 5th AF, early 1945
True 1/72 scale. Professionally painted. Great attention to detail. All markings are Tampoed (pad applied). Option to display the model on a stand that is provided. Model can be shown with the landing gear in the down or up positions. Canopy can be removed to place figures inside. Figures included. Dorsal turret can turn. Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic. Highly collectable.
Added to archive | 2020-01-25 |
Last modified | 2020-01-25 |
Leaflet | 2020-03-01 March 2020 |