Canadian Warplanes 3: Douglas Boston

Douglas Boston, RCAF

(DND Photo via James Craik)

Douglas Boston Mk. III, (Serial No. BZ264(, ex-USAAF (Serial No. 42-33019), coded RH-B No. 88 Squadron, RAF. The Squadron had flown its first operation on 25 Aug 1943. She flew a total of 77 Ops with No. 88 Squadron, then moved to No. 342 Squadron, RAF, for 77 more and was SoC 15 Jun 1945. (David Poissant)

The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) was an American designed light twin-engined bomber.  In British Commonwealth service as flown by RCAF and RAF aircrews, its service name was Boston.  During the Second World War, 24 RAF squadrons operated the Boston, primarily in the Mediterranean and North African theatres. A total of 7,478 aircraft were built, of which more than a third served with Soviet units.

The RCAF acquired three Douglas A-20 Bostons for "special" research operations at Suffield, Alberta, from 1941 to 1946.

RCAF On Strength (3), Canadian Aircraft Losses (72). Detailed records of all known RCAF and Canadian casualties in the RAF during the Second World War may be viewed on line in the Canadian Aircraft Serials Personnel Information Resource (CASPIR). The CASPIR website is researched, coded, maintained entirely by Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (CWHM) volunteers with only one staff assisting periodically. This work has taken several years, and is unlikely to be finished as continuing research leads to “new finds” and rediscovered Canadian aviation heritage and history. The CWHM volunteer team looks forward to continuing to update and correct the record as additional information and photos are received. Check here.

The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) was an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of the Second World War. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was ordered by France for their air force before the USAAC decided it would also meet their requirements. French DB-7s were the first to see combat; after the fall of France the bomber, under the service name Boston continued with the Royal Air Force. From 1941, night fighter and intruder versions were given the service name Havoc. In 1942 USAAF A-20s saw combat in North Africa.

In most British Commonwealth air forces, the bomber variants were known as 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. In March 1936, a design team headed by Donald Douglas, Jack Northrop, and Ed Heinemann produced a proposal for a bomber-reconnaissance aircraft powered by a pair of 450 hp (340 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engines mounted on a shoulder wing. It was estimated to be capable of 250 mph (400 km/h) with a 680 lb (310 kg) bomb load. Reports of aircraft performance from the Spanish Civil War indicated that this design would be seriously underpowered, and it was canceled.

A-20A In 1937, the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) issued a new specification for an attack aircraft. To meet this requirement, the Douglas team, now headed by Heinemann, developed the Model 7B, with a similar layout to the 7A, but was powered by 1,100 hp (820 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C3-G Twin Wasp engines, and carried a heavier bombload (up to 2,000 lb (910 kg)). It faced competition from the North American NA-40, Stearman X-100, Martin 167F, and an unbuilt design from Bell Aircraft, the Model 9. The Air Corps invited all five companies to build prototypes at their own expense and to submit sealed bids for production of their aircraft.

The prototype Model 7B made its first flight on 26 October 1938. The model attracted the attention of a French Purchasing Commission visiting the United States. The French discreetly participated in the flight trials, so as not to attract criticism from American isolationists. The Model 7B crashed on 23 January 1939 while demonstrating single-engine performance, killing the test pilot and seriously injuring a French observer aboard the aircraft. The presence of a foreigner on a test flight for an aircraft still under development caused a scandal in the press. Despite the crash, the French were impressed enough to place an order for 100 production aircraft on 15 February 1939, following this up with an order for 170 more in October 1939.

As a result of the French order, Heinemann carried out another major redesign of the aircraft. While the design's wings were largely unchanged, the revised design had a new deeper but narrower fuselage, which accommodated a crew of three, a pilot, bombardier and a gunner. The wing was mounted lower than on the Model 7B, while the engines, 1,000 hp (750 kW) R-1830-SC3-Gs, were mounted in nacelles slung under the wings. Normal bomb load was 1,410 lb (640 kg), or 1,800 lb (800 kg) in overload conditions, with a defensive armament of single 7.5mm MAC 1934 machine guns in dorsal and ventral mounts and four fixed forward-firing guns in the nose. The revised aircraft, the DB-7, first flew on 17 August 1939.

In 1939, the USAAC decided that the new bomber was best placed to meet its requirements for an attack bomber, which had been updated in 1938 from those that gave rise to the Model 7B, and in June 1939, it ordered 186 aircraft powered by Wright R-2600 engines, under the designations A-20 and A-20A (with the A-20s having 1,700 hp (1,300 kW) turbosupercharged R-2600-7 engines and the A-20As having 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) supercharged R-2600-3 or -11 engines. These had a larger vertical tail to cope with the increased power of the Wright engines, had a longer nose to give more room for the bombardier/navigator, and carried more fuel. R-2600 powered aircraft also proved popular for export, with France ordering 100 DB-7As powered by the R-2600 but with the short nose of the DB-7 in October 1939, and 480 long-nosed DB-73s, equivalent to the A-20A, in April 1940 and Great Britain ordering 300 DB-7Bs, again equivalent to the A-20A in February and April 1940.

In a report to the British Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (AAEE) at RAF Boscombe Down, test pilots summed it up as: "has no vices and is very easy to take off and land ... The aeroplane represents a definite advantage in the design of flying controls ... extremely pleasant to fly and manoeuvre." Ex-pilots often consider it their favorite aircraft of the war due to the ability to toss it around like a fighter. The Douglas bomber/night fighter was found to be extremely adaptable and found a role in every combat theater of the war, and excelled as a true "pilot's aeroplane".

When DB-7 series production finally ended on 20 September 1944, a total of 7,098 had been built by Douglas and a further 380 by Boeing. Douglas redesigned its Santa Monica plant to create a mechanized production line to produce A-20 Havocs. The assembly line was over a mile long (6,100 feet), but by looping back and forth, fitted into a building that was only 700 feet long. Man-hours were reduced by 50% for some operations while production tripled. October of 1940, the USAAC adopted converted Douglas A-20 Havocs as P-70 night fighters. The RCAF acquired three Douglas A-20 Bostons for "special" research operations at Suffield, Alberta, from 1941 to 1946.

No. 418 "City of Edmonton" (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, was formed overseas at Debden, Essex, England on 15 Nov 1941. It was the RCAF's only Intruder squadron and flew the Douglas Boston and de Havilland Mosquito on day and night-intruder operations deep into enemy territory. No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron claimed 178 enemy aircraft and 79-1/2 V-1 flying bombs destroyed, making it the top-scoring unit of the RCAF. The leading individual score was Squadron Leader Russell Bannock, with 11 aircraft and 18-1/2 V-1s. He was also the squadron's CO from 10 Oct - 22 Nov 1944. Wikipedia and Harold A Skaarup web page

On 21 Nov, No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron was transferred to close support work with the Second Tactical Air Force in the Low Countries. The squadron was disbanded at Volkel, in the Netherlands on 7 Sep 1945.

No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron Douglas Boston Mk. III, were flown from Nov 1941 to Jul 1943.

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No. 418 "City of Edmonton" (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, was formed overseas at Debden, Essex, England on 15 Nov 1941.  It was the RCAF's only Intruder squadron and flew the Douglas Boston and de Havilland Mosquito on day and night-intruder operations deep into enemy territory.  No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron claimed 178 enemy aircraft and 79-1/2 V-1 flying bombs destroyed, making it the top-scoring unit of the RCAF.  The leading individual score was Squadron Leader Russell Bannock, with 11 aircraft and 18-1/2 V-1s.  He was also the squadron's CO from 10 Oct - 22 Nov 1944.

On 21 Nov, No. 418 Intruder) Squadron was transferred to close support work with the Second Tactical Air Force in the Low Countries.  The squadron was disbanded at Volkel, in the Netherlands on 7 Sep 1945.

No. 418 Intruder) Squadron Douglas Boston Mk. III, were flown from Nov 1941 to Jul 1943.  Some of the squadron's aircraft were (Serial No. W8263) coded P, (Serial No. W8268), coded TH-O, (Serial No. W8317), coded V, (Serial No. W8321), coded G, (Serial No. W8356) coded D, (Serial No. Z2165), coded TH-X, (Serial No. Z2192) coded Z, and (Serial No. Z2226) coded K.

(IWM Photo, CH 1106)

Douglas Boston Mk. I (Serial No. AE458), at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, in the UK, during an inspection of new American aircraft for the RAF by the Duke of Kent.  AE458 was one of sixteen aircraft diverted to Britain from an ex-Belgian contract, and served as a crew trainer with No. 18 and No. 88 Squadrons, RAF.

(CFJIC, DND Photo PL 7292 via Don Smith)

Douglas Boston Mk. III (Intruder), (Serial No. W8317), coded TH-S, "Victoria", No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, cNov 1941-Jul 1943.

(CFJIC, DND Photo PL 7297 via Don Smith)

Douglas Boston Mk. III (Intruder), (Serial No.Z2240), coded TH-T, "Toronto", No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, cNov 1941-Jul 1943.

(Benoit Thibault Photo)

Douglas Boston, H for Humbolt, Saskatchewan, RCAF.

(Benoit Thibault Photo)

Douglas Boston, H for Humbolt, Saskatchewan, RCAF.

(Benoit Thibault Photo)

Douglas Boston, formation, RCAF.

(DND Photo, PL-15875 via James Craik)

Douglas Boston Mk. III formation, No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, c1941-1943.

(IWM Photo, CH 7213)

Douglas Boston Mk. III (Serial No. Z2165), coded TH-X, No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF.  Z2165 was lost on the night of  30 Nov-1  Dec 1942 while carrying out a combined intruder and leaflet dropping sortie (code named Nickle) in the Thorout and Roulers area of Western Flanders in Belgium.  The three-man crew's remains were never found.  Their names are inscribed on the Runnymede War Memorial at Englefied Green, Egham, Surrey, England.  At the time of the loss, the squadron was based at Bradwell Bay, Essex and part of Royal Air Force Fighter Command.  It was lead by RAF Wing Commander A. E. Saunders. The squadron operated the Boston from Nov 1941 to Jul 1943 when it was replaced by the de Havilland Mosquito Mk. II.

Pilot – R87408 Flight Sergeant Merton Ralph Lockwood, Royal Canadian Air Force, age 21 years old from Pinkham, Saskatchewan.  Observer – 1126894 Sergeant Robert Valentine Ievers, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.  Wireless Operator /Air Gunner (WAG) - R69145 Sergeant John Joseph Graham Chabot, Royal Canadian Air Force, age 25 from Coniston, Ontario.

(Library of Congress Photo, LC-USW361-203)

Douglas A-20C-BO Havoc (Serial No. 635), at Langley Field, Virginia, USA, July 1942.  This Havoc was license built under the Lend-Lease-Agreement for the Royal Air Force, although most of these aircraft were diverted to the USAAF.

(Library of Congress Photo, LC-USW36-407)

Douglas A-20C-BO Havoc (Serial No. 635), at Langley Field, Virginia, USA, July 1942.  This Havoc was license built under the Lend-Lease-Agreement for the Royal Air Force, although most of these aircraft were diverted to the USAAF.

(Library of Congress Photo, LC-USE6-D-008556)

Douglas A-20C-BO Havoc, painted as an RAF Boston, c1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224857)

Douglas Boston and Lockheed Hudson aircraft of RAF Ferry Command en route to Britain, May 1943.

(Library of Congress Photo, LC-USE6- D-008569)

Douglas A-20C-BO Havoc, painted as an RAF Boston, ca 1942.

(IWM Photo CH 9502)

Douglas Boston Mk. III (Intruder), (Serial No. W8317), coded TH-S, No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, parked at Ford, Sussex in the UK at nightfall.  Canvas covers are protecting the glazed nose and the front of the engine cowlings.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3378925)

Douglas Boston Mk. IIIs, No. 88 Squadron, RAF, on the flight line preparing for the Raid on Dieppe, 19 Aug 1942.

(IWM Photo CH 7210)

Douglas Boston Mk. III (Intruder), No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, coded TH-C, taxiing at Bradwell Bay, Essex, prior to a night intruder raid over France, Sep 1942.  No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, operated Douglas Boston Mk. IIIs on night intruder sorties from Bradwell Bay.  Its usual targets were Luftwaffe airfields, the French railway system and occasionally factory buildings.  The aircraft in the photograph carry ventral fuselage gun packs housing four 20-mm cannon.

(IWM Photo CH 7211)

Douglas Boston Mk. III (Intruder), No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, illuminated by a Chance Light by the runway at Bradwell Bay, Essex, prepares to take off on a night intruder mission over North-west Europe, ca 1942.  No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, led by Russ Bannock and Johny Caine (Edmonton), achieved more RCAF air to ground and air to air kills, than all other Canadian squadrons.  The squadron was later equipped with Mosquitoes.  The squadrons score included 173 aircraft destroyed of which 73 were on the ground, 9 probables, 103 damaged, 76 V-1's destroyed over water, and 7 V-1's destroyed over England.  No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron dropped 56 tons of bombs, destroyed 17 locomotives and damaged 59 locomotives, with 52 freight and passenger cars destroyed or derailed and 300 motor vehicles destroyed.

(RCAF Photo)

Douglas DB-7B Boston pair in flight, RCAF.

(RAF Photo)

Douglas DB-7B Boston.

(RCAF Photo)

Douglas Boston (Serial No. HJ496), RCAF.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4900126)

Douglas Boston Mk. III, coded T for Toronto, No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, with nine airmen, six of whom are from Toronto.  L-R: Sgt. H. J. Irving, Sgt. G. M. Riches, Sgt. J. W. Hutchison, Sgt. J. E. C. Pringle, P/O D. Duxfield (Timmins, Ontario), P/O E. Keyes (Ottwa, Ontario), Sgt. J. Field, Sgt. J. Sharples, and Sgt. G. Chabot (Sudbury, Ontario).  Photo taken at RAF Station Debden, Essex in the UK, Feb 1942.

(NDIL Photo PL-7295)

Douglas Boston Mk. III,  No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, "B" Flight, taken at their home, RAF Station Debden, Essex in the UK, Feb 1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4938597)

Douglas Boston Mk. III (Serial No. W8358), No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, at RAF Debden, England.

(RCAF Photo)

Douglas Boston Mk. IV (Serial No. W8268), coded TH-O, "Ottawa, Ontario", No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, ca Nov-Dec 1941.

(RCAF Photo courtesy of the Shearwater Aviation Museum)

Douglas Boston Mk. IV (Serial No. W8268), coded TH-O, "Ottawa, Ontario", No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3378722)

Douglas Boston with an RCAF crewman who took part in Operation Jubilee, the Raid on Dieppe, 19 August 1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4900124)

Douglas Boston dorsal turret gunner.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4900054)

Douglas Boston pair, No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, 14 May 1943.

(World War Photos)

Douglas DB-7B Boston Mk. III, No. 107 Squadron, RAF.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4931950)

No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron briefing in England.  From left to right: Flying Officer F. W. Halwood, Flight Lieutenant Massey Beveridge, Wing Commander Paul Davoud, Flying Officer Doug Alcorn, Squadron Leader Charles Moran, Flying Officer L.E.S. Spackman, Flying Officer James Johnson, Flight Lieutenant H. Lisson.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4880515)

No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron members inscribing their names on linen, indicating each member of the Squadron on VE Day. From Left to Right, Flight Lieutenant C. Redeker, Flight Lieutenat A. G. Eckert, Flying Officer M. Zimmer.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 44993934)

S/L C.C. Moran with F/O O. Martin, No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF.

(RCAF Photo)

Squadron Leader Russell William Bannock, Order of Ontario, DSO, DFC, (1 Nov 1919 – 4 Jan 2020), flew as a Canadian fighter pilot during the Second World War (photo taken in 1944), and served as the chief test pilot for de Havilland Canada.

Bannock was born in Edmonton, Alberta in 1919, and worked as a commercial pilot before the Second World War, obtaining his private pilot's license in 1938 and his commercial pilot's license in 1939.  

After entering the RCAF, Bannock received his pilot's wings in 1940 and was appointed as an instructor at Trenton, Ontario.  Later he was posted to RAF Ferry Command from June to August 1942.  In September 1942, Bannock became chief instructor with the Flying Instructor School at Arnprior in Ontario.  Bannock's request for overseas service was granted in 1944 and he joined 60 Operational Training Unit (OTU) based in RAF High Ercall, England.

In June 1944, Bannock was then transferred to No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron, RCAF, flying intruder missions over Europe with the de Havilland Mosquito Mk. VI fighter-bomber.  He quickly proved adept at this type of operation and achieved his first victories.  In October 1944, he was promoted to Wing Commander and took command of the squadron.  Bannock also flew 'Diver' operations against the German V-1 flying bombs launched against London and southern England.  On one mission he shot down four V-1s in one hour.  A bar was added to his DFC for his missions against the V-1s.

Bannock was transferred to No. 406 Squadron, RCAF in Nov 1944 as commanding officer, and was awarded the DSO.  By April 1945, Bannock had destroyed 11 enemy aircraft (including 2 on the ground), 4 damaged in the air and 19 V-1's destroyed.  Bannock became Director of Operations, RCAF Overseas Headquarters, in London in May 1945 until Sep 1945 when he attended the Royal Air Force Staff College.

Retiring from the RCAF in 1946, Bannock joined the de Havilland Canada Aircraft Company as chief test pilot, flying prototypes like the Beaver and various short take-off and landing aircraft.  In 1950, Bannock became Director of Military Sales and later Vice President and President from 1976 to 1978.  In 1968, he formed his own consulting business, Bannock Aerospace Ltd.

In 1956, Bannock was appointed an associate fellow of the Canadian Aeronautical Institute.  He was also chairman of the Canadian Aerospace Industries Association’s Export Committee 1964-1968, and was a director from 1976-1977.  Bannock was also President of the Canadian Fighter Pilots Association, Director of the Canadian Industrial Preparedness Association, and the Canadian Exporters Association.

In the late 1990s, his wartime navigator, Robert Bruce, recorded his Symphony in B flat, dedicated to Bannock and in part inspired by the night sorties they flew together.  In 2011, he was made a member of the Order of Ontario "for his contributions to the aerospace industry".  Bannock died at a hospital in Toronto in January 2020 at the age of 100.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 5219147)

Douglas Boston Mk. IV (Serial No. BZ447), ex-USAF (Serial No. 43-21444)), No. 88 Squadron, RAF, still in post D-Day invasion stripes, equipped with a Martin 250CE upper turret, 15 July 1944. Struck off Charge 21 Feb 46. Likely scrapped. In July, in response to complaints from reconnaissance units of compromised camouflage, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) ordered the invasion stripes be removed from all upper surfaces. The stripes were completely removed in August 1944.

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(Author Photo)

Martin 250CE upper turret, on display inside the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum,  Pooler, South Carolina, 15 March 2019.

(USAAF Photo)

Very rare to see the Boston with equipped with a Martin 250CE upper turret. I found this USAAF Douglas A-20 Havoc with one.

(Soviet Air Force Photo)

Douglas A-20 Havoc equipped with a Martin 250CE upper turret in Russian service. The USSR received just under 3,000 examples from the USA as part of the Lend-Lease program. The Soviet Union operated more A-20s than any other country. At Stalingrad, the Kuban, Kurk, and during the Soviet Union’s enormous offensives in 1944 and 1945 that  brought the Red Army to Berlin, A-20s were used effectively by Soviet forces as medium bombers, reconnaissance aircraft, ground attack aircraft, heavy night fighters, and high-speed transports. The Havoc was also widely used as a torpedo bomber with the Soviet Navy, where it had an impressive service record against German ships and submarines.

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