If you've ever spent time looking at vintage warbirds, you’ve probably noticed something. People obsess over the Spitfire’s curves or the B-17’s sheer size. But the A-20 light bomber, known to the British as the Boston and to the Americans as the Havoc, usually gets pushed to the background. It’s a shame. Honestly, the A-20 was basically the Swiss Army knife of the Allied air forces. It wasn't just a bomber. It was a low-level strafer, a night fighter, and a reconnaissance platform that could outrun almost anything the Axis threw at it in 1941.
Douglas Aircraft Company really hit on something special here. They didn't just build a plane; they built a versatile beast that could take a beating and keep flying. It had these sleek, narrow lines that made it look fast even when it was sitting on the tarmac. And it was fast.
What Made the A-20 Light Bomber So Different?
Most people think of bombers as these lumbering giants. Not this one. The A-20 light bomber was designed around the idea of "attack." That meant flying low. Really low. We’re talking "propellers-chopping-the-grass" low.
The design featured a high-wing configuration and a tricycle landing gear, which was actually kind of a big deal at the time. Most planes back then were "tail-draggers." Having that third wheel under the nose meant pilots had a much better view while taxiing and taking off. It also made the plane much more stable on the rough, unpaved runways found in the Pacific or North Africa.
Power and Speed
The heart of the Havoc was its twin Wright R-2600 Cyclone engines. These weren't just engines; they were masterpieces of engineering that produced 1,600 horsepower each. When you've got that much power in a relatively light frame, you get performance that blurs the line between a bomber and a fighter. In the early years of the war, an A-20 could actually outrun a Messerschmitt Bf 109 in a shallow dive.
Imagine being a German or Japanese anti-aircraft gunner. You're used to aiming at high-altitude formations. Suddenly, four of these things scream over the treeline at 300 miles per hour. By the time you’ve even traversed your gun, they’re gone. That was the Havoc’s bread and butter.
The Evolution of the "Solid Nose"
Originally, the A-20 had a glass nose for a bombardier. Standard stuff. But then guys like Pappy Gunn in the Pacific started getting creative. They realized that if you're flying at fifty feet, you don't need a Norden bombsight. You need guns. Lots of them.
They started ripping out the glass and the bombing equipment. In its place, they stuffed as many as eight .50 caliber machine guns into a "solid nose."
It turned the A-20 light bomber into a flying shotgun.
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When an A-20G—the most produced variant—opened up with its forward-firing battery, it was delivering a weight of fire that could shred a destroyer's superstructure or turn a supply convoy into scrap metal in seconds. This shift in tactics changed the way the war was fought in the South West Pacific. Skip bombing became the new meta. Pilots would fly toward a ship at mast-height, "skip" a bomb across the water like a stone, and let the forward guns suppress the enemy's flak. It was incredibly dangerous. It was also incredibly effective.
Real World Performance: From Russia to the RAF
It’s easy to forget that the U.S. wasn't the only one using these. In fact, the Soviet Union received nearly 3,000 A-20s through Lend-Lease. That’s more than the Russians had of some of their own home-grown designs. Soviet pilots loved them. Why? Because they were reliable. They could handle the brutal Russian winters better than the temperamental Soviet engines of the time.
The Soviets used them for everything. Torpedo bombing? Check. Night bombing? Check. High-speed transport for VIPs? They did that too.
The British RAF used the Boston (their name for the A-20) during the dark days of 1941 and 1942. They used them for "intruder" missions—slipping over the English Channel at night to bomb German airfields just as their tired pilots were trying to land. It was psychological warfare as much as it was physical.
The Pilot’s Perspective
Ask any veteran pilot who flew the Havoc and they’ll mention the cockpit. It was narrow. You didn't sit in it so much as you wore it. But the visibility was unparalleled. Because you were sat so far forward of the wings, you had a panoramic view of the world rushing by.
It was a "pilot's airplane." It didn't have the heavy, sluggish controls of a B-25 Mitchell. It felt snappy. If you banked hard, it followed. If you needed to pull up to avoid a radio mast, it responded.
Why the A-20 is Often Overlooked
So, if it was so good, why does the B-26 Marauder or the B-25 get all the glory?
Part of it is branding. The B-25 had the Doolittle Raid. The B-26 had the reputation of being a "widow-maker" (which was largely unfair, but it stuck). The A-20 light bomber just went to work. It didn't have a singular, flashy cinematic moment. It just showed up every day, flew three missions, took some hits, got patched up with duct tape and aluminum, and did it again the next morning.
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Also, the A-20 was replaced toward the end of the war by its younger, faster brother: the A-26 Invader. The Invader took everything the Havoc did well and turned it up to eleven. By 1945, the A-20 was being phased out, which meant it wasn't the "face" of the final victory in the way the P-51 Mustang was.
Technical Nuances You Might Not Know
Let’s get into the weeds for a second.
One of the weirdest things about the A-20 was the rear gunner's station. In many models, the gunner was basically isolated in his own little bubble in the back. If the plane took a hit to the intercom, he was essentially on his own. In some versions, they even had a set of "emergency" flight controls back there. The idea was that if the pilot was incapacitated, the gunner could fly the plane home.
In reality? Trying to land a twin-engine bomber from a cramped rear station with limited instruments was a nightmare. There aren't many recorded instances of it actually working, but the fact that Douglas engineers thought of it tells you something about the "bring 'em back alive" philosophy of the design.
- Maximum Speed: Roughly 339 mph at 12,000 feet.
- Payload: Typically 2,000 lbs of bombs, though field mods often pushed this.
- Armament: Varied wildly, but the G-model had six to eight forward .50 cals and a power turret.
The landing gear was also a marvel of ruggedness. Unlike the delicate gear on some fighters, the Havoc’s legs were beefy. They had to be. Landing a 20,000-pound aircraft on a muddy strip in New Guinea required gear that wouldn't snap like a twig.
The Legend of "Pappy" Gunn and Innovation
You can't talk about the A-20 light bomber without mentioning Paul "Pappy" Gunn. He was a legendary figure in the 5th Air Force. He was a tinkerer. He hated the "official" manuals.
Gunn was the one who pioneered the field-modified nose. He’d walk around the hangars at Brisbane, scavenging parts from wrecked planes to turn his A-20s into more lethal machines. He proved that the airframe could handle much more weight than the engineers back in Santa Monica originally thought. This "field-expedient" engineering is a massive part of the A-20's legacy. It showed that the plane was over-built in the best way possible.
Surviving Examples Today
Sadly, because they were worked so hard, not many Havocs survived the scrap heaps after 1945. Most were simply flown to "boneyards" in the desert and melted down for their aluminum.
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Today, seeing a flying A-20 is a rare treat. The Lewis Air Legends collection and the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum are a couple of the few places where you can find these birds either flying or under meticulous restoration. When you see one in person, the first thing that strikes you is how small it feels compared to a B-17, but how aggressive its stance is. It looks like a predator.
Common Misconceptions About the Havoc
A lot of casual historians confuse the A-20 with the A-26. They look similar, but the A-26 is larger and has a much more complex wing design (laminar flow).
Another myth is that the A-20 was "easy" to fly. While it was responsive, the high wing loading meant that if you lost an engine on takeoff, you had a very short window to react before the plane flipped on you. It required a skilled hand. It wasn't a trainer; it was a high-performance weapon.
How the A-20 Changed Modern Aviation
The Havoc paved the way for the multi-role combat aircraft we see today. Before the A-20, you had "fighters" and you had "bombers." The A-20 proved that you could have one airframe that did five different jobs.
It taught the military the value of the "modular" nose concept—being able to swap a reconnaissance nose for a gun nose in a matter of hours. This is a philosophy that carries through to modern jets like the F-18 or the F-35.
Understanding the A-20's Impact
To truly appreciate this aircraft, you have to look past the stats and look at the mission logs. Whether it was supporting the D-Day landings by smoking out German coastal defenses or intercepting Japanese convoys in the Bismarck Sea, the Havoc was there. It was the plane that did the dirty work.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs and Modelers:
- Research Specific Tail Numbers: If you’re a modeler, don't just build a "generic" A-20. Look into the 417th or 412th Bombardment Groups. The nose art on these planes was some of the most creative of the war.
- Visit the National Museum of the USAF: They have a beautifully restored A-20G on display. Seeing the scale of the "solid nose" in person is the only way to understand its power.
- Study the Soviet Usage: Most English-language books ignore the Eastern Front. Look into Soviet archives for "Boston" operations; their tactics for low-level torpedo strikes were incredibly unique.
- Check Out "The Grim Reapers": Read up on the 3rd Attack Group. Their history is basically the history of the A-20 in the Pacific, and it’s full of first-hand accounts that bring the technical specs to life.
The A-20 light bomber wasn't just a placeholder in history. It was a bridge between the old way of flying and the modern era of multi-mission dominance. It was loud, it was fast, and it was undeniably effective. Next time you're at an airshow or reading a history book, look for the Havoc. It’s earned its spot in the limelight.