WOW414 A-20 Havoc

Description

The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) was an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II.

Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was ordered by France for their air force before the USAAF 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 1940, the US military’s indifference to the type was overcome by improvements made for the French and British Commonwealth air forces.

The USAAC was impressed enough by the A-20A’s high power to weight ratio and easy handling characteristics. Two variants were ordered, in a tranche of more than 200 aircraft: the A-20 for high-altitude daylight bombing and the A-20A for low- and medium-altitude missions. It was intended that the high-altitude variant would be fitted with turbosupercharged Wright R-2600-7 engines; after a prototype suffered technical problems, the USAAC changed its order and an initial shipment of 123 A-20As (with less-powerful R-2600-3 engines) and 20 A-20s (R-2600-11) entered service in early 1941. A further 59 aircraft from this first order were received as P-70 night fighters, with two-stage supercharged R-2600-11 engines.

This is a 1/32 scale model with the markings of Little Chief, an aircraft that served with the 90th bomber group and is priced at $1100 plus postage.