Plane Type? 2

[tocaff]

What is it?

[m10bob]

An early modified Douglas A 20,(converted from a DB 7)

[tocaff]

It's a Boston A-20C.

[Prince of Eckmühl]

ORIGINAL: tocaff

What is it?

tocaff, you're inadvertantly fouling up your quiz by attaching images that include the a/c type in the filename.

PoE (aka ivanmoe)

[tocaff]

Yeah, I realized that.  It doesn't show unless you click the attachment.

[Howard Mitchell]

It's an odd one, looks like a field conversion. Seems to have 3 x 0.5" in the nose and most of the nose perspex is painted over, except perhaps for the flat bombadier's panel. Any more details of this particular machine tocaff?

[tocaff]

Sorry Howard, but the site was light on info.

I think that people tend to forget that the fighting man is an individual who will adapt his gear to doing the task at hand in a better fashion, as he sees it, that a far off factory.  The US military is famous for such things and often a unit's TOE was actually less that what it had, omitting combat loses.

[Howard Mitchell]

The USAAF in the Pacific especially was famous for modifying its aircraft in the field, with lots of improvements they made being picked up by the manufacturers and incorporated into the designs at the factory - a good example is the blister guns on the B-25. Thanks for the picture Todd.

[Reg]

ORIGINAL: Howard Mitchell

It's an odd one, looks like a field conversion. Seems to have 3 x 0.5" in the nose and most of the nose perspex is painted over, except perhaps for the flat bombadier's panel. Any more details of this particular machine tocaff?

Code: Select all

KIRIWINA, TROBRIAND ISLANDS, PAPUA. C. 1943-12. GROUND CREW OF NO. 22 (BOSTON) SQUADRON RAAF WITH AN 
 AIRCRAFT STRIPPED FOR AN INSPECTION. LEFT TO RIGHT: SERGEANT A. EDMOND, NEWCASTLE, NSW; LEADING AIRCRAFTMAN (LAC)
  D. C. PIDDINGTON, GOONDIWINDI, QLD; LAC K. J. HEANEY, MELBOURNE, VIC; CORPORAL H. M. NISBET, MELBOURNE, VIC; LAC
  D. R. LAMOND, WA; LAC B. B. GARLAND, TAMWORTH, NSW; LAC W. HEWSON, LOCKHART, NSW; LAC L. H. JOHNS, HILLSTON, NSW 
 (ON TOP); LAC H. M. HANN, WOODBURN, NSW; LAC A. K. GLASSE, NORTH SYDNEY, NSW.

[size=-2]Boston, Mitchell & Liberator in Australian Service, Stewart Wilson, 1992.[/size]

Nine A-20Cs arrived in Australia from the USA in September of 1943. They were assigned the serials A28-23 through 31. They required substantial work to make them operational, and did not fly their first missions until mid-October. The serial numbers of these planes were as follows:

A28-23 Ex-USAAF A-20C-5-DO 42-33154
A28-24 Ex-USAAF A-20C-5-DO 42-33163
A28-25 Ex-USAAF A-20C-5-DO 42-33172
A28-26 Ex-USAAF A-20C-5-DO 42-33180
A28-27 Ex-USAAF A-20C-5-DO 42-33134
A28-28 Ex-USAAF A-20C-5-DO 42-33142
A28-29 Ex-USAAF A-20C-10-DO 42-33211
A28-30 Ex-USAAF A-20C-5-DO 42-33174
A28-31 Ex-USAAF A-20C-5-DO 42-33168

... The A-20Cs delivered to Australia retained the standard American armament when delivered.

It's not possible to see which particular aircraft this is though A28-26 and A28-29 had been written off prior to this date.

From the above quotes it's not clear whether an armament change was made during the 'substantial work' on the A-20Cs but the RAAF DB-7B (Boston III) aircraft A28-01 to A28-22 certainly were converted from glass nose to attack variants by No.1 Aircraft Depot in Melbourne with the replacement of the glazed with aluminum panels and the addition of 4 x 0.50 cal guns in the nose. There are plenty of before and after shots floating around.

[Reg]

A well worn DB-7B (Boston III) A32-9 "She's Apples" showing its additional guns and painted aluminum panels. This picture was taken about the same time as the one above.

[thegreatwent]

I am somehow reminded of the Millennium Falcon quote "You came here in that thing? Your braver than I thought"[:D]

[JeffroK]

ORIGINAL: thegreatwent

I am somehow reminded of the Millennium Falcon quote "You came here in that thing? Your braver than I thought"[:D]

?

Capable of 250+ mph and carrying 7+ forward firing 50cals and a load of parafrag bombs these were a very effective aircraft.

[Howard Mitchell]

Thanks for the extra information folks - knowing it is Australian (should have known from the ground crew) I found much more through google.

[kingpanel]

There are all type of materials used in the fabrication of aircraft. Depending on the type of aircraft, it will range from jiyu Aluminum to Titanium to Stainless Steel, to fabric, etc etc.

[zakblood]

you missed out wood as a lot of planes in ww2 were wood based or had wood in them[:D]

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British multi-role combat aircraft with a two-man crew. It served during and after the Second World War. It was one of few operational front-line aircraft of the era constructed almost entirely of wood and was nicknamed The Wooden Wonder