Havoc Illustrated: Douglas A-20 Boston/Havoc Illustrated Kindle Edition

Quoting Shakespear; Marc Antony, in predicting revenge for the assassination of Juluis Ceasar, said: “Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war”The Douglas A-20 Havoc was anything but a dog, serving in all theaters of WWII, throughout the war. It was somewhat eclipsed in fame by the B-25, but was nonetheless an important medium bomber and attack airplane for USAAF and the allied air forces of the Russia, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and France. Its design was so straightforward that it became adaptable to upgrades and changes of mission, inspiring nearly 30 different versions. It was a low-level strafer and bomber of Japanese airfields, troops, and shipping in the Pacific. It was an effective medium bomber and strafer in the ETO and was one of the most important bombers for the Soviet air force that resisted and then defeated the German invasion of Russia. The Havoc/Boston looked like a bomber and was often described as such, but its single pilot and great handling characteristics lent themselves to fighter-like missions and it became one of the most effective low-level attack airplanes of World War II, wreaking havoc on Axis forces on land and at sea.Though color photography was becoming more prevalent during World War II, it was still not the standard it would later become, so most of the images herein are black and white. That is not the case for the very colorful and prevalent advertising and recruiting efforts of the war years. Illustrators were the story-tellers of the day and they were used extensively in advertising and in recruiting and war bond sales efforts. I have included several of those great illustrations to provide a feel for the war years. Read more