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In this image, the newly constructed glass noses of several dozen A-20 ‘Havoc’ bombers shimmer under the factory lights at the Douglas Aircraft Company’s production plant in Long Beach, California.
The picture was taken in October 1942 by Alfred Palmer, a photographer for the United States Office of War Infor-mation (OWI), a propaganda agency that coordinated all the news the American public received about the war.
Palmer specialised in capturing the American war economy in full swing, and the Douglas Aircraft Company was truly one of the powerhouses of military manufacturing during the conflict, with its vast workforce of 160,000 men and women producing some 30,000 aircraft between 1942 and 1945.
Construction of the A-20, designated ‘DB-7’ by Douglas, began in the late 1930s following an order from the French government for 100 aircraft. Only 64 were delivered before the capitulation of France in the summer of 1940. From around this time, the type also served with the Royal Air Force under the service name ‘Boston’, in keeping with the RAF’s tradition of naming aircraft after cities.
The A-20 was quickly recognised as a highly versatile machine, and production ramped up significantly fol-lowing America’s entry into the war. It earned the name ‘Havoc’ from the USAAF for its ability to cause widespread destruction in low-level air attacks.
So dependable were the bombers that they served on a wide variety of missions for all the major Allied air forces in every theatre of the war. Along with service during the fall of France and the later invasion of Normandy, A-20s saw significant action in North Africa, the Middle East, the Soviet Union, and Japan. The official history of the American air forces credits the A-20 as a major factor in the outcome of the Pacific War.
In addition to the Douglas Aircraft Company, Boeing subsequently picked up production of the Havocs. Later variants, such as the A-20G (produced in larger numbers than any other model) replaced the glass noses seen here with a sturdier metal frontage. Ultimately, almost 7,500 A-20s were built during the war, although relatively few survive today.
Along with the A-20, Douglas produced many other iconic warbirds during the period, including the SBD Dauntless dive-bomber and, as part of a consortium with Boeing, the mighty B-17 Flying Fortress.
Text: Calum Henderson Image: Wikimedia Commons
