ADF-SERIALS
Australian & New Zealand Military Aircraft Serials & History
RAAF A28 Douglas DB-7B, A-20A, A-20C & A20G Boston

Australia’s association with the Boston was initiated by events in the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch Navy had ordered 80 DB-7 Boston’s from the US in a frantic attempt to modernise the MLD before the war with Japan. Of this order 32 were DB-7B’s diverted from a British order and 48 were DB-7C’s build to a Dutch spec with interchangeable solid 4 x 20mm cannon noses and bomb aimer noses with automatic deploying life rafts and equipped to carry torpedoes. These 48 DB-7C’s were not completed before the fall of the Dutch East Indies and were completed to DB-7B specs and delivered to the USSR. Of the 32 DB-7B’s dispatched from the US only six were to make it to Java before the Dutch capitulation and only one was made flyable. The Japanese subsequently captured these six and got 2 and possibly 3 of them flying, two with the JAAF test unit and one with the IJNAF test unit. This last aircraft (AL904) was recovered at Atsugi naval air base in Japan after the war. Of the remaining 26 , four still on freighters in the Pacific when the Dutch East Indies fell returned to the US and these aircraft were taken on as training aircraft with the USAAF. The remaining 22 on five refuge ships landed in Australia after the fall and these 22 DB-7B Boston III’s were to become the nucleolus of 22 Sqn and the first of 69 Boston’s to be operated by the RAAF. These unwanted and un expected aircraft were to be the RAAF’s premium strike/ attack aircraft for almost two years until large numbers of Beaufighters became available.

The 22 DB-7B’s landed in Australia in March 1942 were assembled at 1AD Laverton and 2 AD Richmond and issued to 22 Sqn from April 1942 onwards. For a short time 10 were issued to 18 Sqn RAAF (NEI) but the Dutch no longer wanted the Boston’s as there range was too short and opted for B-25’s instead. These 10 returned to 22 Sqn. The Sqn carried out anti sub patrols along the NSW coast as they prepared for deployment to PNG in Nov 1942. Operations were delayed as the aircraft were put thru a modification program to convert them to strafers with 4 x .50 machine guns added to the existing 4 x .303 machine guns in the nose to turn them into formidable attack aircraft.  Four aircraft were lost before operations started and two were lost very early into ops as 20Ib anti–personnel bombs blew up under the aircraft destroying them and killing there crews , while one other was lost to this cause during training  for operations. The Sqn was to operate at a hectic rate right through 1943, including participating in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea and multiple raids on Lae and Salamaua, culminating in the Award of the V.C. to Flt Lt W.E (Bill) Newton for two destructive raids on Salamaua on 16 Mar 1943 in A28-7 (H) and the mission he was shot down on 18 Mar 1943 in A28-3 (C). By October 1943 the Sqn was in a desperate situation with aircraft and down to six operational Boston’s, this was rectified by a transfer of A-20A’s from the 89^th BS 3rd BG and used A-20C’s from the US.

The Boston was not ordered or wanted by RAAF. A command a memo in May 1942 stated the Boston was only an interim aircraft until Vultee Vengeance ordered by the RAAF arrived and as Boston’s were lost they were to be replaced by Wirraway’s. Another memo issued by RAAF HQ in December 1942 to the Sqn stated that 22 Boston torpedo kits had been found and were ready at 2AD. The Sqn quietly forgot about this and continued in the strike/attack role they proved so efficient at.

 

By the time the A-20C’s arrived at 22 Sqn in October 1943 the Sqn was down to Six operational aircraft and at the point of being ineffective. The A-20C’s delivered to the RAAF were part of the P-70 conversion program where approx 50 A-20C’s were earmarked for conversion to P-70A-1. 39 aircraft were converted and 9 surplus aircraft were made available to the RAAF. These aircraft were unique in that they had 5 x .50 machine guns in the nose. Two where the 4 x .30 machine guns were usually placed in the cheek positions without blisters and  three mounted above the bomb aimers glass which was retained in the nose , to give a total of 5 x .50 machine guns in the nose. Also a strike camera was mounted behind the retained bomb aimers glass, these aircraft had long range tanks fitted and a .50 machine gun in the upper and lower gunners positions instead of the twin .30 and single .30 in each position.

These aircraft were delivered and operated in the standard US colour scheme of Olive Drab over Neutral Grey, except  A28-25 DU-N  which appears in pictures to have been repainted in Dark Green and Dark Earth over Sky or Grey as was the scheme of the DB-7B’s. These long range aircraft allowed the tempo of Sqn operations to increase in number and range over a larger area. 3 were lost on ops or training and A28-31 was retained in Australia as a training and test aircraft. It was also the only Boston to be painted in the later war Scheme of all over Foliage Green and the only one fitted with tropical filters.

All the A-20C’s were converted to components (scrapped) in late 44 early 45.

The issue of the 9 x A-20A’s to the RAAF came about from an agreement with 5^th AF HQ in May 43 that when the 89^th BS 3^rd BG A-20 numbers dropped below a strength of 15 aircraft the remainder would transfer to 22 Sqn and the 89^th BS convert to B-25’s. This happened in September 43 and in October the remaining A-20’s in US service in PNG transferred to RAAF control. This left 22 Sqn as the only A-20/Boston unit in New Guinea till Jan 44. These aircraft were all battle weary and all had flown in excess of 60 + missions with the 3^rd BG. They were serviced and brought up to RAAF specifications although only about 4 were to serve with 22 Sqn. The remainder were kept on strength of 15 ARD as training and attrition aircraft. In fact only 2 combat missions were flown by A-20A’s in 22 Sqn. A28-39 was sent to Australia were it was used as a test and training aircraft .

The A-20A’s were operated in the Standard US scheme of Olive Drab over Neutral Grey except A28-34 DU-B which was repainted in the std RAAF scheme of the DB-7B’s of Dark Green and Dark Brown over Sky/Grey and A28-39 which was stripped of all paint and had all amour and armament removed at 3AD and operated in natural metal. All the A-20A’s were converted to components (scrapped) in late 44 early 45. Except A28-39 which was to remain as a training airframe till scrapped in 1948 being the last Boston on RAAF system.

The introduction of the A-20G completely changed the look of 22 Sqn. The Squadron was once again down to less than 10 operational aircraft by mid 1944 and badly needed replacement aircraft. With the influx of large numbers of A-20G’s to form 12 US A-20 Sqn’s in early 1944 the US was able to spare sufficient numbers of new A-20G’s on loan to completely re-equip 22 Sqn with A-20G’s . 22 Sqn flew no missions in May and July 44 and only 3 missions in June, in the first half of August 44 the Sqn re-equipped with new A-20G’s on Noemfoor Island and the tempo of missions increased to there highest point with the A-20G’s, the Sqn flew approx 420 missions from mid Aug 44 till end of Boston operations on 7 Dec 44, and flew in excess of 100 missions in August and September something un achievable in the past. In the previous 21 months in New Guinea 22 Sqn flew a total of approx 890 missions with DB-7B’s , A-20C’s and A-20A’s. They were able to achieve half this total in only 3 and a half months with A-20G’s. Of the 29 A-20G’s loaned to the RAAF 23 were new or near new late model A-20G-40 and-45’s the remaining six were early second hand A-20G-10 models that were not used by 22 Sqn or on operations. When the Japanese raid on 22 Sqn on Morotai on Nov 22/23 destroyed over half the Sqn the decision was made to convert to Australian Build Beaufighters an unpopular decision in the Sqn. The remainder of the serviceable A-20G’s were returned to US stocks in mid Dec 44/early 45.

The A-20G’s were all operated in the Std US scheme of Olive Drab with Medium Green over Neutral Grey as these aircraft were on loan from US stock they stayed in std US scheme.

It is our policy to only show historical events, no current operational information will be displayed on this website.
 "The ADF-Serials team give permission to use the content of this page, excluding images, providing that it contains an acknowledgement to the adf-serials team and any other listed sources."