Douglas A - 20 Havoc The Douglas A - 20 Havoc ( company designation DB - 7 ) was an American attack , light bomber , intruder and night fighter aircraft of World War II . It served with several Allied air forces , principally the United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) , the Soviet Air Forces ( " VVS " ) , Soviet Naval Aviation ( " AVMF " ) and the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) of the United Kingdom . Soviet units received more than one in three ( 2 , 908 aircraft ) of the DB - 7s ultimately built . It was also used by the air forces of Australia , South Africa , France , and the Netherlands during the war , and by Brazil afterwards . In British Commonwealth air forces , bomber / attack variants of the DB - 7 were usually known by the service name Boston , while night fighter and intruder variants were usually known as Havoc . An exception to this was the Royal Australian Air Force , which referred to all variants of the DB - 7 by the name Boston . The USAAF referred to night fighter variants as P - 70 . Design and development . In March 1937 , a design team headed by Donald Douglas , Jack Northrop and Ed Heinemann produced a proposal for a light bomber powered by a pair of 450 hp ( 336 kW ) Pratt & Whitney R - 985 Wasp Junior radial engines mounted on a high - mounted wing . It was estimated that it could carry a 1 , 000 lb ( 454 kg ) bomb load at 250 mph ( 400 km / h ) . Reports of aircraft performance from the Spanish Civil War indicated that this design would be seriously underpowered , and it was subsequently cancelled . In the autumn of the same year , the United States Army Air Corps issued its own specification for an attack aircraft . The Douglas team , now headed by Heinemann , took the Model 7A design , upgraded with 1 , 100 hp ( 820 kW ) Pratt & Whitney R - 1830 Twin Wasp engines , and submitted the design as the Model 7B . It faced competition from the North American NA - 40 , the Stearman X - 100 and the Martin 167F . The Model 7B was maneuverable and fast , but did not attract any US orders . The model did , however , attract the attention of a French Purchasing Commission visiting the USA . The Neutrality Act of 1935 at the time forbade the sale of arms , including aircraft , to any nation at war , and President Roosevelt had just issued a call both for its revision and a rearmament program for the Air Corps . Aided by the Treasury Department ' s Procurement Division ( headed by retired Naval officers ) and Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau , Jr . , the French discreetly participated in the flight trials , so as not to attract criticism from American isolationists . The Air Corps , which controlled the aircraft ' s development but had been excluded from negotiations between the French , the Production Division , and the Navy ' s Bureau of Aeronautics , was directed by the White House on 19 January 1939 to release the DB - 7 for assessment in contradiction of its own regulations . The " secret " was blown when the Model 7B crashed on 23 January while demonstrating single - engine performance . The French were still impressed enough to order 100 production aircraft , with the order increased to 270 when the war began . Sixteen of those had been ordered by Belgium for its " Aviation Militaire " . Although not the fastest or longest - ranged in its class , the Douglas DB - 7 series distinguished itself as a tough , dependable combat aircraft with an excellent reputation because of its speed and maneuverability . In a report to the British Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment ( AAEE ) at RAF Boscombe Down , test pilots summed it up as " has no vices and is very easy to takeoff and land . . . The aeroplane represents a definite advantage in the design of flying controls . . . extremely pleasant to fly and manoeuvre . " Ex - pilots often consider it their favorite aircraft of the war due to the ability to toss it around like a fighter . Its true impact was that the Douglas bomber / night fighter was extremely adaptable and found a role in every combat theater of the war and excelled as a true " pilot ' s aeroplane . " When DB - 7 series production finally ended on 20 September 1944 , a total of 7 , 098 had been built by Douglas and a further 380 by Boeing . Operational history . France . The French order called for substantial modifications , resulting in the DB - 7 ( for Douglas Bomber 7 ) variant . It had a narrower , deeper fuselage , 1 , 000 hp ( 746 kW ) Pratt & Whitney R - 1830 - SC3 - G radials , French - built guns , and metric instruments . Midway through the delivery phase , engines were switched to 1 , 100 hp ( 820 kW ) Pratt & Whitney R - 1830 - S3C4 - G . The French designation was DB - 7 B - 3 ( the B - 3 signifying " three - seat bomber " ) . The DB - 7s were shipped in sections to Casablanca for assembly and service in France and French North Africa . When the Germans attacked France and the Low Countries on 10 May 1940 , the 64 available DB - 7s were deployed against the advancing Germans . Before the armistice they were evacuated to North Africa to avoid capture by German forces . Here , they fell under control of the Vichy government , but saw practically no action against the Allies except briefly during the Allied invasion of North Africa . After French forces in North Africa had sided with the Allies , DB - 7s were used as trainers and were replaced in front line units by Martin B - 26 Marauder s . In early 1945 , a few DB - 7s were moved back to France where they saw action against the remaining isolated German pockets on the western coast . British Commonwealth . The remainder of the order which was to have been delivered to France was instead taken up by the UK . In the course of the war , 24 squadrons operated the Boston . It first entered service with RAF Bomber Command in 1941 , equipping No . 88 Squadron . Their first operational use was not until February 1942 against enemy shipping . On 4 July 1942 United States Army Air Force ( USAAF ) bomber crews , flying RAF Boston aircraft , took part in operations in Europe for the first time attacking enemy airfields in Holland . They replaced the Bristol Blenheim s of No . 2 Group RAF for daylight operations against occupied Europe until replaced in turn by de Havilland Mosquito s . Some Havocs were converted to Turbinlite aircraft which replaced the nose position with a powerful searchlight . The Turbinlite aircraft would be brought onto an enemy fighter by ground radar control . The onboard radar operator would then direct the pilot until he could illuminate the enemy . At that point a Hawker Hurricane fighter accompanying the Turbinlite aircraft would make the attack . The Turbinlite squadrons were disbanded in early 1943 Soviet Union . Through Lend - Lease , Soviet forces received more than two - thirds of version A - 20B planes manufactured and a significant portion of versions G and H . The A - 20 was the most numerous foreign aircraft in the Soviet bomber inventory . Actually the Soviet Air Force had more A - 20 than the USAAF . They were delivered via the ALSIB ( Alaska - Siberia ) air ferry route . The aircraft had its baptism of fire at the end of June 1942 . The Soviets were unsatisfied with the four Browning machine guns and replaced them with faster - firing ShKAS . During the summer 1942 , the Bostons flew low - level raids against German convoys heavily protected by flak . Attacks were made from altitudes right down to 33 ft ( 10 metres ) and the air regiments suffered heavy losses . By mid - 1943 Soviet pilots were well familiar with the A - 20B and A - 20C . The general opinion was that the aircraft was overpowered and therefore fast and agile . It could make steep turns with angle of up to 65° while the tricycle landing gear facilitated take - off and landings . The type could be flown even by scarcely trained crews . The engines were reliable but rather sensitive to low temperature , so the Soviet engineers developed special covers for keeping propeller hubs from freezing up . Some of these aircraft were armed with fixed - forward cannons and found some success in the ground attack role . By the end of the war , 3 , 414 A - 20s had been delivered to USSR , 2 , 771 of which were used by the Soviet Air Force . Notable appearances in media . " The Way to the Stars " , also known as " Johnny in the Clouds " , is a 1945 war drama film made by Two Cities Films and released by United Artists , that prominently features RAF Bostons .