Another user of the Boston/Havoc was the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), which operated 69 DB-7/A-20 aircraft. They were all known as Bostons by the RAAF but had varied origins, some being ex-USAAF machines, some being acquired from the Netherlands Marine Luchtvaartdenst, and others being diverted from British contracts. These planes served with just one RAAF squadron, No. 22 Squadron which saw a lot of action in the East Indies theatre of action.
The first batch of 22 Bostons to enter RAAF service were planes that
had actually been allocated to the Netherlands East Indies Air Force
from RAF stocks. They were actually on their way via sea to the
Netherlands East Indies, but were diverted to Australia when the
Japanese overran that part of the world. These 22 aircraft were
allocated the RAAF serial numbers A28-1 through A28-22, and bore the
following RAF serials:
AL890 to RAAF as A28-1 3/42 AL347 to RAAF as A28-2 3/42 AL887 to RAAF as A28-3 3/42 AL893 to RAAF as A28-4 3/42 AL895 to RAAF as A28-5 3/42 AL897 to RAAF as A28-6 3/42 AL899 to RAAF as A28-7 3/42 AL907 to RAAF as A28-8 3/42 AL891 to RAAF as A28-9 3/42 AL358 to RAAF as A28-10 3/42 AL364 to RAAF as A28-11 3/42 AL365 to RAAF as A28-12 3/42 AL367 to RAAF as A28-13 3/42 AL892 to RAAF as A28-14 3/42 AL361 to RAAF as A28-15 3/42 AL362 to RAAF as A28-16 3/42 AL363 to RAAF as A28-17 3/42 AL366 to RAAF as A28-18 3/42 AL368 to RAAF as A28-19 3/42 AL369 to RAAF as A28-20 3/42 AL894 to RAAF as A28-21 3/42 AL898 to RAAF as A28-22 3/42
When these planes arrived in Australia in March/April of 1942, these planes were painted in RAF camouflage, but had their British markings overpainted with Kon Marine (Dutch Navy) insignia. They entered service with No. 22 Squadron RAAF and served in the East Indies theatre of combat beginning in September of 1942.
First action took place on November 15, 1942, when three aircraft carried out an armed reconnaissance. In action, the RAAF Bostons often had four fixed forward-firing 0.50-inch machine guns installed in the nose in place of the bombardier. The transparent areas of the nose were faired over with painted aluminum and the crew was reduced from four to three. Acting in combination with the standard pairs of 0.303-inch guns mounted in side blisters, the extra guns gave the Boston formidable fire- power when operating in the ground attack/strike role. RAAF Bostons took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea (March 2-4, 1943), and participated in attacks on a large Japanese convoy headed toward Lae.
A couple of RAAF Bostons had a fixed 0.30-inch machine gun installed in the extreme tail. This gun was fired electrically by the rear gunner and was intended to scare off enemy aircraft attacking from the rear.
Boston pilot Flt Lt W. E. Newton was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry in action during an attack on Japanese targets on Salamaua on March 16, 1943. He was flying A28-7 in an attack on Japanese fuel dumps, stores, and buildings. Despite heavy damage from antiaircraft fire, he and his crew pressed home their attack. He was able to return safely to base on only one engine. He was the only RAAF winner of the Victoria Cross of the Pacific War. Unfortunately he was shot down two days later in A28-3 during another raid. He was captured by the enemy and executed.
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
Nine ex-USAAF A-20As were taken on charge in November. Their serials
were A28-32 through A28-40:
A28-32 Ex-USAAF A-20A 40-85 A28-33 Ex-USAAF A-20A 40-143 A28-34 Ex-USAAF A-20A 40-3160 A28-35 Ex-USAAF A-20A 40-162 A28-36 Ex-USAAF A-20A 40-77 A28-37 Ex-USAAF A-20A 40-118 A28-38 Ex-USAAF A-20A 40-139 A28-39 Ex-USAAF A-20A 40-144 A28-40 Ex-USAAF A-20A 40-3159
In June of 1944, the squadron received the first of 28 A-20Gs, plus one A-20J. Their serials were A28-50 through 78 (A28-41 through A28-49 were not allocated).
A28-50 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21296 A28-51 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21306 A28-52 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21308 A28-53 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21311 A28-54 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21540 A28-55 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21303 A28-56 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21314 A28-57 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21301 A28-58 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21294 A28-59 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21542 A28-60 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21545 A28-61 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21380 A28-62 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21381 A28-63 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21384 A28-64 Ex-USAAF A-20G-40-DO 43-21387 A28-65 Ex-USAAF A-20G-45-DO 43-21953 A28-66 Ex-USAAF A-20G-45-DO 43-21976 A28-67 Ex-USAAF A-20G-45-DO 43-21977 A28-68 Ex-USAAF A-20G-45-DO 43-21985 A28-69 Ex-USAAF A-20G-10-DO 42-54069 A28-70 Ex-USAAF A-20G-10-DO 42-54091 A28-71 Ex-USAAF A-20G-10-DO 42-54073 A28-72 Ex-USAAF A-20G-10-DO 42-54092 A28-73 Ex-USAAF A-20G-10-DO 42-54098 A28-74 Ex-USAAF A-20G-10-DO 42-54120 A28-75 Ex-USAAF A-20G-45-DO 43-21970 A28-76 Ex-USAAF A-20G-45-DO 43-21978 A28-77 Ex-USAAF A-20G-45-DO 43-22250 A28-78 Ex-USAAF A-20G-45-DO 43-22148
By November of 1944, No 22 Squadron was close enough to reach the Philippines, hitting Bunawan Harbor on Mindanao Island. However, shortly thereafter the operational service of the Boston with the RAAF came to a rather ignomious end. On November 23, 1944, 13 Bostons of No 22 Squadron were destroyed on the ground during a Japanese "nuisance" raid on Morotai. This raid so decimated the strength of the squadron that it had to be withdrawn to Noemfoor, where it was re-equipped with Beaufighters before it was returned to action.
The surviving Bostons were relegated to noncombatant duties such as mail delivery and communications. The surviving A-20Gs were returned to the USAAF in early 1945, whereas the the survivors of the three other marks were all scrapped during the first few months of 1945.
One of the RAAF Bostons has managed to survive, nevertheless. This was A28-8, which was
damaged in a crash landing at its base on Goodenough Island and had to be abandoned. It remained derelict there for many years, until it was recovered as a wreck in 1987 and was shipped back to Australia, where it
is now undergoing restoration.
Sources:
-
American Combat Planes, Third Enlarged Edition, Ray Wagner, Doubleday,
1982.
-
McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920, Vol 1, Rene J. Francillon,
Naval Institute Press, 1988
-
United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and
Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.
-
A-20 Havoc in Action, Aircraft Number 144, Squadron/Signal Publications,
Jim Mesko, 1994.
-
Famous Bombers of the Second World War, William Green, Doubleday, 1960
-
Boston, Mitchell and Liberator In Australian Service, Stewart Wilson,
Aerospace Publications, 1992.
- E-mail from Darren on 43-22148
