https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_A-20_Havoc
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 Shoulder
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 United States. 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 revealed 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-range aircraft in its class, the Douglas
DB-7 series distinguished itself as a tough, dependable combat aircraft with an
excellent reputation for 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."[3] Ex-pilots often
consider it their favorite aircraft of the war due to the ability to toss it
around like a fighter.[4] 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".[5]
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. Douglas redesigned its
Santa Monica plant to create a mechanized production line to produce A-20
Havocs. The assembly line was over a mile long (6,100 feet), but by looping back
and forth, fitted into a building that was only 700 feet long. Man-hours were
reduced by 50% for some operations. Production tripled.
General characteristics
Crew: 3
Length: 47 ft 11 in (14.63 m)
Wingspan: 61 ft 4 in (18.69 m)
Height: 17 ft 7 in (5.36 m)
Empty weight: 15,051 lb (6,827 kg)
Loaded weight: 27,200 lb (12,338 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 27,200lb (12,338 kg) (9,215 kg)
kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 339 mph (295 kn, 546 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
Range: 1,050 mi (912 nmi, 1,690 km)
Service ceiling: 23,700 ft (7,225 m)
Rate of climb: 2,000 ft/min (10.2 m/s)
Armament
Guns:
1x flexible 0.5 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine gun, mounted behind bomb bay
Bombs: 2,000 lb (910 kg)
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