General info for Havoc Mk I

• Country Britain
• Vehicle role Frontline Bomber
• Rank 1

• Battle rating in
  • arcade battles 2
  • realistic battles 2
  • simulator battles 2.3

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Wiki info about Havoc Mk I

Official War Thunder wiki

In 1936 the Douglas Aircraft Company began work on a new ground attack aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps. After liaising with the USAAC to discuss the exact requirements, it became clear that a twin engine design would be necessary for the payload and firepower required. Designed with an unconventional tricycle undercarriage and a modular nose section to allow a quicker change between the bomber or attack role, the new Model 7B first flew in October 1938. However, even after the success of the highly maneuverable prototype, the USAAC stated that they had no interest in the Model 7B so Douglas began to investigate their options of selling the aircraft on the export market. France was the first company to order the new DB-7 (Douglas Bomber); but after France was defeated by Germany in 1940, arrangements were made to ship the remainder of France’s order to Britain. The DB7 initially entered service with the RAF as the Boston Mk.I and was used as a multi-engine conversion trainer. The British Air Ministry was impressed with the new aircraft, and continued orders from Douglas. Another variant of the aircraft was given the name Havoc Mk.I and was fitted with an Airborne Interception radar, additional armor and nose mounted Browning 0.303 inch machine guns to be used as a night fighter. The navigator's cockpit and the nose glazing remained intact. The aircraft was painted matt black and flame damping exhaust systems were installed in an attempt to add an element of night camouflage. A basic set of second flying controls were also added to the gunner’s position, as it was impossible to access the pilot during flight and, in the event of an emergency, the gunner could at least attempt to fly the aircraft to a landing if the pilot was incapacitated. A further modification of this was the Havoc Mk.I (Intruder) which had four 0.303 inch machine guns fitted beneath the bomb aimer’s position. The Havoc’s impressive performance did, however, come at a price – the aircraft’s range was severely limiting. With this in mind, RAF Bomber Command utilised the Havoc in anti-shipping strikes and night airfield raids over Holland. One tactic employed was for a Havoc to pretend to be a German aircraft that had dropped behind its group: it would fire signal flares over an enemy airfield and turn on its navigation lights as if about to land. If the ruse was successful, the night runway lights would be illuminated, allowing the Havoc to attack the enemy airfield with far greater ease. A bombing run whilst enemy aircraft were landing could also be particularly effective; as well as destroying enemy aircraft on the ground it also cause panic among enemy anti-aircraft gunners who would then open fire on all machines in the air, including their own. Sometimes, after several of these raids in a row, the Germans would even open fire on their own aircraft assuming they were British "blockers". Some 140 DB7s originally intended for French service were acquired by RAF Bomber Command for use as Havocs, with a further 40 of these being converted to the Intruder role.