Boston Mk I (Great Britain)

This page is about the gift British bomber Boston Mk I (Great Britain). For other versions, see DB-7 (Family).

▄Boston Mk I

▄Boston Mk I

Britain

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.3	2.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Frontline bomber

Bomber

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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Description

The ▄Boston Mk I is a premium gift rank II British bomber with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. It was avilable for a limited time for the 2014 anniversary of the A-20 Havoc’s first flight, later it appeared in the Warbonds shop as part of the trophy chest in August 2018 and currently is only available though the Marketplace.

The Boston Mk.1 is a very fast aircraft for its rank, this means that in a decent matchup it can often outrun most if not all the aircraft it faces in level flight. The Boston has got four 7.7 mm guns in the nose and two 7.7 mm in the top and bottom lower and upper of the rear fuselage.

Although the defensive armament may seem rather underwhelming, if it faces lower BR planes they can be more than adequate and can still be made to work against higher level planes. You should load a belt made up of either armour piercing or armour piercing incendiary rounds and aim for the engine of enemy plane(s) that are on your tail; this will likely do one of these things: 1) Destroy the enemy plane's engine 2) Set the enemy plane on fire 3) Knock out the plane's pilot (from shots that go astray).

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 4 634 m518 km/h

Turn time27 s

Max altitude8 000 m

Engine2 х Pratt & Whitney S3CG

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight8 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 4,634 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	503	487	8000	27.8	28.6	9.4	9.3	550
Upgraded	534	518		26.2	27.0	13.8	11.5

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
665	296	428	406	296	~8	~4

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 260	< 320	< 300	> 320

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
889 m	2,200 hp	2,376 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,120 m	2,000 hp	2,160 hp

Survivability and armour

Crew4 people

Speed of destruction

Structural665 km/h

Gear296 km/h

• 12.7 mm steel in front of the cockpit
• 8 mm steel lower side of the cockpit
• 9.5mm steel pilots seat
• 12.7mm steel below, behind and in front of the rear gunner
• No armour glazing
• Critical components located in the front and wings of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB1 095

RB3 663

SB851

Crew training2 300

Experts15 000

Aces125

Research Aces320 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 50 / 160 / 180 %

2 × 112 / 112 / 112 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Radiator Airframe Compressor Wings repair Engine Cover	EFS(a)	bmg303_turret_belt_pack bmg303_belt_pack vikkersK_turret_new_gun bmg303_new_gun

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 14 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun

Ammunition2 000 rounds

Fire rate1 000 shots/min

The Boston Mk I (Great Britain) is armed with:

• 4 x 7.7 mm Browning machine guns, chin-mounted (500 rpg = 2,000 total)

Suspended armament

List of setups (1)

Setup 14 x G.P. 500 lb Mk.IV bomb

The Boston Mk I (Great Britain) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 4 x 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs (2,000 lb total)

Defensive armament

2 х Turret7.7 mm Vickers K machine gun

Ammunition500 rounds

Fire rate950 shots/min

The Boston Mk I (Great Britain) is defended by:

• 1 x 7.7 mm Vickers K machine gun, dorsal turret (500 rpg)
• 1 x 7.7 mm Vickers K machine gun, ventral turret (500 rpg)

Usage in battles

The Boston is an incredibly fast bomber, being able to outrun everything it will face. The bomb load lacks a bit of punch as it carries the inferior British 500 pound bomb which has much less TNT. Decent defensive firepower means it can defend itself if it has to, but the best defense for the Boston is its cruising speed of 450 km/h to outrun any pursuers.

The Boston excels as a ground strike aircraft, dropping its payload on pillboxes and armoured targets and using its quadruple forward facing 7.7 mms to destroy artillery, AA or vehicles. It can also be used as a strike aircraft very effectively, diving on enemy fighters with its high top speed and damaging them before using the energy to gain altitude again. The 7.7s are unlikely to destroy enemy aircraft outright but can damage vital components like the engine, oil or coolant - forcing the enemy to return to base.

The Boston can take a fair amount of punishment, but it won't last in an extended firefight against enemy fighters on its tail. Being fairly manoeuvrable, evasive measures should be taken as you can't rely solely on the defensive armament to keep you safe - it should be used as a deterrent while you turn. It won't outturn a 109 or similar enemy aircraft, but it will maintain more speed in them, allowing you to get more distance between their guns and your tail. It should also outperform early German fighters at high altitude (above 3.5 km), where the Boston can be used as a bomber hunter.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Very fast cruising and top speed
• Decent offensive armament
• Lots of ammunition
• Fairly durable
• Can fly with one engine

Cons:

• Defensive armament isn't great
• Only one payload option
• Big engines are big targets, they will almost always get damaged in a fight

History

In-game description

The Douglas Boston Mk.I/Mk.II was a twin-engine light bomber/ground-attack aircraft which was initially developed for the United States Army Air Corps, but first entered service as an export model.

The first customer for the aircraft was the French government, which designated the bomber the DB-7 and ordered 100 aircraft. A contract for a second batch of 170 aircraft was finalized with the Douglas Aircraft Company; these machines differed from the first batch by being equipped with Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C4-G radial air-cooled engines with two-speed superchargers that delivered better performance characteristics at higher altitudes, thus increasing their maximum speed. The maximum power of the new engines was raised to 1,200 hp.

The aircraft that had not been sent from the USA before France was defeated were diverted to Britain for use by RAF Bomber Command. The RAF renamed the aircraft as the "Boston" to indicate its American origin.

The new Bostons required several modifications for British use: the instruments, which had been set to the metric system, were replaced. Throttle quadrants made according to the French standard were redone, and British radio sets and oxygen equipment were installed on the aircraft.

The defensive armament was also replaced: the forward fuselage now had four 0.303 inch Colt-Browning Mk.II machine guns with 500 rounds each, fed by disintegrating belts. The radio operator/gunner's cockpit had two 0.303 inch Vickers K machine guns with pan magazines and 470 rounds each; the first was located in the rear upper gun position, and the second in the lower hatch.

The DB-7 with Pratt & Whitney R-1830-SC3-G engines was designated the Boston Mk.I in the RAF whilst the Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C4-G powered variant was named the Boston Mk.II.

According to British pilots, the Boston had excellent handling characteristics and good visibility from the cockpit and the aircraft's tricycle landing gear made take off and landing significantly easier.

As the Boston's performance and manoeuvrability came at the price of a short range, the RAF did not use the Boston for its original role; instead, many were converted into heavy night fighters or used in anti-shipping or as night time intruders over occupied Europe. In addition, some aircraft were used for training and auxiliary purposes.

A total of 131 machines from the second batch of DB-7s ordered by France were transferred to the RAF. After the successes in RAF service, the Boston was adopted by the United States Army Air Corps, the service it was originally designed and intended for.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Related development

• Douglas A-26 Invader

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Bristol Beaufighter
• Messerschmitt Bf 110
• Northrop P-61 Black Widow
• Petlyakov Pe-2

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

Douglas Aircraft Company
Strike Aircraft	A-20G-25 · A-26B-10 · A-26B-50 · AD-2 · AD-4 · A-1H
Bombers	TBD-1 · B-18A · SBD-3 · BTD-1 · A-26C-45 · A-26C-45DT
Turboprops	A2D-1
Jet Aircraft	F3D-1 · F4D-1
A-4 Skyhawk	A-4B · A-4E Early
Export	▄Havoc Mk I · ▄Boston Mk I · ▄DB-7 · ▂A-20G-30 · ▄AD-4 · ▄AD-4NA
A-4 Skyhawk	A-4H · A-4E Early (M) · Ayit · A-4E
	The Douglas Aircraft Company merged with McDonnell Aircraft Corporation in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas.