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

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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.

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

Unlike other bombers, the Boston usually has to take off from the runway. Instead of climbing you should fly about 100-300 metres above the ground and focus on building up speed, as although the Boston has a good top speed of up to 450 km/h in level flight (with WEP) it can take a while to reach it. You should fly at a low level and bomb tanks/light pillboxes and use the machine guns to kill soft targets such as armoured cars, AAA and artillery. The machine guns can also be effectively used to shoot down enemy planes should one appear in the right place. As the Boston is a premium plane when it is used to kill ground targets it becomes an extremely effective researcher at mid to low tiers, due to the massive number of ground target you can kill (upwards of 20 dependent on map and luck).

The Boston can withstand a large amount of damage and although not easy can return to base critically damage and without and engine. The plane can soak up 7.7 mm fire well however prolonged fire will eventually cause problems and fire form 12.7 mm guns will do damage. German 20 mm cannons will cause the tail to fall off after several shots to the rear of the aircraft, dependent on ammo type.

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:

• Fast for its rank and role
• Good bomb load (4 x 500 lb)
• Has offensive armament, and a good one on that (4 x 7.7 mm machine guns)
• Lots of main ammo (2,000 rounds, 500 per gun)
• Good researcher (premium)
• Can soak up fire well and return to base with an engine out

Cons:

• Weak tail
• Defensive armament can become inadequate against higher battle rating or multiple enemies
• Only one payload option
• Unlike most bombers, gets an airfield spawn

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.