Boston Mk III
| World War II aircraft | |
| Boston Mk III | |
| Variant of | A-20G |
|---|---|
| Type | Bomber/Attacker |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Douglas |
| Crew | Two or Three crew |
| how to edit | |
The Boston Mk III in World War II[edit]
Development[edit]
Unit Deployment[edit]
External Links[edit]
| Aces High II aircraft | |
| Editing this template | |
| |
| Variant of | A-20G |
|---|---|
| Type | Bomber |
| Crew | Three |
| Aces High II loadout options | |
| Package 1 | 4x .303 machine guns, 500 rounds/gun 2x .303 machine guns in rear cockpit, 1000 rounds/gun |
| Options | 4x 500lb bombs, or |
| 2x 500lb bombs, or | |
| 4x 250lb bombs | |
| Aces High II Main Arenas | |
| Earliest MA | Early War |
| Typical perk cost | 0 (Late War) |
| ENY value | 35 (Late War) |
| Available on carrier | no |
| how to edit | |
The Boston Mk III in Aces High II[edit]
An interesting light bomber, the Boston III never really has found any sort of following. Most people tend to go for the ultimate bombload or defensive guns and leave most of the other bombers out of their selection. Still, the Boston is a decent little bomber but not really a heavy hitter. Fast, pretty nimble, and with the ability to race into and out of an area quickly, it is a decent aircraft. It trades firepower for speed, but sometimes it's better to scoot in and out of an area before anyone can catch you vs try and slug it out to get to your target.
Engine Power[edit]
The Boston III probably would surprise a lot of people if they knew a bit about it. Turning a 312mph sea-level cruise speed, the Boston can actually out-run a number of fighters (Spit V) though lots of people can still catch you. If you spend a little time and climb, about 12K is prime and yields around 335mph. That's pretty good, unless something is already at altitude it is unlikely to catch you in any reasonable amount of time (no way to climb up and catch you at the same time). The climb performance is fantastic too, 2,200ft/min at sea-level. Fuel duration is 46 minutes, very short for a bomber but typically more than enough for a quick in-and-out bombing strike. You don't want to loiter though if you brought less than 75% fuel. If you don't want to waste a lot of time climbing but want a bombsight to work with, the Boston III is where it's at.
Aces High II Performance Charts[edit]
Firepower[edit]
A mixed bag, the Boston III carries a reasonable 2,000lbs of ordinance, all internally, but that is equal to what many fighters can muster in an attack role. Usually for a point target, or small area target, that is enough and ideal for knocking out smaller structures (fuel/ammo/barracks). Combine that with a bombsight and you can usually put ordinance down pretty accurately but only in 1 pass, making it important to select your targets and attack angles well. In the nose are mounted four .303s but these are perhaps rarely useful. They are too weak for strafing, requiring many passes to accumulate enough damage to destroy anything. In the air-to-air role they have some ability but are really not terribly dangerous unless they can be held on target at short ranges. Given some time to work though they can generally persuade an attacker to reconsider or at least respect you. On the roof is mounted a twin .303 turret though it's a pretty bad place to visit even in a pinch. The twin .303s really feel weak and the restrictions, especially compared to other aircraft with similarly positioned guns, seem harsh. The tail restrictor blocks out a very large arc of area to the rear so the turret is of little use in the direction that it would normally be employed. Overall, the guns defense is almost non-existent so relying on your speed for defense is more likely to aid an escape.
Maneuverability[edit]
It doesn't feel quite as light as the A20 but still between 200-300mph is is fairly nimble though the roll rate is slow. Over 300mph it starts to feel "heavy", getting worse as you increase speed even more. 375mph brings on structural warning creaking though the Boston III can reportedly be taken in excess of 475mph without failure. The controls at such speeds are barely responsive. Given your options though, extreme flying can offer your best defense so sometimes the limits need to be pushed.
Fighting in the Boston Mk III[edit]
Generally the Boston can be good for hit-and-run attacks, climbing from a nearby field to a good cruising altitude (12K or so) and then coming in at a pre-planned angle while planning to hit several small targets in one pass. Most people chose to use jabo fighters for this purpose and thus the lack of attention for the Boston. The 500lb bombs are ideal for knocking out fuel/barracks/ordnance or town buildings with a bit of margin for error. Don't hang around thinking you will strafe anything after the bombs are dropped, that's pretty much hopeless. A shallow dive can take you to a nice 400mph egress from the area and make interception nearly impossible unless the enemy is already at altitude. The Boston seems pretty tough though and can take a hit but don't let anyone get locked on to the tail for long. Head Ons with an intent to kill are not recommended, you can typically survive the pass because of the size and structure of the Boston but you are unlikely to deal out any damage greater than what you would receive in return. Sometimes as a method to scare an enemy though you can open fire and hope he walks through the swarm of .303s and has second thoughts.
Fighting against the Boston Mk III[edit]
Attacks to the rear areas, especially level or slightly low, are almost totally undefended. If you can catch and latch onto a Boston then in general it should be an easy kill. The upper turret has a very large limiter built in so the enemy can't shoot his own tail and this blanks out his coverage to most parts rear. Be careful of closure and collisions though, the Boston tends to maneuver in defense a lot and can sometimes seem to almost stop in mid-air when in a hard maneuver. It's tempting to take a snapshot on the large aircraft under these conditions but make sure you give yourself enough room to maneuver to avoid the collision. Don't Head On the Boston if you can help it because he's likely to damage your aircraft and force you home with engine/oil/radiator damage. If you get in trouble with a Boston, use your superior (probably vastly superior) roll rate to get your lift vectors out of synch and then simply maneuver away. The Boston can be surprising maneuverable around the 200-325mph range so don't underestimate him in those speeds and get sloppy. If you can slow the Boston down though then you basically should be able to nail him at your leisure as speed is his only real defense.
