Boston Mk I (Great Britain)

▄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

This page is about the aircraft Boston Mk I (Great Britain). For other uses, see DB-7 (Disambiguation)

Description

The ▄Boston Mk I is a Rank II gift British bomber with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). This aircraft has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.29.

The Boston Mk.1 is a very fast aircraft for its rank, this being coupled with its current Battle Rating of 2.3 means that in a decent match up it can often out run most if not all the aircraft it faces in level flight. The Boston has got four 7.7mm guns in the nose and two 7.7mm in the top and bottom lower and upper of the rear fuselage.

Although the defensive armament may seem 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 of either armour piercing or armour piercing incendiary and aim for the engine of enemy planes that are on you tail, this will likely do one of things things: 1) Destroy the enemy planes engine 2) Set the enemy plane on fire 3) Knock out the plane’s pilot (from shots that go astray).

General info

Flight Performance

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

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
665	296	520	~9	~3

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 260	< 360	< 343	> 270

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

• 12.7 mm steel in front of cockpit
• 8 mm steel lower side of 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)

Armaments

Offensive armament

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

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

Suspended armament

The Boston Mk I (Great Britain) can be outfitted with the following ordinance"

• 4 x G.P. 500 lb Mk.IV bombs

Defensive armament

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

• 1 x 7.7 mm Vickers K machine gun, dorsal turret (470 rpg)
• 1 x 7.7 mm Vickers K machine gun, ventral turret (470 rpg)

Usage in the battles

Realistic/Simulator Mode

Unlike other bombers, the Boston usually has to take off from the runway. Instead of climbing you should fly about 100-300 meters above the ground and focus on building up speed, as although the Boston has a good top speed of up to 450kph in level flight (with WEP) it can take a while to reach it. You should fly at low level and bomb tanks / light pill boxes 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 and can even be a useful plane for researching tier 4s earning about 1000 rp on a fairly good game and above 2500 rp in a really good game, this is possible due to the massive number of ground target you can kill (over 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 7.7mm fire well however prolonged fire will eventually cause problems and fire form 12.7mm guns will do damage. German 20mm 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 controllable	Controllable	Combined	Controllable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator
II		Compressor	Airframe
III	Wings Repair	Engine
IV		Engine Injection	Cover

Being premium it has all modules unlocked except mark of distinction, which allows you to put 2 extra decals on it. It is recommended to upgrade the crew qualification and have a second trained gunner as the improves the plane further.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fast for its rank and role.
• Good bomb load (4 x 500lb).
• Has offensive armament (4 x 7.7 mm machine guns).
• Lots of main ammo (2000 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 BR or multiple enemies.

History

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

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• page on aircraft encyclopedia;
• other literature.