Photos

This is a photo of a Douglas A-20G “Havoc”, taken at the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The A-20 Havoc (also called “Boston”) was a valuable airplane that saw service in many air forces. The A-20 flew in all theaters of war in WWII and was a jack-of-all-trades attack/bomber aircraft, often providing strafing, ground attack and night harassment as needed in addition to bombing duties. This particular A-20 is a “G” model plane, which reached combat in 1943. It is painted to represent “Little Joe” (A-20G-45-DO, serial number 43-22200) of the 5th Air Force, 312th Bombardment Group, and the diorama depicts preparations for a mission in the Pacific theater during WWII. See here and here, e.g., for much detailed info on the A-20 aircraft.

The National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB (in the area that was previously historic Wright Field) is purportedly the world’s largest and oldest military aviation museum. It has a wide-ranging collection of aircraft and other artifacts from the beginning of controlled, powered flight (the Wright brothers lived and worked in Dayton) to the present, in four large hangars (one of which is on a secure part of the base’s grounds and requires reservations, first-come-first-served on day of attendance, so go there first when you arrive to be sure to get on the list) and a missile gallery.

Technical: Cropped (I purposely un-centered the plane; I just think it looks better), some distracting light spots in background cloned out, sharpened and noise reduced.