|
|
This article is a stub. It is short and in need of fortification. Why not help out? |
The Douglas A-20 Havoc was an American twin-engine multirole aircraft of World War II, entering service in 1941. Developed originally as a medium bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, variants would also be used as a night fighter and intruder under the USAAF designation P-70. 7,478 A-20s of various models were build, also seeing use with the British, Soviet and Free French air forces.
Battlefield V
The A-20, along with its night fighter variant the P-70, appear in Battlefield V. The aircraft are not available on Pacific maps as they have no Japanese equivalent. They instead appear on the maps Al Sundan, Panzerstorm and Twisted Steel.
A-20 Bomber
The A-20 is the bomber of the USA faction. It is the counterpart to the German Ju-88.
The aircraft seats two players, a pilot and a rear gunner. The primary feature of the A-20 Bomber is its powerful offensive armament compared to other bombers, coming equipped by default with four nose-mounted LMGs, which makes the A-20 a significantly better dogfighter than its contemporaries - the Blenheim and Ju-88. The rear gunner controls a 2x .50 cal turret from the top of the aircraft ahead of the tail. The turret can only cover the 180° to the rear of the aircraft and cannot shoot below the tail, however its guns are more powerful than the singular LMGs used by other bombers. Its default bombload is four 250lb Bombs.
Like all US aircraft, the A-20 Bomber has a six-tier Specializations tree that allows for greater versatility than the variant-divided aircraft of other factions. In terms of armament, the primary guns can be replaced with quad 20mm Cannons with HE ammunition also available, increasing strafing potential, while alternatively twin 20mm Cannons can be installed as secondary weapons which, combined with Finned Barrels at rank 3, significantly boosts damage output during dogfights. Its bombload can receive a direct upgrade by upping bombweight to 500lb, or exchanging these for two 1000lb bombs. Tertiary armaments come in the form of either 4x AN-M40 Parafrag Bombs or 2x Incendiary Bombs. Flares can be used in place of the critical-restoring Field Repair, allowing the bomber to self-spot ground targets. Finally, general improvements such as the High Altitude Package, engine, wing and fuselage upgrades round out the tree.
P-70 Night Fighter
The P-70 is the American ground attack aircraft. Based on the A-20, it is distinguishable from the bomber version by its nose-mounted radar antenna, lack of rear defensive gunner position, and darker paint scheme.
Its German equivalent is the Stuka, however it is closer in performance to the United Kingdom's Mosquito, it being a large but fast and manoeuvrable aircraft with powerful offensive armament with which to engage enemy aircraft. Its most notable departure from other fighter bombers is that the P-70 uses forward-firing M8 Rockets as its primary air-to-ground munition, and by default lacks any weapons for level bombing. The result of this is that pilots are limited to diving and strafing attacks when targeting ground units. Flying directly towards their target in a straight path makes the P-70 more predictable to intercept, and thus at greater risk of damage from anti-aircraft gunners. Despite this limitation, the P-70 receive increased versatility as a result of Specializations, allowing it fulfil the role of dedicated dogfighter, tank buster, infantry support aircraft or intelligence gatherer.
Its already powerful gun loadout of .50cal HMGs can be increased in number from four to six guns, or augmented with secondary 20mm Cannons. At rank 2, the 2x 20mm AT upgrade gives the cannons the ability to harm tanks, and although dealing a small amount of damage per shot, their high rate of fire and large ammunition pool allows pilots to conduct long strafes, quickly reengaging and harassing enemy tanks until they are destroyed. The guns can further be used to finish off tanks damaged with its M8 rockets, which can also be increased in number from eight to twelve rockets per volley for impressive burst damage. Alternatively, secondary weapons can be eschewed completed in exchange for the Manual Supercharger, which gives the P-70 a burst of agility above any other ground attacker. In a similar vein, the M8 Rockets can be replaced by two ASM-N-2 "Bat" glide bombs - the only indirect strike munition available to the P-70. Tertiary weapons come in the form of the parachuted infantry Resupply Canister and Spawn Beacon, the latter of which allows teammates to spawn as long as it is in the air. For defense, Emergency Repair can be replaced at rank 3 with the Smoke Screen or, more uniquely, with two rearward-firing LMGs mounted in the engine nacelles, which have fixed aiming and can be used by the pilot to ward off attackers. At rank 6, the Radar Package allows the plane to detect enemy aircraft in the vicinity, while the Spotting Scope can be very effective during dive bombing runs as it allows the pilot to self-spot enemies. Other upgrades in the tree include Improved Resupply at Rank 2, Finned Barrels at rank 3, Improved Control Surfaces at Rank 4, Increased main gun ammunition at rank 5 and Armored Fuselage at Rank 6.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Trivia
- Despite being classified as a Ground Attack aircraft rather than a Bomber, the P-70 cannot be used in Outpost. Additionally, it is exempt from the AA bonus damage as a result.
- The A-20 in-game is based off of the A-20G.