Bomber Command's Finest Five

You may have seen our top 10 Bomber Command aircraft feature earlier in the week. Wondering what came in the top spots? We summarise the final five ‘best’ bombers at the RAF’s disposal and compare the statistics of individual models

5 DOUGLAS BOSTON MK.III

Construction: Designed by Ed Heinemann, the first aircraft were delivered to Europe from Douglas's El Segundo, California production line.

Number built: A total of 7,385 were made of all variants, including 999 A-20B Havocs, 948 A-20Cs and 781 DB-7Bs.

First flight: The Douglas Model 7B prototype made its maiden flight on October 26, 1938.

Powerplants: Two 1,600lb (1,193kW) Wright R-2600 Double Cyclone 14-cylinder radials driving threebladed propellers.

Dimensions: Span 61ft 4in (18.7m). Length 47ft 6in. Height 17ft 7in. Wing area 460sq ft (43m²).

Weight: Empty 15,051lb (6,827kg). Loaded 20,230lb.

Performance: Max speed 338mph (544km/h) at 12,500ft (3,810m). Service ceiling 27,600ft. Range with 1,000lb (454kg) load 745 miles (1,200km).

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