![]() At its peak in September 1944 the 5th Air Force had a total of 370 A-20s. Only then did the group completely equip with the A-20, while the 312th Bombardment Group began to convert from the P-40, while the 417th Bombardment Group became the last group to get the A-20. The 3rd Bombardment Group remained the only A-20 unit in the Pacific until the start of 1944. These small bombs were very effective against Japanese bases and against flat bottomed barges. The 3rd BG also pioneered the use of “parafrags” – small fragmentation bombs with time delay fuses dropped by parachute. This was the first of a long series of low level strafing attacks on the Japanese that would become the specialty of the A-20 in the Pacific, and would lead to the development of the solid nosed A-20G. In August 1942 the modified aircraft went into combat, attacking the Japanese airbase at Lae. 50in machine guns in the nose of the A-20As, which at best had four. These aircraft arrived without guns or bomb racks, and so Major Paul “Pappy” Gunn, who installed four. In the summer of 1942 it received enough A-20s to equip the 89th Bombardment Squadron and part of the 8th Bombardment Squadron. As of 8:45 p.m., streams of water were filling the air as dozens of firefighters either milled about the street or climbed ladders into the burned-out home and houses on either side of it.The first unit to take the A-20 into combat in the Pacific was the 3rd Bombardment Group. He said he didn’t see anyone leaving the house, and he didn’t see anyone who appeared to live there. He said he arrived at his friend’s home across the street to see “a lot of fire” filling the top of the home. Steven Herrera, 23, said he was on nearby Bennington Street, where the smoke was so heavy, it was difficult to see. ![]() The cause of the blaze remained under investigation last night. Officials reported about 35 people were driven out of their homes, and two firefighters received minor injuries. The fire was largely under control by 9 p.m. She added that she didn’t think the fire was going to be that big but then she saw a firefighter on the roof with an ax, and when he hacked through the roof, flames exploded through the opening. I’m not sure, but I heard a loud explosion, like a car exploding.” “They have two cars that are always parked in that driveway. She said when she ran out she heard an explosion. Nervous for her pets, she ran across the street and grabbed her mother’s pet in an unaffected house. He said the smell of smoke permeated his home, drawing him outside, where he said heavy fire filled the top floor of the burning home just before firefighters arrived.Īlix Hallahan, 19, a neighbor from across the street, said she saw flames explode out of the second-floor windows. “It was a big fireball,” said Carlos Landaverde, 14, who lives two houses behind where the fire apparently broke out. Just after 8:30 p.m., flames were still visible through a side window of the three-story Lexington Street home that firefighters were still dousing with water as onlookers filled the sidewalks and corners around the scene. Others described flames shooting out of the windows and the roof. One woman said, “Thank God everyone got out OK. Neighborhood residents gathered in a nearby driveway. Smoke could be seen and smelled from Logan International Airport and the Mass Pike. They sprayed down the roofs of the wood-frame triple-deckers as a throng of people looked on. Fighting back tears, Silva added that he heard everyone in the condominium got out safely.įirefighters arriving on the scene busted the windows of a BMW that was parked in front of a fire hydrant so they could run a hose through it to fight the fire. His two children were on the first floor when it happened. He said a friend called him and told him about the fire. “I can’t believe it man, I’m crying, I’m crying,” said resident Jose Silva, who lives on the second floor of the building. An eight-alarm wind-driven fire hit three homes and a car on Lexington Street in East Boston last night - prompting a massive fire department response two weeks after two firefighters were killed in the Back Bay, fire officials report.
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