Not a first choice, but a first-class performer

IN SERVICE DOUGLAS DB-7/A-20 A DB-7 B-3 operated by the Armée de l’Air, photographed in North Africa. VIA GILLES COLLAVERI One of the last DB-7s in Armée de l’Air service, used to attack the so-called ‘Atlantic pockets’ in September 1944. VIA GILLES COLLAVERI FRANCE The French order secured the future of the type, but actual French use was subject to the vagaries of war. The first machines for France were designated as the DB-7 B-3 (DB for Douglas Bomber, as