The Douglas DB-7 was an advanced attack bomber developed in the late 1930s. Though developed for the US Army Air Corps, the sleek DB-7 was first built for the French government. After the fall of France the remaining production of French DB-7s went instead to the RAF. The DB-7 flew as the Boston for the RAF and Britain purchased hundreds more directly from the Douglas Aircraft Company. The US Army Air Corps placed a production contract in 1939, ordering the plane as the A-20 Havoc. When the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor came, the A-20 was among the most capable aircraft in the US inventory. It went on to serve with the US Ninth Air Force in Europe and the Fifth Air Force in the South Pacific.