Talk:SBD Dauntless

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Content from Douglas SBD added by User:68.2.133.97 on May 14, 2004. There may be material worth merging.

The Douglas SBD was the most successful naval strike aircraft of World War II, playing significant roles in the Battles of Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal. The designation indicated it was a scout-bomber built by Douglas Aircraft Company of El Segundo, California. The SBD-1 was derived from a Northrop design, the BT-1, before Donald Douglas formed his own company following affiliation with Jack Northrop.

First flown in 1939, the SBD-1 was unusual in that the first deliveries went to the Marine Corps. Usually the Marines received old "cast-off" models of Navy aircraft but the original SBDs possessed shorter range than the follow-on versions, hence the Marines' good fortune. Navy SBD-2s joined the fleet in 1940, and at the time of Pearl Harbor the SBD-3 was entering service.

In late 1941 the Navy began assigning popular names to its aircraft, and the SBD became the Dauntless. It was an apt name, as the SBD fought a long war, beginning with a scouting flight preceding the carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) as she neared Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Five SBDs were shot down by Japanese fighters and nervous American gunners.

In May 1942 Dauntlesses flew from the carriers Lexington (CV-2) and Yorktown (CV-5) in the Coral Sea battle, particpating in destruction of the Japanese carrier Shoho, first enemy flattop sunk in the war. A month later Enterprise and Yorktown SBDs sank all four Japanese carriers in the decisive Battle of Midway, which ended Japanese expansion in the Pacific.

During the long Guadalcanal campaign (August 1942-February 1943) Navy SBDs fought two carrier battles (Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz), sinking another enemy flattop. Additionally, Marine Dauntlesses formed a crucial part of "The Cactus Air Force" ashore on Guadalcanal.

SBDs also logged combat in the Atlantic, supporting the Allied landings in North Africa (November 1942) and attacking German shipping in Norway (October 1943).

However, the Dauntless finished its war where it began--in the Pacific. The last carrier-based SBD squadrons flew in the Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 1944) but Marine squadrons continued flying in the Central Pacific and the Philippines into 1945.

From the "dash ones" through the last SBD-6s, nearly 6,000 Dauntlesses were built, including those used by the Army Air Force, designated A-24s. Dauntlesses also were flown by Free French squadrons in Europe and a New Zealand squadron in the Solomon Islands. Thus, SBD pilots and gunners fought a truly global war in the aircraft they affectionately called "Slow But Deadly."

The SBD's airframe was little changed throughout its production run. Internal fuel, electronics, and somewhat larger engines were the differences among the various models. All were powered by the Wright R1820 radial engine, rated from 1,000 to 1,200 horsepower. Standard armament was two .50 caliber machine guns firing through the propeller and twin .30s for the radioman-gunner. SBDs usually carried a 500-pound bomb on scouting flights and a 1,000-pounder for antiship missions.

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