Sbd dauntless dive bomber8/25/2023 ![]() The aircraft’s remains were retrieved from Lake Michigan in the mid-1990s and were subsequently restored to the fully flight-capable aircraft seen here. This aircraft crashed in Lake Michigan on May 14th, 1944, following engine failure after takeoff from the USS Sable, a modified excursion steamer used for training at Great Lakes Naval Air Station. It also has the “wishbone” bomb mechanism to ensure proper clearance between the bomb and propeller blades when it is released during nearly vertical dives. He then noticed his heart, which was nearly pounding out of his chest. He looked at his hands as they gripped the rear cockpit of the US Navy airplanethey were shaking too. This aircraft, SBD-4 number 10694, is equipped with air-to-surface (ASV) radar, key during reconnaissance missions, and has the hallmark wing trailing edge “dive brakes” to control aircraft speed during dives. As 18-year-old Californian Don Hoff clambered up the wing of his SBD Dauntless dive-bomber, he couldn’t help but notice his legs were shaking. As we saw in the preceding article, the Douglas Dauntless was basically an evolution of the 1935 Northrop BT. Its airframe was a production Northrop BT-1, but it was heavily modified and redesignated by Douglas XSBD-1. The A-24Bs were then phased out of combat by the Army. Development of the Douglas SBD (1939-40) Northrop XBT-2 in 1937. From December 1943 until March 1944, an A-24B squadron flew from Makin Island against Japanese controlled islands in the Marshall Islands. Army Air Force had its own version of the SBD, called the A-24 Banshee. Several SBD naval aviators earned the “Ace” designation in the fast-paced combat scenarios of Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal battles, in spite of the aircraft’s relatively slow speed and modest armament. One month later, in the June 1942 Battle of Midway, SBDs sunk three Japanese carriers in five minutes. An SBD was the first aircraft to sink an enemy ship in WWII (Japanese submarine I-70), just three days after the Pearl Harbor attack.įirst extended combat test of the SBD came on May 7th, 1942, at the Battle of the Coral Sea. Navy at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. The SBD-4 was the model in use by the U.S. Its designation of SBD stood for “Scout Bomber Douglas.” The Dauntless started as a Northrop design but was considered a Douglas Aircraft Company product in 1937. The SBD was designed as a light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. The SBD-5 got a 200-hp increase in engine power and a larger fuel tank. The Navy bought 2,965, and the Army bought 675 A-24s. The main production version of the Dauntless was the much-improved SBD-5, which Douglas introduced in May 1943. The SBD was also effectively used in the North Atlantic and North Africa theaters. The Navy bought 780 SBD-4s, and the Army bought 170 A-24s. SBD units were also instrumental in winning the fight for Guadalcanal. Navy and Marine SBD squadrons were credited with sinking Japanese carriers in the Battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal. It sank more Japanese shipping than any other Allied bomber. The SBD Dauntless was the most effective U.S.
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