SBD DAUNTLESS

Contents

Design and development

Operational history

Operators

Specifications (Douglas SBD Dauntless)

References

External links

Related content

Design and development

The Northrop BT-1 provided the basis for the SBD, which began manufacture in 1940. It was designed by designers team lead by Ed Heinemann with a 1,000 horsepower Wright Cyclone powerplant. A year earlier, both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps had placed orders for the new dive bombers, aptly designated the 'SBD-1' and 'SBD-2' (the latter had increased fuel capacity and different armament). The former went to the Marine Corps in late 1940, and the latter went to the Navy in early 1941.
The next version, designated 'SBD-3', began manufacture in early 1941. It provided increased protection, self-sealing fuel tanks, and four machine guns. The 'SBD-4' provided a 12-volt (from 6) electrical system, and a few were converted onto 'SBD-4P' reconnaissance platforms.
The next (and most produced) variant, the 'SBD-5', was primarily produced at the Douglas plant at Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was equipped with a 1,200 hp (895 kW) engine and increased ammunition. Over 2,400 were built, and a few were shipped to the Royal Navy for evaluation. In addition to American service, the type saw combat against the Japanese with No. 25 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force which soon replaced them with F4U Corsairs, and against the Germans with the Free French Air Force. A few were also sent to Mexico. The final version, the 'SBD-6', provided more improvements but production ended in the summer of 1944.
The U.S. Army had its own version of the SBD, known as the 'A-24 Banshee', which was essentially the same aircraft with a few changes (the removal of the unnecessary arresting hook and different tires). Two versions (the A-24A and A-24B) were produced and used by the Army during and after the war.

Operational history

The 'Douglas SBD Dauntless' was the U.S. Navy's main dive bomber from mid-1940 until late 1943, when it was supplemented (although not entirely replaced) by the SB2C Helldiver.
The SBD was involved in combat from the first day of the Pacific War, as Dauntlesses arriving at Hawaii from USS ''Enterprise'' were caught in the Pearl Harbor attack. The type's first major use was in the Battle of the Coral Sea, when SBDs and TBDs sank the Japanese aircraft carrier ''Shōhō''. SBDs were also used as anti-torpedo combat air patrol and scored several times against Japanese aircraft trying to attack USS ''Lexington'' and USS ''Yorktown''. Their relatively heavy gun armament (two forward firing .50 calibre machine guns, one to two rear flexible-mount .30 calibre machine guns) was more than just a sinecure against the lightly built Japanese fighters, and many pilot-gunner combinations took an extremely aggressive attitude to fighters which attacked them. One pilot, "Swede" Vejtasa, was attacked by 8 A6M Zero fighters and managed to hold them off and down 3 in the process [1]. His skill as a fighter pilot was clear and he was immediately transferred to fighters. In October 1942 he downed 7 enemy planes in one day. However, the SBD's most important contribution to the American war effort probably came during the Battle of Midway (early June 1942), when SBD dive bomber attacks sank all four of the Japanese aircraft carriers (the ''Akagi'', ''Kaga'', ''Sōryū'', and ''Hiryū'') as well as heavily damaging two Japanese cruisers (including the ''Mikuma'', which sank before a Japanese destroyer could scuttle it).
At Midway, Marine SBDs were not as effective. One squadron, operating off Midway Island, was not trained in the "Helldiving" technique; instead, the new pilots resorted to the slower but easier glide bombing technique, which led to heavy losses. The carrier-borne squadrons, on the other hand, were much more effective, combined with their F4F Wildcat fighter escorts. It should also be mentioned that the success of dive bombing was due to two important circumstances: First and foremost, the fact that the Japanese carriers were at their most vulnerable: Readying bombers for battle, with full fuel hoses and armed ordnance strewn across their hangar decks. Secondly, that the valiant but doomed assault of the TBD Devastator squadrons from the American carriers had drawn the Japanese fighter cover down and away from the approach vector of the dive bombers, making it impossible for them to intercept the Dauntlesses thereby allowing the SBD attacks to go unhindered.
Next, SBDs participated in the Guadalcanal campaign, both from American carriers and Henderson Field on Guadalcanal Island. Dauntlesses contributed to the heavy loss of Japanese shipping during the campaign, including the carrier ''Ryūjō'' near the Solomon Islands on August 24, damaging three others during the six-month campaign. SBDs proceeded to sink one cruiser and nine transports during the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
During the decisive time of the Pacific Campaign, the SBD's strengths and weaknesses became evident. Interestingly, while the American strength was dive bombing, the Japanese stressed their Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers, which caused the bulk of the damage at Pearl Harbor.
Although it was already reaching obsolescence by 1941, the SBD was used until 1944 when the Dauntless undertook its last major action during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. However, some Marine squadrons utilized Dauntlesses until the end of the war. It had already been replaced by the SB2C Helldiver in the U.S. Navy, much to the dismay of the pilots, many of whom believed that the "Slow But Deadly" Dauntless was a better aircraft than the Helldiver, which gained the nickname "Son of a Bitch 2nd Class." The Dauntless was one of the most important aircraft in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, sinking more enemy shipping in the Pacific war than any other US or Allied aircraft. In addition, Barrett Tilman, in his book on the Dauntless, claims that the Dauntless has a "plus" score against enemy aircraft, a rare event for a nominal "bomber" indeed.
5,936 SBDs were produced in World War II.

Operators

;

★ Royal Australian Air Force operated A-24B Banshees.
;

★ Chilean Air Force operated A-24B Banshees.
;

★ French Air Force
;

★ Mexican Air Force
;

★ Moroccan desert police^[1]
;

★ Royal New Zealand Air Force
;

★ Fleet Air Arm
;

★ United States Army Air Force

★ United States Marine Corps

★ United States Navy

Specifications (Douglas SBD Dauntless)

References

1. Tillman 1998, p. 85.

----

★ Brazelton, David. ''The Douglas SBD Dauntless, Aircraft in Profile 196''. Leatherhead, Surrey: Profile Publications Ltd. 1967. No ISBN

★ Dann, Richard, S. ''SBD Dauntless Walk Around, Walk Around Number 33''. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 2004. ISBN 0-89747-468-6.

★ Drendel, Lou. ''U.S. Navy Carrier Bombers of World War II''. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1987. ISBN 0-89747-195-4.

★ Kinzey, Bert. ''SBD Dauntless in Detail & Scale, D&S Vol.48''. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1996. ISBN 1-888974-01-X.

★ Smith, Peter C. ''Douglas SBD Dauntless''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: The Crowood Press Ltd., 1997. ISBN 1-86126-096-2.

★ Stern, Robert. ''SBD Dauntless in Action, Aircraft Number 64''. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-89747-153-9.

★ Tillman, Barrett. ''The Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War II''. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1976 (softcover 2006). ISBN 0-87021-569-8.

★ Tillman, Barrett. ''SBD Dauntless Units of World War 2''. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 1998. ISBN 1-85532-732-5.

★ Tillman, Barrett and Lawson, Robert L. ''U.S. Navy Dive and Torpedo Bombers of WWII''. St. Paul, MN: Motor Books Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0-7603-0959-0.

★ Boeing history of SBD Dauntless Divebomber.

External links

★ Warbird Alley: SBD

★ The SBD Shipborne Dive Bomber

★ Aero-Web.org: SBD-5 Dauntless

Related content