Douglas SBD Dauntless

The Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber was the U.S Navy's main dive bomber from mid-1940 until late 1943, when it was largely replaced by the SB2C Helldiver. The aircraft was also operated by the United States Army as the A-24 Banshee.

Design and development

The Northrop BT-1 provided the basis for the SBD, which began manufacture in 1940. Ed Heinemann led a team of designers who considered a development with a 1,000 hp (746 kW) Wright Cyclone powerplant. A year earlier, both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps had placed orders for the new dive bombers, designated the SBD-1 and SBD-2 (the latter had increased fuel capacity and different armament). The SBD-1 went to the Marine Corps in late 1940, and the SBD-2 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 summer 1944.

The U.S. Army had its own version of the SBD, known as the A-24 Banshee, which lacked the tail hook used for carrier landings, and a pneumatic tire replaced the solid tail wheel. First assigned to the 27th Bombardment Group (Light) at Hunter Field, Ga., A-24s participated in the Louisiana maneuvers during September 1941. There were three versions of the Banshee (A-24, the A-24A and A-24B) used by the Army in the early stages of the war. The USAAF used 948 of the 5,937 Dauntlesses built.

Operational history

The U.S. Army Air Forces sent 52 A-24 Banshees in crates to the Philippine Islands in fall 1941 to equip the 27th Bombardment Group, whose personnel arrived separately. However with the attack of Pearl Harbor, these aircraft were diverted to Australia and the 27th BG fought on Bataan as infantry. While in Australia, these aircraft were reassembled for flight to the Philippines, but missing parts including solenoids, trigger motors, and gun mounts delayed shipment. Plagued with mechanical problems, the A-24s were diverted to the 91st Bombardment Squadron and designated for assignment to Java instead. The A-24s had worn-out engines, no armor plating, and no self sealing fuel tanks. Referring to themselves as "Blue Rock Clay Pigeons", the 91st attacked the enemy harbor and airbase at Bali and damaged or sunk numerous ships around Java. After the Japanese shot down two A-24s and damaged three so badly they could no longer fly, the 91st received orders to evacuate Java in early March, ending a brief but valiant effort.

The Banshees left in Australia were assigned to the 8th Bombardment Squadron, 3rd Bombardment Group, to defend New Guinea. On 26 July 1942, seven A-24s attacked a convoy off Buna, but only one survived: the Japanese shot down five of them and damaged the sixth so badly that it did not make it back to base. Regarded by many pilots as too slow, too short-ranged and too poorly armed, the remaining A-24s were relegated to non-combat missions. In the United States, the A-24s became training aircraft or towed targets for aerial gunnery training. The more powerful A-24B was used later against the Japanese forces in the Gilbert Islands.

U.S Navy and U.S. Marine Corps SBDs saw their first action at Pearl Harbor. A total of 18 SBDs from the USS Enterprise arrived over Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack, and Scouting Squadron Six (VS-6) lost six aircraft, while Bombing Squadron Six (VB-6) lost one. Most Marine SBDs of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 232 (VMSB-232) were destroyed on the ground at Ewa Mooring Mast Field. On 10 December 1941 ''Enterprise'' SBDs sank the Japanese submarine I-70. In February and March 1942, SBDs from the carriers Lexington, Yorktown, and ''Enterprise'' took part in various strikes on Japanese installations in the Gilbert Islands , Marshall Islands, New Guinea, at Rabaul, on Wake and on Marcus Island.

The type's first major use was in the Battle of the Coral Sea , when SBDs and TBDs sank the Shoho. SBDs were also used as anti-torpedo combat air patrol and scored several times against Japanese aircraft trying to attack Lexington and Yorktown.

Their relatively heavy gun armament (two forward firing .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and either one or two rear flexible-mount .30 caliber machine guns) was effective against the lightly built Japanese fighters, and many pilot-gunner combinations took an aggressive attitude to fighters which attacked them. One pilot, Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa, was attacked by three A6M Zero fighters and managed to shoot all of them down. (His skill thus having been clearly demonstrated, he was transferred to fighters; in October 1942, he shot down seven enemy aircraft in one day.)

However, the SBD's most important contribution to the American war effort probably came during the Battle of Midway in early June 1942, when SBD dive bomber attacks sank or fatally damaged all four of the Japanese aircraft carriers, three of them in the space of just six minutes (the Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū and later in the day the Hiryu) as well as heavily damaging two Japanese cruisers (including the Mikuma).

At Midway, Marine SBDs were not as effective. One squadron, VMSB-241, operating from 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 the success of dive bombing was due to two important circumstances: Firstly, and most importantly, 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, the valiant but doomed assault of the TBD Devastator squadrons from the American carriers had drawn the Japanese fighter cover away from the dive bombers, thereby allowing the SBDs to attack 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 near the Solomon Islands on 24 August, 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 period 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 had caused the bulk of the damage at Pearl Harbor.

In the Atlantic Ocean the SBD saw action during Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa,in November 1942. The ''Dauntless''es operated from the and two escort carriers. Eleven months later, SBDs again from ''Ranger'' attacked German shipping around Bodø, Norway .

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 in the Pacific 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 the "Slow But Deadly" Dauntless was a better aircraft than the Helldiver, which gained the nickname "Son of a Bitch 2nd Class" or just "The Beast". 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 Allied aircraft. In addition, Barrett Tillman, 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.

A total of 5,936 SBDs were produced in World War II. When the last SBD rolled off the assembly lines at Douglas Aircraft Company's El Segundo plant on 21 July 1944, it marked the final dive bomber which the Navy was to buy. The Navy placed emphasis on the heavier, faster and longer-range SB2C. From Pearl Harbor until April 1944, SBD's had flown 1,189,473 operational hours, with 25 percent of all operational hours flown off aircraft carriers being in Dauntless aircraft. Its battle record shows that besides the four Japanese carriers, 14 enemy cruisers have been sunk, six destroyers, 15 transports or cargo ships and scores of various lesser craft.

Variants

XBT-2

prototype, one built,

SBD-1

Marine Corps version without self-sealing fuel tanks, 57 built.

SBD-1P

reconnaissance platforms, converted from SBD-1s.

SBD-2

Navy version with increased fuel capacity and different armament but without self-sealing fuel tanks, starting in early 1941, 87 built.

SBD-2P

reconnaissance platforms, converted from SBD-2s.

SBD-3

began manufacture in early 1941. It provided increased protection, self-sealing fuel tank s, and four machine guns, 584 built.

SBD-4

provided a 12-volt (from 6) electrical system, 780 built.

SBD-4P

reconnaissance platforms, converted from SBD-4s.

SBD-5

The most produced variant, primarily produced at the Douglas plant at Tulsa, Oklahoma. Equipped with a 1,200 hp (895 kW) engine and increased ammunition. 2,409 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.

SBD-6

The final version, providing more improvements, including a 1,350 hp (1,007 kW) engine, but production ended in summer 1944, 451 built.

A-24 Banshee

(SBD-3A): USAAF equivalent of the SBD-3 without arrester hook, 168 built.

A-24A Banshee

(SBD-4A): USAAF equivalent of the SBD-4, 170 built.

A-24B Banshee

(SBD-5A): USAAF equivalent of the SBD-5, 615 built.

Operators

CHI

* Chilean Air Force operated A-24B Banshees.

FRA

* French Air Force

* French Navy

MEX

* Mexican Air Force

MAR

* Moroccan Desert Police

NZL

* Royal New Zealand Air Force

** No. 25 Squadron RNZAF

UK

* Royal Air Force received four aircraft for test purposes from the nine originally tested by the Fleet Air Arm.

* Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm received nine aircraft for test purposes.

USA

* United States Army Air Forces

* United States Marine Corps

* United States Navy

Survivors

New Zealand

Display

*SBD-4, BuNo. ''06853'' is on display at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand.

United States

Airworthy

*A-24B Banshee (s/n 42-54532) is flown by the Commemorative Air Force Dixie Wing in Atlanta, GA as a SBD-3.

*A-24B Banshee (s/n 42-54682) is flown by the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, TX as a SBD-5.

*SBD-4, BuNo. ''10518'' is airworthy and flies out of Yanks Air Museum in Chino, CA.

*SBD-5, BuNo. ''28536'' is airworthy and flies out of the Planes of Fame in Chino, CA.

Display

*A-24B Banshee (s/n 42-54582) is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH. It is on loan from the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, VA.

*A-24A Banshee (s/n 42-60817) is on display at the Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, OR as a SBD-3.

*SBD-2, BuNo. ''02106'' is on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Naval Air Station Pensacola .

*SBD-3, BuNo. ''06508'' is on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Naval Air Station Pensacola .

*SBD-3, BuNo. ''06624'' is on display at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It is on loan from National Museum of Naval Aviation in Naval Air Station Pensacola .

*SBD-4, BuNo. ''06833'' is on display in its recovered condition in underwater exhibit at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Naval Air Station Pensacola .

*SBD-4, BuNo. ''06900'' is on display at the San Diego Aerospace Museum in San Diego, CA. It is on loan from National Museum of Naval Aviation, Naval Air Station Pensacola .

*SBD-4, BuNo. ''10575'' is on display at Midway Airport in Chicago, IL .

*SBD-5, BuNo. ''36173'' is on display at Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, SC .

*SBD-5, BuNo. ''36175'' is on display at Palm Springs Air Museum in Palm Springs, CA .

*SBD-6, BuNo. ''54605'' is on display at National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC .

Stored or under restoration

*A-24B Banshee (s/n 42-54782) is owned by Seaboard & Western Airlines Inc in New York . Its current status is unknown.

*A-24B Banshee (s/n 42-54593) is under restoration to flying condition by Kevin R. Smith of Fredericksburg, VA .

*A-24B Banshee (s/n 42-54643) is under restoration to flying condition by Kermit Weeks of Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, FL .

*A-24B Banshee (s/n 42-54654) is under restoration to flying condition at the MAPS Air Museum in Akron, OH .

*SBD-1, BuNo. ''01612'' is under restoration at the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum in San Diego, CA .

*SBD-3, BuNo. ''06694'' is under restoration at the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi, TX . It is on loan from National Museum of Naval Aviation in Naval Air Station Pensacola .

*SBD-4, BuNo. ''10508'' is stored at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ .

*SBD-4, BuNo. ''10715'' is under restoration at the Museum of Flying in Santa Monica, CA .