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.

[edit] Image:Midway dauntless.jpg

Can anyone provide a source for Image:Midway dauntless.jpg? It obviously is a Navy picture, but it doesn't have a source listed on Commons:Image:Midway dauntless.jpg, and the guy who originally uploaded it back in 2004 doesn't remember where he found it.
—wwoods 02:39, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

The Marine dive bombers of VMSB-241 flying from Midway were only partly SBDs. There were also 11 SV2U Vindicator ("Wind Indicator") aircraft which took part in the unsuccessful glide bombing attack (the Marines not having been trained in the "Helldiving" attack method used so successfuly by the USN SBD pilots).

[edit] Aussie A-24B Banshees?

I cannot find any evidence for Australian use of the A-24 Banshee. I did find that the US 91th Bombing Squadron used them in Australia Dirk P Broer 01:05, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

According to a USAF website the A-24 Banshee was used by the 91st Bombardment Squadron which was an American U.S. Army Air Corps unit that was saw limited combat in the early days of the Southwest Pacific in 1942. Another article mentions that the http://www.vectorsite.net/avsbd.html

Only 200 SB2C-1s were built, with all remaining stateside for training, and some sources suggest they were only accepted because the delays in the program had become so politically deadly, being targeted by government review committees, that heads were in danger of rolling. The 900 A-25A Shrikes ordered by the USAAF, which were much like the SB2C-1 except for lack of carrier gear, were completed but never actually saw any combat with the Army. Some were used as target tugs but the rest were given away -- with 410 passed on to the US Marines, 270 to the US Navy, and 10 to the Royal Australian Air Force. The Marines designated the A-25A the "SB2C-1A".

So the RAAF had at least ten SB2C-1's, whether or not these aircraft saw actual combat is undetermined. -TabooTikiGod 12:44, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
So give me the RAAF registration numbers of those 10 planes. I couldn't find them in either the Dauntless references or the Australian airforce references I own.Dirk P Broer 13:44, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
As both A-25 and SB2C point to the Curtiss SB2C "Helldiver"/Curtiss A-25 "Shrike", I still see no evidence of the Australian use of the Douglas SBD "Dauntless"/Douglas A-24 "Banshee"Dirk P Broer 23:10, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
I quoted straight from the internet source that these were SB2C-1s, it is clear that the website does not list the aircraft serial numbers. If you want more specific information referencing the A-24, then you'll have to contact the RAAF or USAF to get a hold of this information from historical archives. I'll make it clear that there is no dispute that the Australians never used the A-24 Banshee's, let alone in combat. Listed on the A-24 article, the country of Australia is not listed as foreign users of the aircraft. -TabooTikiGod 05:03, 8 November 2007 (UTC)
I want you to read your own piece closely SB2C, that is not "Slow but Deadly" (Dauntless/Banshee) but "Son of a Bitch 2nd Class", the Curtiss Helldiver/A-25 Shrike. Banshees are no Shrikes, just as Dauntlesses are no Helldivers and Douglas is not Curtiss. "Listed on the A-24 article, the country of Australia is not listed as foreign users of the aircraft" - Yes, but only after I took Australia out of that list.Dirk P Broer 20:19, 8 November 2007 (UTC)
FYI: The Australian serial numbers for the A-25 Shrike (De-navalised helldiver) are A69-1 till A69-10, A69 denoting the Curtiss A-25, the individual aircraft by the last suffix.Dirk P Broer 00:23, 9 November 2007 (UTC)
I am quite aware of what I wrote, it even says in the article "The 900 A-25A Shrikes ordered...". I'm not arguing the fact that the Australians used A-25's, nor am I arguing the fact that the Austrlians did not use A-24s. I am quite aware that the A-24 and A-25 were different aircraft. I am also not aware that Australia had been listed as a foreign nation that used the Banshee/Dauntless. -TabooTikiGod 04:43, 9 November 2007 (UTC)