Douglas SBD Dauntless

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_SBD_Dauntless

The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a World War II American naval scout plane and dive
bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD
("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-borne scout
plane and dive bomber from mid-1940 through mid-1944. The SBD was also flown by
the United States Marine Corps, both from land air bases and aircraft carriers.
The SBD is best remembered as the bomber that delivered the fatal blows to the
Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The type earned its
nickname "Slow But Deadly" (from its SBD initials) during this period.

During its combat service, the SBD was an excellent naval scout plane and dive
bomber. It possessed long range, good handling characteristics, maneuverability,
potent bomb load, great diving characteristics, good defensive armament and
ruggedness. One land-based variant of the SBD — in omitting the arrestor hook —
was purpose-built for the U.S. Army Air Forces, as the A-24 Banshee.

Design work on the Northrop BT-1 began in 1935. In 1937, the Northrop
Corporation was taken over by Douglas, and the active Northrop projects
continued under Douglas Aircraft Corporation. The Northrop BT-2 was developed
from the BT-1 by modifications ordered in November 1937, and provided the basis
of the SBD, which first entered service in mid-1939. Ed Heinemann led a team of
designers who considered a development with a 1,000 hp (750 kW) Wright Cyclone
engine. The plane was developed at the Douglas El Segundo, CA plant, and that
facility, along with the company's Oklahoma City plant, built almost all the
SBDs produced. One year earlier, both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps had placed
orders for the new dive bomber, 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 to the Navy in early 1941. The distinctive
perforated split flaps or "dive-brakes" had been incorporated into the BT-1 to
eliminate tail buffeting during diving maneuvers.

The next version was the SBD-3, which began manufacture in early 1941. It had
increased armor, self-sealing fuel tanks, and four machine guns. The SBD-4
provided a 12-volt (up from 6-volt) electrical system, and a few were converted
into SBD-4P reconnaissance aircraft.

The next (and most produced) version, the SBD-5, was produced mostly in the
Douglas plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This version was equipped with a 1,200 hp (890
kW) engine and an increased ammunition supply. Over 2,400 of these were built. A
few of them were shipped to the Royal Navy for evaluation. In addition to
American service, the SBD saw combat against the Japanese Army and Navy with No.
25 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force—but the RNZAF soon replaced them
with the larger, faster, heavier and land-based Vought F4U Corsairs.


Role
Dive bomber
Scout plane

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
Douglas Aircraft

Designer
Ed Heinemann

First flight
1 May 1940

Introduction
1940

Retired
1959 (Mexico)

Primary users
United States Navy
United States Marine Corps
United States Army Air Forces
Free French Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force

Produced
1940–1944

Number built
5,936

Developed from
Northrop BT

The first major use of the SBD in combat was at the Battle of the Coral Sea
where SBDs and TBD Devastators sank the Japanese light aircraft carrier (CVL)
Shoho and damaged the Japanese fleet carrier Shokaku. SBDs were also used for
anti-torpedo combat air patrols (CAP) and these scored several victories against
Japanese aircraft trying to attack Lexington and Yorktown.

Their relatively heavy gun armament with two forward-firing .50 in (12.7 mm) M2
Browning machine guns and either one or two rear flexible-mount .30 in (7.62 mm)
AN/M2 machine guns was effective against the lightly built Japanese fighters,
and many pilots and gunners took aggressive attitudes to the fighters that
attacked them. SBD pilot Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa was attacked by three A6M2 Zero
fighters; he shot two of them down and cut off the wing of the third in a
head-on pass with his wingtip.

At the Battle of Midway, Marine Corps SBDs were not as effective. One squadron,
VMSB-241, flying from Midway Atoll, was not trained in the techniques of
dive-bombing with their new Dauntlesses (having just partially converted from
the SB2U Vindicator). Instead, its pilots resorted to the slower but easier
glide bombing technique. This led to many of the SBDs being shot down when they
became vulnerable during their glide, although one survivor from these attacks
is now on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum and is the last
surviving aircraft to fly in the battle. On the other hand, the carrier-borne
squadrons were effective, especially when they were escorted by their Grumman
F4F Wildcat teammates. The success of dive bombing was due to one important
circumstance:

Unlike American squadrons that attacked shortly before one at a time, allowing
defending Japanese Zero fighters to concentrate on each squadron to shoot them
down or drive them away from the carriers, three squadrons totaling 47 SBDs
(VS-6, VB-6, and VB-3), one squadron of 12 TBD torpedo aircraft (VT-3), and six
F4F fighters (from VF-3) all arrived simultaneously, with two of the SBD
squadrons (VS-6 and VB-6) arriving from a different direction from the other
squadrons. Without central fighter direction, the approximately 40 Zeros
concentrated on the TBDs, with some fighting the F4Fs covering the TBDs, leaving
the SBDs unhindered by fighter opposition in their approach and attack (although
most of the TBDs were shot down).

The Dauntless was one of the most important aircraft in the Pacific War, sinking
more enemy shipping in the War in the Pacific than any other Allied bomber. In
addition, Barrett Tillman, in his book on the Dauntless, claims that it has a
"plus" score against enemy aircraft, meaning it was credited with more victories
over enemy planes than losses due to enemy action. This is considered to be a
rare event for a nominal "bomber".

A total of 5,936 SBDs were produced during the War. The last SBD rolled off the
assembly lines at the Douglas Aircraft plant in El Segundo, California, on 21
July 1944. The Navy placed emphasis on the heavier, faster, and longer-ranged
SB2C. From Pearl Harbor through April 1944, SBDs had flown 1,189,473 operational
hours, with 25 percent of all operational hours flown off aircraft carriers
being in SBDs. Its battle record shows that in addition to six Japanese
carriers, 14 enemy cruisers had been sunk, along with six destroyers, 15
transports or cargo ships and scores of various lesser craft.

Specifications (SBD-5)

General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 33 ft 1¼ in (10.09 m)
Wingspan: 41 ft 6? in (12.66 m)
Height: 13 ft 7 in (4.14 m)
Wing area: 325 ft² (30.19 m²)
Empty weight: 6,404 lb (2,905 kg)
Loaded weight: 9,359 lb (4,245 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 10,700 lb (4,853 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-1820-60 radial engine, 1,200 hp (895 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 255 mph (222 knots, 410 km/h) at 14,000 ft (4,265 m)
Cruise speed: 185 mph (161 knots, 298 km/h)
Range: 1,115 mi (970 nmi, 1,795 km)
Service ceiling: 25,530 ft (7,780 m)
Rate of climb: 1,700 ft/min (8.6 m/s)
Wing loading: 32.9 lb/ft² (140.6 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.13 hp/lb (0.185 kW/kg)

Armament

Guns:
2 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) forward-firing synchronized Browning M2 machine guns in
engine cowling
2 × 0.30 in (7.62 mm) flexible-mounted Browning machine gun in rear

Bombs: 2,250 lb (1,020 kg) of bombs



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