8/12/2023 0 Comments Sbd dauntlessSimultaneously, Army Air Corps’ interest in the design led to additional production orders, those in Army service designated A-24 and nicknamed “Banshee”. 50-inch machine guns fixed forward on the engine cowling and twin 0.30 inch machine guns manned by a second crewman for protection astern. In March 1941, the SBD-3 was introduced, featuring protective armor and a more powerful engine than its predecessors. After Northrop became a subsidiary of Douglas, the new aircraft took on a Douglas designation.įirst orders for the SBD-1 and SBD-2 were placed by the Marine Corps and the Navy respectively on 8 April 1938, both entering service near the end of 1940. The SBD (Scout Bomber Douglas) Dauntless was derived directly from the Northrop BT-2 design of 1935. A survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack and two combat actions, including the famous Battle of Midway, it is one of the most historic aircraft in existence anywhere in the world.The SBD Dauntless dive bomber sunk four Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Elements of its original paint scheme when delivered to the fleet are still visible on its wings and tail surfaces. Recovered in 1994, the aircraft underwent extensive restoration at the museum before being placed on public display in 2001. Douglas was retrieved from the water by a Coast Guard rescue boat, but his aircraft sank to the bottom of the lake. at the controls, the aircraft ditched in the waters of Lake Michigan during an errant approach to the training carrier Sable (IX 81). On the morning of 11 June 1943, with Marine 2nd Lieutenant Donald A. Returned to the United States, the museum's SBD-2 was repaired and eventually assigned to the Carrier Qualification Training Unit (CQTU) at NAS Glenview, Illinois. For their actions, Iverson received the Navy Cross and Reid was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. His was one of only eight SBD-2s of VMSB-241 to return from the attack against the Japanese fleet. Nevertheless, the pilot managed to return to Midway, making a one-wheel landing on the atoll. One bullet came so close that it clipped Iverson's throat microphone cord. Enemy fire holed Iverson's plane 219 times, knocking out his hydraulic system and wounding Reid. During his egress from the target area, the Zeroes on Iverson's tail were joined by two others, which pursued the Dauntless for miles. Iverson, with two Japanese Zero fighters following him down in his dive, released his bomb at an altitude of 800 feet. Approaching the enemy carrier Hiryu, the Marine planes came under fire from antiaircraft gunners and fighters of the enemy combat air patrol. 30-caliber machine gun in the aft cockpit, the museum's aircraft was one of sixteen SBD-2s of VMSB-241 launched to attack Japanese aircraft carriers to the west of Midway. On the morning of 4 June 1942, with 1st Lieutenant Daniel Iverson as pilot and Private First Class Wallace Reid manning the. When Lexington returned to Pearl Harbor following the raid, the museum's SBD-2 was again put ashore and earmarked for transfer to Marine Scout Bombing Squadron (VMSB) 241 on Midway Atoll, arriving there with eighteen other SBD-2s on, on board the aircraft transport Kitty Hawk (APV-1). Credited with pressing home his attack against a Japanese ship, Whittier received the Navy Cross. Stanley as his gunner, the aircraft joined 103 other planes from Lexington and Yorktown (CV-5) in a raid against Japanese shipping at Lae and Salamaua in New Guinea. ![]() Whittier with Aviation Radioman Second Class Forest G. On 10 March 1942, flown by Lieutenant (junior grade) Mark T. ![]() Put back aboard Lexington when she returned to Pearl, the aircraft embarked in the carrier to the South Pacific. ![]() Thus, on the morning of 7 December 1941, it was on Ford Island in the middle of Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. For the better part of the following year the aircraft flew with that squadron, logging hours flying from the deck of the aircraft carrier Lexington (CV-2) and participating in large-scale military maneuvers in Louisiana.ĭuring the first week of December 1941, with Lexington earmarked to deliver aircraft of a Marine scout bombing squadron to Midway Atoll, the aircraft was off-loaded from the carrier to make room for the additional aircraft and left at Pearl Harbor when "Lady Lex" put to sea. Rolling off the Douglas Aircraft Company assembly line in El Segundo, California, in December 1940, SBD-2 Dauntless (Bureau Number 2106) was delivered to Bombing Squadron (VB) 2 at Naval Air Station (NAS) San Diego, California, on the last day of 1940.
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