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Aircraft History:
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 U.S. Navy's main carrier-borne scout plane and dive bomber from mid-1940 through mid-1944. The SBD was also flown by the U.S. Marine Corps, both from land air bases and aircraft carriers.
Despite accusations that the aircraft was under-powered, vulnerable, lacking in range and exhausting to fly for any length of time, the "Dauntless" helped turn the tide of World War II at the Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942. The "Dauntless" sunk four major aircraft carriers of the Japanese Navy, ceasing Japanese expansion in the Pacific. The SBD also served with 20 U.S. Marine Corps Squadrons and many SBDs were retrofitted with Westinghouse ASB radar, the first to be used by the U.S. Navy.
Specifictaions:
Top speed: 410 km/h
First flight: May 1, 1940
Introduced: 1940
Length: 33 ft. 1 in.
Wingspan: 41 ft. 6 in.
Height: 13 ft. 7 in.
Wing Area: 325 sq. ft.
Empty Weight: 6,404 lbs.
Loaded Weight: 10,676 lbs.
Crew: 2
Power Plant: 1 × Wright R-1820-60 radial engine, 1,200 hp
Range: 773 miles
Guns: 2 x .50 cal. machine guns (mounted in cowling), 1 x (later 2 x) flexible-mounted .30 cal. machine gun(s) in rear
Bombs/Rockets: 2,250 lbs. of bombs
Produced 1940–1944
Number built 5,936
Developed from Northrop BT
Varients:
XBT-2
prototype, airframe was a production Northrop BT-1 heavily modified and redesignated as the XBT-2. Further modified by Douglas as the XSBD-1.
SBD-1
Marine Corps version without self-sealing fuel tanks; 57 built.
SBD-1P
reconnaissance aircraft, 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 aircraft, converted from SBD-2s.
SBD-3
began to be manufactured in early 1941. This provided increased protection, self-sealing fuel tanks, and four machine guns; 584 were built.
SBD-4
provided a 12-volt (up from six volt) electrical system; 780 built.
SBD-4P
reconnaissance aircraft, converted from SBD-4s.
SBD-5
The most produced version, primarily produced at the Douglas Aircraft plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Equipped with a 1,200-hp engine and an increased ammunition supply. A total of 2,965 were built, and a few were shipped to the Royal Navy for evaluation. In addition to American service, these saw combat against the Japanese with No. 25 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force which soon replaced them with F4Us, and against the Luftwaffe with the Free French Air Force. A few were also sent to Mexico.
SBD-5A
as A-24B, for USAAF but delivered to USMC; 60 built.
SBD-6
The final version, providing more improvements, including a 1,350 hp (1,010 kW) engine, but production ended in the summer of 1944; 450 built.
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