During its combat service, the SBD proved to be an effective naval scout plane and dive bomber. It possessed long range, good handling characteristics, maneuverability, potent bomb load, great diving characteristics from the perforated dive brakes. By the middle months of 1943 the bomber was considered by pilots to be too vulnerable for service owing to its armament and slow speed, and was relegated to non-combat roles.[2] One land-based variant of the SBD – omitting the arrestor hook — was purpose-built for the U.S. Army Air Forces, as the A-24 Banshee.
Design and development
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.[3] 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 1,000hp (750kW)Wright Cyclone engine. The plane was developed at the Douglas El Segundo, California, plant, and that facility, along with the company's Oklahoma City plant, built almost all the SBDs produced.[1] 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, replacing the SBU Corsair and Curtiss SBC Helldiver squadrons on US carriers. Distinctive perforated split flaps or "dive-brakes" had been incorporated into the BT-1 to eliminate tail buffeting during diving maneuvers.[4] Unusual for carrier aircraft, folding wings were not chosen for the design, opting instead for structural strength.[5]
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-4Preconnaissance aircraft.
Comparison of the XBT-1 and XBT-2 (SBD)
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 1,200hp (890kW) 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.[citation needed]
Some SBDs were also flown by the Free French Air Force against the German Heer and Luftwaffe. SBDs were also sold to Mexico.[citation needed]
The final version, the SBD-6, had more improvements,[clarification needed] but its production ended during the summer of 1944.
The U.S. Army Air Forces had its own version of the SBD, called the A-24 Banshee. It 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, Georgia, A-24s flew in the Louisiana maneuvers of September 1941. There were three versions of the Banshee (A-24, A-24A and A-24B) flown by the army to a very minor degree in the early stages of the war.[6] The USAAF used 948 of the 5,937 Dauntlesses built.
The SBD's most important contribution to the American war effort came during the Battle of Midway in early June 1942. Four squadrons of Navy SBD dive bombers attacked and sank or fatally damaged all four Japanese fleet carriers present, disabling three of them in the span of just six minutes (Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū) and, later in the day, Hiryū. They also caught two straggling heavy cruisers of the Midway bombardment group of four, heavily damaging them, with Mikuma eventually sinking.
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).[11] Its pilots resorted to the slower but easier glide bombing technique. This led to many of the SBDs being shot down 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 have flown in the battle. The carrier-borne squadrons were effective, especially when they were escorted by Grumman F4F Wildcats.[12] The success of dive bombing resulted from 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).[13]
A VB-5 SBD from Yorktown over Wake, early October 1943
SBDs played a major role in the Guadalcanal campaign, operating off both American carriers and from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. SBDs proved lethal to Japanese shipping that failed to clear New Georgia Sound (The Slot) by daylight. Losses inflicted included the carrier Ryūjō, sunk near the Solomon Islands on 24 August. Three other Japanese carriers were damaged during the six-month campaign. SBDs sank a cruiser and nine transports during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
In the Atlantic Ocean the SBD saw action during Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942. The SBDs flew from USSRanger and two escort carriers. Eleven months later, during Operation Leader, the SBDs saw their European debut when aircraft from Ranger attacked Nazi German shipping around Bodø, Norway.[14]
By 1944 the U.S. Navy began replacing the SBD with the more powerful SB2C Helldiver. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, a long range twilight strike was made against the retreating Japanese fleet, at (or beyond) the limit of the combat radius of the aircraft. The force had about twenty minutes of daylight over their targets before attempting the long return in the dark. Of the 215 aircraft, only 115 made it back. Twenty were lost to enemy action in the attack, and 80 were lost as one by one they expended their fuel and had to ditch into the sea.[15] In the attack were 26 SBDs, all of which made it back to the carriers.
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was the last major engagement of the carrier-borne SBDs. Marine squadrons continued to fly SBDs until the end of the war. Although the Curtiss Helldiver had a more powerful engine, a higher maximum speed and could carry nearly a thousand pounds more in bomb load, many of the dive bomber pilots preferred the SBD, which was lighter and had better low-speed handling characteristics, critical for carrier landings.
The Dauntless was one of the most important aircraft in the Pacific War, sinking more enemy shipping in the Pacific than any other Allied bomber. 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 from enemy action. This is considered to be a rare event for a nominal "bomber".[16]
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% 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.[17]
The USAAF sent 52 A-24 Banshees in crates to the Philippines in the fall of 1941 to equip the 27th Bombardment Group, whose personnel were sent separately. However, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, these bombers were diverted to Australia and the 27th BG fought on the Bataan Peninsula as infantry. While in Australia the aircraft were reassembled for flight to the Philippines, but their missing parts, including solenoids, trigger motors and gun mounts delayed their shipment. Plagued with mechanical problems, the A-24s were diverted to the 91st Bombardment Squadron and designated for assignment to Java instead.
Referring to themselves as "Blue Rock Clay Pigeons" (after a brand of trap shooting targets), the 91st BS based at Malang attacked the enemy-held harbor and airbase at Bali and damaged or sank numerous ships around Java during the Dutch East Indies campaign.[18] After the Japanese downed two A-24s and damaged three so badly that they could no longer fly, the 91st received orders to evacuate Java in early March 1942.
The A-24s remaining in Australia were assigned to the 8th Bombardment Squadron of 3d Bombardment Group, to defend New Guinea. On 29 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, short ranged and poorly armed, the remaining A-24s were relegated to non-combat missions. In the U.S., 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.[6] From December 1943 until March 1944, the 531st Fighter Squadron of the 7th Air Force flew A-24Bs from Makin Island in the Gilbert Islands against Japanese controlled islands in the Marshall Islands. The A-24Bs were then withdrawn from combat.
The A-24B (equivalent to the U.S. Navy SBD-5, with the omission of the arrestor hook) arrived in 1943 with the more powerful 1,200-hp Wright R-1820-60 Cyclone engine, a more powerful engine than either the A-24 or A-24A. As a result, the A-24B could fly slightly faster and higher than the earlier models. The A-24B lacked the small air intake on the top of the engine cowling present on the earlier models and that is an easy way to distinguish the B model. The 407th Bomb Group, assigned to the 11th Air Force, flew A-24Bs against the Japanese held island of Kiska, Alaska, during July and August 1943.
A handful of A-24s survived in the inventory of the USAAF long enough to be taken over by the Air Force (USAF) when that service became independent of the Army in September 1947. The USAF established a new designation system for its aircraft, eliminating the "A-" (for attack) category (through 1962); all of the single-engined "A-" aircraft were given "F-" (for fighter) nomenclature (or were determined to be obsolete and scrapped); thus the few remaining A-24 Banshees became known as F-24 Banshees, soldiering on in a reserve role until 1950 when they were scrapped.[19]
French Air Force and Naval Aviation (Aeronavale)
The first production Dauntless sent into action was the "SBD-3", which was produced for the French Naval Aviation. A total of 174 Dauntlesses were ordered by the French Navy, but with the fall of France in the spring of 1940 that production batch was diverted to the U.S. Navy, which ordered 410 more.
The Free French received about 80 SBD-5s and A-24Bs from the United States in 1944. They were used as trainers and close-support aircraft.
Free French squadrons received 40 to 50 A-24Bs in Morocco and Algeria during 1943.
French Naval Aviation (Aeronautique Navale) received 32 in late 1944 for Flotilles 3FB and 4FB (16 SBD-5s for each).
Squadron I/17 Picardie used a few A-24Bs for coastal patrol. The most combat-experienced of the Banshee units was GC 1/18 Vendee, which flew A-24Bs in support of Allied forces in southern France and also experienced how deadly German flak was, losing several aircraft in 1944. This squadron flew from North Africa to recently liberated Toulouse to support Allied and French resistance troops. Later, the unit was assigned to support attacks on cities occupied by the Germans on the French Atlantic coast. In April 1945 each SBD-5 averaged three missions a day in the European theater. In 1946 the French Air Force based its A-24Bs in Morocco as trainers.
French Navy Dauntlesses were based in Cognac at the end of 1944. The French Navy Dauntlesses were the last ones to see combat, during the Indochina War, flying from the carrier Arromanches (the former Royal Navy carrier Colossus). In late 1947 during one operation in the Indochina War, Flotille 4F flew 200 missions and dropped 65 tons of bombs. By 1949, the French Navy removed the Dauntless from combat status although the type was still flown as a trainer through 1953.
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force received 18 SBD-3s and 23 SBD-4s and No. 25 Squadron RNZAF used them in combat over the South Pacific. Under the original plan, four Squadrons (25, 26, 27 and 28) of the RNZAF were going to be equipped with the Dauntless but only 25 Squadron used them. The RNZAF soon replaced them with F4U Corsairs.
Variants
SBD-5 production at El Segundo, 1943FFARs mounted on a SBD for testing, 1944
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.
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 24-volt (up from 12 volt) electrical system; In addition, a new propeller and fuel pumps rounded out the improvements over the SBD-3. 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 1,350hp (1,010kW) engine, but production ended in the summer of 1944; 450 built.
A-24 Banshee (SBD-3A)
USAAF equivalent of the SBD-3 without arrestor hook; 168 built.[20]
On 7 December 1943, during a joint U.S. Navy–U.S. Marine simulated close air support exercise near Pauwela, Maui, Territory of Hawaii, the pilot of a U.S. Navy SBD-5, BuNo 36045[27] of squadron VB-10,[28] initiated a slight right-hand turn and deployed dive brakes in preparation for a bomb run, but his aircraft was struck by a second VB-10[28] SBD-5, 36099,[27] that did not have dive brakes deployed. Both aircraft crashed, and a bomb knocked loose from 36045 fell in the midst of a group of marines and detonated, killing 20 and seriously injuring 24. Both SBD pilots parachuted to safety, but both SBD gunners died, one after an unsuccessful bailout attempt. The collision was attributed to poor judgment and flying technique by both pilots.[27] Aviation Archaeology Investigation & Research gives the date of this accident as 6 December.[28]
Surviving aircraft
The hyphenated numbers are original U.S. Army Air Forces Serial Numbers (AAF Ser. No.); four or five digit numbers are original U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) Bureau Numbers (BuNo).
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact throughout the bomb run. This allows attacks on point targets and ships, which were difficult to attack with conventional level bombers, even en masse.
The Douglas TBD Devastator was an American torpedo bomber of the United States Navy. Ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy; however, by the time of the US entry into World War 2, the TBD was already outdated.
The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver is a dive bomber developed by Curtiss-Wright during World War II. As a carrier-based bomber with the United States Navy (USN), in Pacific theaters, it supplemented and replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless. A few survivors are extant.
The Vought SB2U Vindicator is an American carrier-based dive bomber developed for the United States Navy in the 1930s, the first monoplane in this role. Vindicators still remained in service at the time of the Battle of Midway, but by 1943, all had been withdrawn to training units. It was known as the Chesapeake in Royal Navy service.
The Curtiss SBC Helldiver was a two-seat scout bomber and dive bomber built by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. It was the last combat military biplane procured by the United States Navy. Delivered in 1937, it became obsolete even before World War II and was kept well away from combat with Axis fighters.
The Northrop BT was an American two-seat, single-engine monoplane dive bomber built by the Northrop Corporation for the United States Navy. At the time, Northrop was a subsidiary of the Douglas Aircraft Company. While unsuccessful in its own right, the BT was subsequently redesigned into the Douglas SBD Dauntless, which would form the backbone of the Navy's dive bomber force.
Marine Attack Squadron 231 (VMA-231) is a United States Marine Corps fixed wing attack squadron that consists of AV-8B Harrier (V/STOL) jets. The squadron, known as the "Ace of Spades", is based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina and fall under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG-14) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Norman Francis Vandivier was a United States Navy aviator during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for action during the Battle of Midway.
Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 244 (VMSB-244) was a dive bomber squadron in the United States Marine Corps. The squadron, also known as the "Bombing Banshees", fought in World War II in the Pacific Theater as part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. They were deactivated shortly after the end of the war.
Maxwell Franklin Leslie was a naval aviator in the United States Navy during World War II. He is credited with having played a major part in the Battle of Midway.
Nisshin (日進) was a seaplane tender (AV) of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
Naval Air Station DeLand was a United States Naval Air Station located in DeLand, Florida from 1942 to 1946. After the war, the airfield and associated infrastructure was redeveloped into DeLand Municipal Airport.
Richard C. Mangrum was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant general who served as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1965 to 1967. Mangrum was a Marine Corps aviator who was awarded the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions during the Guadalcanal Campaign in World War II.
Richard Halsey Best was a dive bomber pilot and squadron commander in the United States Navy during World War II. Stationed on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, Best led his dive bomber squadron at the 1942 Battle of Midway, sinking two Japanese aircraft carriers in one day, before being medically retired that same year due to damage to his lungs caused by breathing bad oxygen during the battle.
A and T Recovery is an American company that has the primary purpose to locate and recover once lost World War II United States Navy aircraft for presentation to the American public. They have recovered nearly forty such aircraft, mainly from Lake Michigan. The aircraft were lost during the aircraft carrier qualification conducted out of the former Naval Air Station Glenview that was located north of Chicago, Illinois. The Navy had used two ships, the USS Wolverine (IX-64) and the USS Sable (IX-81), to qualify thousands of pilots.
Norman Jack "Dusty" Kleiss was a dive-bomber pilot in the United States Navy during World War II. He was the only pilot to hit three Japanese ships with bombs during the Battle of Midway.
The Enterprise Air Group was established on 1 July 1938, encompassing all squadrons embarked in USS Enterprise (CV-6). The group was divided into four squadrons, each with eighteen aircraft dedicated to a particular role. The squadrons were designated according to their role, and all were given the unit number six, derived from the hull number of the Enterprise. Bombing Six (VB-6) was equipped with Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless dive bombers, Fighting Six (VF-6) with Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighters, and Torpedo Six (VT-6) with Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bombers. The fourth squadron, Scouting Six (VS-6) also had the SBD-2 Dauntless, but was more focused on the scout bomber role. This air group was embarked on board the Enterprise at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Marine Attack Squadron 241 (VMA-241) was an aircraft squadron of the United States Marine Corps, known as the "Sons of Satan". The squadron was commissioned during World War II and took part in the Battle of Midway, sustaining 75% losses. It was extensively involved in combat while providing close air support during the 1944–1945 Philippines Campaign. The squadron, equipped with A-4 Skyhawk light attack aircraft, became part of the Marine Forces Reserve, based at Naval Air Station Los Alamitos, California, from 1946 until the 1960s.
Bruno Peter Gaido was an American sailor who served in the United States Navy as an Aviation Machinist's Mate during World War II. While flying as a gunner on a Douglas SBD Dauntless during the Battle of Midway, he was shot down and captured by Imperial Japanese Navy. Gaido, along with pilot Frank O'Flaherty, was tortured and then murdered by being thrown overboard to drown by the Japanese.
Dauntless: The Battle of Midway is a 2019 action film based on a true story of United States Navy aviators at the Battle of Midway. The theme of the film combines war and aviation film genres. The film was written, directed and produced by Mike Phillips. The screenplay of Dauntless: The Battle of Midway was written by Adam Klein and based on an original story by Phillips.
References
Notes
↑ Vejtasa's skill thus having been clearly demonstrated, he was transferred to fighters; in October 1942, he shot down seven enemy aircraft in one day.[10]
Citations
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