The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a naval dive bomber made by Douglas during World War II. The SBD was the United States Navy's main dive bomber from mid-1940 until late 1943, when it was largely replaced by the SB2C Helldiver. The aircraft was also operated by the United States Army as the A-24 Banshee.
The Northrop BT-1 provided the basis for the SBD, which began manufacture in 1940. Ed Heinemann led a team of designers who considered a development with a 1,000 hp (746 kW) Wright Cyclone powerplant. A year earlier, both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps had placed orders for the new dive bombers, 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 went to the Navy in early 1941.
The next version, designated SBD-3, began manufacture in early 1941. It provided increased protection, self-sealing fuel tanks, and four machine guns. The SBD-4 provided a 12 volt (from 6) electrical system, and a few were converted onto SBD-4P reconnaissance platforms.
The next (and most produced) variant, the SBD-5, was primarily produced at the Douglas plant at Tulsa, Oklahoma.
It was equipped with a 1,200 hp (895 kW) engine and increased
ammunition. Over 2,400 were built, and a few were shipped to the Royal Navy for evaluation. In addition to American service, the type saw combat against the Japanese with No. 25 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, which soon replaced them with F4U Corsairs, and against the Germans with the Free French Air Force. A few were also sent to Mexico. The final version, the SBD-6, provided more improvements but production ended in summer 1944.
The U.S. Army had its own version of the SBD, known as the A-24 Banshee, which 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,
Ga., A-24s participated in the Louisiana maneuvers during September
1941. There were three versions of the Banshee (A-24, the A-24A and
A-24B) used by the Army in the early stages of the war. The USAAF used 948 of the 5,937 Dauntlesses built.
- SBD-5
- The most produced variant, primarily produced at the Douglas plant at Tulsa, Oklahoma. Equipped with a 1,200 hp (895 kW) engine and increased ammunition. 2,409 were built, and a few were shipped to the Royal Navy for evaluation. In addition to American service, the type saw combat against the Japanese with No. 25 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force which soon replaced them with F4U Corsairs, and against the Germans with the Free French Air Force. A few were also sent to Mexico
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