Douglas SBD

Douglas SBD Dauntless
Douglas SBD-5 "Dauntless" of the US Navy
Type:	Dive bombers
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Douglas Aircraft Company
First flight:	April 25, 1938 (XBT-2)
Commissioning:	1940
Production time:	1940 to 1944
Number of pieces:	5936

The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a light dive fighter aircraft made in the USA , which was mainly used as carrier-supported aircraft in the Navy and the Marine Corps during World War II .

history

development

In 1934, the US Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics wrote out a new bomber and a reconnaissance bomber to operate from aircraft carriers. It was supposed to be an all-metal airplane with retractable landing gear. The maximum take-off weight of the reconnaissance bomber should not exceed 5000 lb (2268 kg), the bomb load should be 500 lb (227 kg). The required values ​​for the bomber were 6000 lb (2722 kg) and 1000 lb (454 kg). The machines should be equipped with dive brakes for attacks and withstand 9 g maneuvers (ie acceleration forces equal to nine times the acceleration of gravity ) when intercepted.

Northrop BT-1 and BT-2

A deflector was supposed to prevent the bomb from hitting the propeller during a fall attack. For use on aircraft carriers, the machines had to be able to start at low speed. The minimum speed up to the stall could not be more than 60 kn (111 km / h) and a headwind of 25 kn (46 km / h) was assumed for the start.

Six companies submitted designs, of which Brewster with the XSBA-1 and Northrop with the XBT-1 were selected to build prototypes for the bomber. Vought was supposed to build a prototype for the reconnaissance bomber, the XSB2U-1 . Northrop received the order for the bomber prototype on November 20, 1934.

The designer Ed Heinemann then designed an all-metal low-wing aircraft with a crew of two. To save weight and to be able to withstand the 9G maneuvers, foldable wings were dispensed with. The landing gear could only be partially retracted. To achieve the required nosedive abilities, perforated nosedive brakes were developed, which reached over three fifths of the wings on the underside. The aircraft first flew on August 19, 1935. After tests, the US Navy ordered 54 serial copies of the BT-1 , which were delivered from April 1938.

US Marine Corps SBD-1, 1940

To save the cost of a new development, the Bureau of Aeronautics approached Northrop in November 1936 to develop an improved BT-1. The aircraft was named XBT-2 . The main changes from the BT-1 were a fully retractable landing gear, the Wright R-1820 engine instead of the Pratt & Whitney R-1535 , a revised tail unit and an improved cockpit. There were no other changes, such as the introduction of foldable wings. The XBT-2 flew for the first time on April 25, 1938 and immediately reached a speed 50 km / h higher than the BT-1.

Since the Northrop Corporation had meanwhile been bought up by the Douglas Aircraft Company , the aircraft was given the new designation XSBD-1 instead of the XBT-2 . After refinements, including tests at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the US Navy ordered the first 57 SBD-1s and a further 87 SBD-2s with greater range on April 8, 1939 . The aircraft was given the final name Douglas SBD Dauntless . The abbreviation SBD stood for Scout Bomber Douglas (see also designation system for aircraft of the US Navy from 1922 to 1962 ).

commitment

Use in the Navy and Marine Corps

An SBD damaged in the attack on the carrier Kaga during the Battle of Midway

The first SBD-1 flew on May 1, 1940. By December 1941, another 584 SBD-3s had been ordered, each with a more powerful engine and self-sealing tanks. The following versions differed mainly in the installation of a more powerful engine. With the SBD-1, the bomber squadrons of the Marine Corps VMB-1 and VMB-2 (from late 1941 VMSB-132 and VMSB-232 ) were equipped from late 1940. Until the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the carrier squadrons were VB-2 and VS-2 ( Lexington ), VB-3 and VS-3 ( Saratoga ), VB-5 and VS-5 ( Yorktown ) and VB-6 and VS-6 ( Enterprise ) equipped with SBD-2 / -3 Dauntless . At the beginning of the war there were two squadrons, a reconnaissance and a bomber squadron, each equipped with 18 SBDs. In the course of the war, the number fell continuously in favor of fighter planes. In 1945 about 70 fighters and 15 bombers and 15 torpedo planes were embarked on an Essex-class carrier .

The Douglas SBD Dauntless distinguished themselves at the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 7th and 8th, 1942 and initiated the turning point in the Pacific War with the sinking of four Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway from June 4th to 7th, 1942 . In the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942/43, the SBD were the workhorse of the bomber squadrons. They remained so in 1943 in the battle for the Solomon Islands . On the large aircraft carriers, the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver replaced the SBD until mid-1944. However, the SB2C was initially so unreliable that the commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force , Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher , wanted to exchange the SB2C for SBD again after the battle in the Philippine Sea in June 1944. Nonetheless, the SB2C was introduced, as everything in terms of production and logistics was geared towards the use of the Helldiver .

SBD Dauntless in the attack on Truk Atoll , 1944

Until the end of the war, the Dauntless were mainly used for fighting submarines . Thanks to their bullet resistance, they had the lowest loss rate of any American aircraft in the Far East . Production ended on July 22, 1944 after 5936 machines. When the war ended, most of the SBD were retired. On August 1, 1945, the last SBD of the Marine Corps was turned off. Only the Naval Air Test Center in Patuxent River (Maryland) flew the SBD-6 until May 1948. The last machine was handed over to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.

Because of the low top speed of just over 400 km / h and the great success of the aircraft, which was also very popular with the crews because of its flight characteristics, it received nicknames such as "Slow But Deadly" or "Speedy" -Three ”(the“ fast ”SBD-3).

Use in the Army Air Forces

Stimulated by the success of the German "Stukas" , the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) looked for a light dive bomber, which was ordered in 1940. The Douglas A-24A and A-24B Banshee were land-based versions of the SBD Dauntless , 783 of which were delivered to the United States Army Air Forces between 1940 and 1942. They differ from the SBD mainly in that tires are more suitable for land airfields and the lack of a catch hook.

An A-24B of the 531st FS on Makin , December 1943

After a few unsuccessful missions in the initial phase of the Pacific War, the aircraft were used in training units. In 1941/42 the 27th Bombardment Group was set up in Australia with the 16th Bombardment Squadron (BS) , 17th BS and 91st BS . In February 1942 only the 91st BS was ready for use and was moved to Java . There they could do little against the Japanese superiority. In New Guinea only a few missions were flown by the 8th BS , the last on April 29, 1942. The 58th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) from Wheeler Field (Hawaii) was transferred to Alaska in 1943 and flew an attack on Kiska on August 4, 1943 . The squadron was then moved to the Gilbert Islands and now designated as the 531st Fighter Squadron . In December 1943, this squadron flew several successful attacks from Makin with their A-24B . After the war, the A-24 stayed with the USAAF / USAF. Some even experienced the (somewhat nonsensical) renaming to “F-24B” (“F” for fighter / fighter aircraft) when the code letter “A” for “attack aircraft” was temporarily abolished in 1948. The last USAF A-24s were shut down in 1950.

Use with other air forces

An SBD-4 of the RNZAF

In 1943, 18 SBD-3 and 23 SDB-4 were delivered to the New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) . Originally four squadrons were to be equipped with SBD, but only the No. 25 Squadron of the RNZAF equipped with Dauntless . They flew attacks against the Japanese Rabaul base in 1943/44 before the squadron was converted to the Vought F4U Corsair .

France received about 80 SBD-5 and A-24 from 1943. Originally they were flown by the Ecole de Chasse (flight school) in Meknes (Morocco). In Riyak (Syria) the Groupe de Bombardement I / 17 Picardie of the French Air Force deployed A-24B. The GB I / 18 Vendee and the naval squadrons 3FB and 4FB were used against German troops in southern France in 1944/45 . In 1945, the 4F Squadron was embarked on the escort carrier Dixmude (ex-HMS Biter ) for use in Indochina . 1948 followed the 3F season on the carrier Arromanches (ex-HMS Colossus ). The SBD that remained in France were retired in 1949. On the 4F , the SBD were replaced by Grumman TBM Avenger in 1950 , and on the 3F by Curtiss SB2C Helldiver . The flight school in Cazaux retired the last A-24 in 1953.

Mexico also flew the Dauntless from 1943 . The Escuadron Aereo (Squadrons) 200 and 201 were equipped with A-24B, but the 201st Escuadron Aereo de Pelea was converted to Republic P-47 Thunderbolt in 1944 . The other A-24s flew until 1959.

A British Dauntless Mk.I 1943

In Chile from 1944 to 1950, Grupo de Aviación 4 and 6 also flew some A-24Bs.

Finally, the Royal Navy of Great Britain also used the SBD. After a later evaluation, the No. 700 and No. 787 Squadrons in Wittering in July 1944 with nine SBD-5s and flew them until February 1946. At that time the Dauntless was actually already obsolete. The Royal Navy would have used it four years earlier.

A restored SBD-2 from the National Museum of Naval Aviation

Received aircraft

The National Museum of Naval Aviation on Naval Air Station Pensacola owns 13 SBDs, including the seventeenth SBD-1 ( BuNo 1612), like all of them salvaged from Lake Michigan. Four aircraft have been reported to have been deployed, the SBD-2 (BuNo 2106) in the Battle of Midway, the SBD-3 (BuNo 06508) flew from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, and the SBD-3s (BuNo 06624 and 06626) flew from the USS Ranger during Operation Torch , the invasion of North Africa in November 1942. The SBD-6 (BuNo 54605) was also preserved in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC The National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton (Ohio) also has an A-24, some of which are also privately preserved, but mostly painted as "SBD" of the US Navy.

Versions

Three side view of an SBD-5

A total of 5,936 SBD and A-24 were built:

XBT-2

Prototype, one built

SBD-1

57 built, all went to the US Marine Corps, first squadron was VMB-2 in 1940

SBD-1P

Conversion as a reconnaissance aircraft

SBD-2

87 built, improved armament, first squadron was VB-6 in 1941

SBD-2P

Conversion as a reconnaissance aircraft

SBD-3

584 built, had self-sealing tanks, 12.7 mm machine guns, armor and a 1000 hp R-1820-52 engine

SBD-3P

Conversion as a reconnaissance aircraft

SBD-3A

168 built, USAAF A-24

SBD-4

780 built, SBD-3 with 24-volt electrical system

SBD-4A

170 built, USAAF A-24A

SBD-5

2409 built, R-1820-60, 1200 hp

SBD-5A

615 built, USAAF A-24B

SBD-6

451 built, R-1820-66, 1350 hp

production

Acceptance of the Dauntless / A-24 by the USAAF / US Navy:

Manufacturer	version	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	TOTAL
Douglas, El Segundo	SBD-1	57					57
Douglas, El Segundo	SBD-2	1	86				87
Douglas, El Segundo	SBD-3 / A-24		249	504			753
Douglas, El Segundo	SBD-4 / A-24A			460	490		950
Douglas, El Segundo	SBD-5				2493	472	2965
Douglas, El Segundo	SBD-5A					60	60
Douglas, El Segundo	SBD-6					450	450
Douglas, Tulsa	A-24B				615		615
TOTAL		58	335	964	3598	984	5937

Technical specifications

Parameter	Northrop BT-1	Douglas SBD-6
length	9.50 m	10.06 m
Wingspan	12.70 m	12.65 m
height	3.81 m	3.94 m
Wing area	k. A.	30.19 m²
drive	Pratt & Whitney R-1535-94 (825 hp)	Wright R-1820 -66 Cyclone with 1007 kW (1350 PS )
Top speed	357 km / h	410 km / h at an altitude of 4265 m
Largest range	1850 km	1760 km
crew	Pilot and gunner	Pilot and gunner
Service ceiling	7710 m	7680 m
Empty weight	2029 kg	2964 kg
All-up weight	3209 kg	4318 kg
Armament	a rigid 12.7 mm MG in the front and a flexible 7.62 mm MG in the rear Bomb holder for max. 454 kg on the trunk	two rigid 12.7 mm MG at the front and two flexible 7.62 mm MG at the rear Bomb holder for max. 726 kg on the fuselage and for max. 295 kg under the wings

See also

• List of aircraft types

literature

• Peter Bowers : United States Navy Aircraft since 1911. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis (Maryland) 1990, ISBN 0-87021-792-5 , pp. 183-185.
• David Brazelton: The Douglas SBD Dauntless. Leatherhead, Surrey: Profile Publications Ltd. 1967, ( Aircraft in Profile 196).
• Harold L. Buell: Dauntless Helldivers: A Dive Bomber Pilot's Epic Story of the Carrier Battles. Crown, 1991, ISBN 0-517-57794-1 .
• Richard S. Dann: SBD Dauntless Walk Around, Walk Around Number 33. Carrollton, TX: Squadron / Signal Publications, Inc., 2004, ISBN 0-89747-468-6 .
• Lou Drendel: US Navy Carrier Bombers of World War II. Squadron / Signal Publications, Carrollton (Texas, USA) 1987, ISBN 0-89747-195-4 .
• Bill Gunston: The Illustrated History of McDonnell Douglas Aircraft: From Cloudster to Boeing. Osprey Publishing, 1999, ISBN 1-85532-924-7 .
• Daniel V. Hernandez (with Lt. CDR Richard H. Best, USN Ret.): SBD-3 Dauntless and the Battle of Midway. Aeronaval Publishing, Valencia (Spain) 2004, ISBN 84-932963-0-9
• John Howard Jr .: A Marine Dive-Bomber Pilot at Guadalcanal. University of Alabama Press, 1987, ISBN 0-8173-0330-8 .
• Krzysztof Janowicz, Andre R. Zbiegniewski: Douglas SBD Dauntless. Kagero, Lublin (Poland) 2007, ISBN 83-89450-39-9 (Polish, English)
• Bert Kinzey: SBD Dauntless in Detail & Scale, D&S Vol.48. Squadron / Signal Publications, Carrollton (Texas, USA) 1996, ISBN 1-888974-01-X .
• Robert Lawson: US Navy Dive and Torpedo Bombers of World War II. Zenith Press, 2001, ISBN 0-7603-0959-0 .
• Robert Pęczkowski: Douglas SBD Dauntless. Mushroom Model Publications, Sandomierz (Poland) / Redbourn (GB) 2007, ISBN 978-83-89450-39-5 .
• Peter C. Smith: Douglas SBD Dauntless. The Crowood Press Ltd., Ramsbury (Marlborough, Wiltshire, GB) 1997, ISBN 1-86126-096-2 .
• Robert Stern: SBD Dauntless in Action, Aircraft Number 64. Squadron / Signal Publications, Carrollton (Texas, USA) 1984, ISBN 0-89747-153-9 .
• Barrett Tillman: The Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War II. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis (Maryland, USA) 1976 (new edition 2006), ISBN 0-87021-569-8 .
• Barrett Tillman: SBD Dauntless Units of World War 2. Osprey Publishing, Botley (Oxford, GB) 1998, ISBN 1-85532-732-5 .
• Alexander S. White: Dauntless Marine: Joseph Sailer, Jr., Dive-Bombing Ace of Guadalcanal. Pacifica Press, 1997 new edition, ISBN 0-935553-21-5 .
• Thomas Wildenberg: Destined for Glory: Dive Bombing, Midway, and the Evolution of Carrier Airpower. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis (Maryland) 1998, ISBN 1-55750-947-6 .

Web links

Commons : Douglas SBD  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution website on Douglas SBD-6
• Site of the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida (English)
• US Air Force Museum page on Douglas A-24

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hernandez, pp. 97-108.
2. ^ Swanborough, p. 183.
3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from October 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ http://www.joebaugher.com/usattack/a24_6.html
5. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1946, p. 100 ff .; www.uswarplanes.net