SBD-2 Dauntless

SBD-2 Dauntless
Country of Origin: United States
Manufacturer: Douglass
Crew: 2, 1 pilot and 1 radio operator/gunner
Length: 33 ft 1-1/4 in (10.09 m)
Wingspan: 41 ft 6-3/8 in (12.66 m)
Height: 13 ft 7 in (4.14 m)
Weight: 6,404 pounds (2,905 kg) empty, 9,359 pounds (4,245 kg) fully loaded
Powerplant: 1x Wright R-1820-60 turbosupercharged 9 cylinder air cooled radial piston engine with 1,200 horsepower
Speed: 255mph (410km/hr) at 14,000 feet (4,265m)
Service Ceiling: 25,530 feet (7,780m)
Range: 1,565 miles (2,520 km)
Armament: 2x 12.7mm machineguns, 1x flexibly mounted 7.62mm machinegun, 1x 1600 pound bomb, 2x 200 pound bombs.
Kit Maker and Scale: Revell, 1:48

The SBD Dauntless...one of if not the best dive bombers in use by any combatant nation during World War II went down in history as the avengers of the raid on Pearl Harbor when groups of them launched from the U.S.S. Enterpirse, Lexington and Yorktown and attacked the Japanese carrier force at Midway. As the sun went down, the IJN carriers Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu were ablaze and sinking, and the Hiryu was crippled beyond repair.

Although slow compared to most fighters of the day, the Dauntless compensated by heavy armour and rugged construction, two hallmarks of World War II U.S. aircraft. Armed with two to four machineguns, they could easily blow apart the lightweight fighters of the Japanese Army and Navy should they be attacked en route to their targets and one harrowing fire fight, Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa turned the tables on the Japanese Navy, using his Dauntless like a purpose built fighter. When he and his flight group of 5 other Dauntlesses were jumped by a whole squadron of Zeros, the Zeros quickly shot down the other Dauntlesses through the element of surprise, though Vejtasa evaded this fate by throwing his Dauntless into a series of turns so violent that the lightweight Zeros would have pulled themselves apart if they tried to match the maneuver.

Continuously turning and weaving, Vejtasa time and again threw his aircraft across the sky like a frisbee, keeping the Zeros off his tail. During two such turns, he was able to bring a Zero into his crosshairs and blasted them from the sky with his twin, front firing 12.7mm machineguns. Shortly after taking down the second Zero, the others started to run out of fuel and began their return to base, although one frenetic pilot turned his Zero into a battering ram, coming at Vejtasa with the throttle wide open, bent on ramming him. Jinking at the absolute last minute, Vejtasa avoided a head on collision, the Zero instead striking the top of his left wing with its wingtip. The Zero's wing sheared off and a fuel tank ruptured, sending the machine down in flames. Looking out over his wing, the only damage done to Vejtasa's Dauntless was a dent and a black scuff mark.

Due to this durability and reliability, the Dauntless gained the nickname Slow But Deadly, a play on its SBD designator. As the SB2C Helldiver started to enter mass production and service, many Dauntlesses were being phased out, however a number of squadrons managed to retain the Dauntless, prefering it over the more heavily armed Helldiver as the latter was a handfull and a half to fly and early on suffered numerous mechanical problems.

While the Dauntless tore apart the Japanese forces in the Pacific, those of the Altantic fleet spent much of their time hunting for German U-Boats, as well as supporting allied landings in Africa and Italy. Though it was never launched, had Germany sent their carrier, the Graf Zeppelin into battle, odds are it would have traded blows with the Dauntless and its Wildcat escorts and if the shootouts over the Pacific were any indication, the Zeppelin would have fast found itself a shattered hulk, rusting on the ocean floor.

For its primary role, that of dive bomber, the Dauntless's most effective method was the "Helldiving Technique", that is, the Dauntless would fly in, several thousand feet above its target and plunge into a 90 degree vertical dive towards its target. Though incredibly dangerous, it was the most accurate method of attack and during the Battle of Midway, Air Group Commander C. Wade McCluskey used this method to put a bomb right through the aft portion of the Soryu's flight deck, setting the entire vessel ablaze and sending it to the bottom.


More Pics:

Head on:
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Cockpit and crew:
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7 o'clock:
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Tail gunner:
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6 o'clock:
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Top down:
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Underside:
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