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. The SBD is best remembered as the bomber that delivered the fatal blows to the Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway in June 1942.
During its combat service, the SBD was an excellent naval scout plane and arguably the world's best dive bomber. It possessed long range, good handling characteristics, maneuverability, potent bomb load capacity, great diving characteristics, defensive armament and ruggedness. In most of these characteristics, the SBD was superior to both of the Axis Forces' main fixed-gear dive bomber designs — the German Junkers Ju 87 Stuka and the Japanese Aichi D3A "Val" — and any dive bomber possessed by the Allies' Royal Air Force or the Soviet Air Force.[citation needed] One land-based variant of the SBD — in omitting the arrestor hook — was purpose-built for the U.S. Army Air Forces, as the A-24 Banshee.
SBD-1Marine Corps version without self-sealing fuel tanks; 57 built.
Twee uitvoeringen mogelijk;
- VMB-2, U.S.MARINES, 1940.
- VMB-1, U.S.MARINES, 1940.
Aantal onderdelen; 86.
Afmeting;
- Lengte.204 mm
- Spanwijdte.263 mm.
