The Philippine Sea, the last great carrierįrom Lake Michigan. Who invented the dive bomber Webdive bomber, in early military aircraft, a plane that was designed to dive directly at a target, release bombs at low. On June 19th, 2007 fittingly the 65th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Navy Douglas SBD-3 'Dauntless' dive bombers from scouting squadron VS-8 from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) approaching the burning Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma to make the third set of attacks on her, during the Battle of Midway, 6 June 1942. These aircraft were essentially the same as the initial A-24s but received the SBD-3A designation during production. Army Air Force received 90 more A-24s diverted from a Navy SBD-3 contract. The A-24s were regarded as "too slow, too short-ranged, and too poorly armed." They were relegated to non-combat missions after five of seven airplanes were lost and one was badly damaged on a mission over Buna, New Guinea. Fifty-four went to Australia, where in 1942 they had a less-than-glorious combat record flying against Japanese targets in Java and New Guinea. Navy's Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber, designating it as the A-24. In 1940, after the amazing success of the German Stuka dive bombers in Poland, the U.S. 50-caliber machine guns in the nose and two. Wright-Cyclone R-1820-52 RadialĪrmament: Two. The SBD was the Navy's most successful dive bomber, and was preferred by pilots over its successor, the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver. By flying along a steep trajectory that closely matched that of the bomb, the dive bomber eliminated much of the error in aim in the direction of approach. In 1940, after the amazing success of the German Stuka dive bombers in Poland, the U.S. The plane was well constructed and could handle sustained dives of up to seventy degrees.īeing fairly maneuverable, the SBD was occasionally pressed into service as an anti-torpedo bomber interceptor. It served with the US Marine corps and with the US. This meant that in combat the Dauntless pilots had to throttle back to begin an attack dive. RM 2JHEJH4Vintage photo circa 1942 of a flight of American Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers in flight.
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