may 2015 13 Dauntless resolve Douglas dive bomber changed the course of history in decisive naval battle by Michael Lomba rdi On the morning of June 4, 1942, dive bombers from the U.S. aircraft carriers Enterprise and Yorktown attacked the Japanese navy’s prized fleet of aircraft carriers near Midway Island. In five minutes, 11 direct hits and a number of near-misses led to the sinking of Japan’s irreplaceable carriers Akagi, Kaga and Soryu; later that afternoon, the carrier Hiryu was attacked and followed the other three carriers to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Although the U.S. carrier Yorktown also was sunk, the Battle of Midway marked a turning point for the United States in the war in the Pacific, coming only six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The decisive victory was made possible by skilled and courageous naval aviators, and a dive bomber known as the SBD (Scout Bomber Douglas) Dauntless from Douglas Aircraft, a Boeing heritage company. Affectionately called “Slow But Deadly” by its crews, the Dauntless was a product of the Douglas plant in El Segundo, Calif., which came to Douglas by way of Jack Northrop, who had a long relationship with Donald Douglas, first as an employee in 1923 to 1926. Northrop had left Douglas to eventually start his own company, Avion, which was bought by Bill Boeing’s United Aircraft and Transport Corp. in 1929. When Boeing decided to consolidate Avion with Stearman in Wichita, Kan., Jack Northrop left United Aircraft and approached Donald Douglas for assistance in starting Northrop Corp., with Douglas holding 51 percent ownership. In 1937, ongoing labor disputes forced Donald Douglas to dissolve Northrop Corp., creating the Douglas El Segundo Division in its place. Along with the El Segundo plant came famed designer Ed Heinemann, who had designed the Northrop BT-1 and was working on a more advanced version, the XBT-2, which became the prototype for the Dauntless. The first production Dauntless flew on May 1, 1940. The airplane had a crew of two—a pilot and a gunner who manned a single and later a pair of rear-facing .30 caliber machine guns. It could carry a 1,200-pound (550-kilogram) bomb load, with a typical load being a single 1,000-pound (450-kilogram) bomb carried on the centerline and a 100-pound (45-kilogram) bomb under each wing. The dive bomber also had two forward-firing .50 caliber machine guns. The main production version, the SBD-5, was powered by a 1,200-horsepower Wright R-1820 engine and had a top speed of 255 mph (410 kilometers per hour) and a range of 1,565 miles (2,520 kilometers). While the Dauntless had a conventional appearance, it did have one feature that set it apart: massive dive brakes. Perforated hinged split flaps deploying both above and below the trailing edge of the wing allowed the pilot to take careful aim while attacking in a 70- to 75-degree dive. Serving primarily with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in the Pacific, the Dauntless also participated in the invasion of North Africa and other combat operations in the Atlantic. Designated the A-24 and named Banshee, it also served with the U.S. Army, seeing combat in the South Pacific. In 1943, the Navy had planned to phase out the Dauntless in favor of the Curtis SB2C Helldiver, but teething problems delayed introduction of the Helldiver and the Dauntless served on until 1944. The rugged Dauntless also was delivered to allied nations, including Great Britain, New Zealand, France and Mexico. In all, Douglas delivered 5,936 SBD and A-24 dive bombers. Today, only two dozen SBDs survive. But to see one, all that is needed is to pass through one of America’s busiest airports—Chicago’s Midway. There, an SBD Dauntless hangs in the concourse as a memorial to that famous battle the airport is named for, a reminder of the sacrifice and courage that changed the course of history on June 4, 1942. n michael .j.lomba rdi@boeing.com Photos: (Far left) These early production SBD Dauntless aircraft wear an overall light gray finish, which was standard until August 1941, when a U.S. Navy directive called for the upper surfaces to be painted blue-gray. (Left) The perforated dive flaps of the Dauntless can be seen on a factory-fresh SBD-3 parked on the ramp of the Douglas plant in El Segundo, Calif. boeing archives
Frontiers May 2015 Issue
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