Douglas SBD Dauntless

The SBD Dauntless (SBD means Scout Bomber Douglas) was a dive bomber made by Douglas Aircraft Company (now Boeing) during World War II. It first flew in 1940 and was introduced the same year. It was made from the Northrop BT. The Dauntless's first bombing in the war happened on December 10, 1941. The target was a Japanese submarine.

SBD Dauntless A-24 Banshee
A U.S. Navy SBD releasing a bomb. Note the extended dive brakes on the trailing edges.
Role	Dive bomber Scout plane
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Douglas Aircraft
Designer	Ed Heinemann
First flight	1 May 1940
Introduction	1940
Retired	1959 (Mexico)
Primary users	United States Navy United States Marine Corps United States Army Air Forces Free French Air Force Royal New Zealand Air Force
Produced	1940–1944
Number built	5,936
Developed from	Northrop BT

The SBD-3 Dauntless was a unique American dive-bomber. This was used by the U.S. Navy in many ship attack missions, such as the Battle Of Midway. It was credited for sinking the Akagi, and many other Japanese aircraft-carriers and other battleships. This dive-bomber had unique airbrakes to prevent it from ripping apart at high speeds. These air brakes were painted in a bright red, which was a noticeable feature of the SBD-3. Also, the SBD was a carrier based aircraft, meaning it had an arrester hook, and many antennas for communication.

In the War, the Dauntless was used to take off aircraft carriers and attack enemy ships and submarines. The SBD-5 (5th version) could go 255 miles per hour (410 kilometers per hour), and it had a Wright R-1820-60 Cyclone air-cooled radial piston engine with 1,200 horsepower. It had two 12.7 mm and two 7.62 mm machine guns and it could carry one bomb or torpedo. It weighed around 6,404 pounds (2,905 kilograms) to 10,699 pounds (4,853 kilograms). It could fly for 1,115 miles (1,795 kilometers) without running out of fuel. It could go as high as 25,525 feet (7,780 meters) above the ground.

The Dauntless was retired in the late 1940s.