Pacific Theatre of War
(Library of Congress)
The Second World War US Navy Douglas SBD ‘Dauntless’ was a two-person scout craft and dive bomber – SBD stood for Scout Bomber Douglas. With a range of 1,115 miles, a maximum speed of 255 miles per hour and a bombing load of 2,250 pounds, it was an extremely successful aircraft in battle. First used at Pearl Harbor, and then across the Pacific Campaign and in Europe, in total almost 6,000 SBDs were built.
The SBD is best known for its role in the June 1942 Battle of Midway, when SBD squadrons attacked four Japanese fleet carriers, sinking or fatally damaging all four.
Towards the end of the war, the US Navy gradually replaced the SBD with the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, an aircraft with more power.
‘The Japs know and have learned to fear the DOUGLAS SBD Dauntless dive bomber. In screaming plunges from 20,000 feet, these tough planes have ripped and torn the Nipponese fleet in the Pacific, dealing heavy, blasting, knock-out punches.’
Reed Kinert, America’s Fighting Planes in Action, 1943
