Douglas SBD Dauntless
SBD Dauntless A-24 Banshee | |
---|---|
A restored SBD-5 Dauntless from the Planes of Fame Air Museum | |
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 | Free French Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force |
Produced | 1940–1944 |
Number built | 5,936 |
Developed from | Northrop BT |
The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a
During its combat service, the SBD proved to be an excellent naval scout plane and dive bomber. It possessed long range, good handling characteristics, maneuverability, potent bomb load, great diving characteristics from the perforated
Design and development
Design work on the
The next version was the SBD-3, which began manufacture in early 1941. It had increased armor, self-sealing fuel tanks, and four machine guns. The SBD-4 provided a 12-volt (up from 6-volt) electrical system, and a few were converted into SBD-4P reconnaissance aircraft.
The next (and most produced) version, the SBD-5, was produced mostly in the Douglas plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This version was equipped with a 1,200 hp (890 kW) engine and an increased ammunition supply. Over 2,400 of these were built. A few of them were shipped to the Royal Navy for evaluation. In addition to American service, the SBD saw combat against the Japanese Army and Navy with No. 25 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force—but the RNZAF soon replaced them with the larger, faster, heavier and land-based Vought F4U Corsairs.[citation needed]
Some SBDs were also flown by the Free French Air Force against the German
The final version, the SBD-6, had more improvements,[clarification needed] but its production ended during the summer of 1944.
The
Operational history
U.S. Navy and Marine Corps SBDs saw their first action at
The first major use of the SBD in combat was at the
The SBD's most important contribution to the American war effort came during the Battle of Midway in early June 1942. Four squadrons of Navy SBD dive bombers attacked and sank or fatally damaged all four Japanese fleet carriers present, disabling three of them in the span of just six minutes (Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū) and, later in the day, Hiryū. They also caught two straggling heavy cruisers of the Midway bombardment group of four, heavily damaging them, with Mikuma eventually sinking.
At the Battle of Midway, Marine Corps SBDs were not as effective. One squadron, VMSB-241, flying from Midway Atoll, was not trained in the techniques of dive-bombing with their new Dauntlesses (having just partially converted from the SB2U Vindicator).[10] Its pilots resorted to the slower but easier glide bombing technique. This led to many of the SBDs being shot down during their glide, although one survivor from these attacks is now on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum and is the last surviving aircraft to have flown in the battle. The carrier-borne squadrons were effective, especially when they were escorted by Grumman F4F Wildcats.[11] The success of dive bombing resulted from one important circumstance:
Unlike American squadrons that attacked shortly before one at a time, allowing defending Japanese Zero fighters to concentrate on each squadron to shoot them down or drive them away from the carriers, three squadrons totaling 47 SBDs (VS-6, VB-6, and VB-3), one squadron of 12 TBD torpedo aircraft (VT-3), and six F4F fighters (from VF-3) all arrived simultaneously, with two of the SBD squadrons (VS-6 and VB-6) arriving from a different direction from the other squadrons. Without central fighter direction, the approximately 40 Zeros concentrated on the TBDs, with some fighting the F4Fs covering the TBDs, leaving the SBDs unhindered by fighter opposition in their approach and attack (although most of the TBDs were shot down).[12]
SBDs played a major role in the Guadalcanal campaign, operating off both American carriers and from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. SBDs proved lethal to Japanese shipping that failed to clear New Georgia Sound (The Slot) by daylight. Losses inflicted included the carrier Ryūjō, sunk near the Solomon Islands on 24 August. Three other Japanese carriers were damaged during the six-month campaign. SBDs sank a cruiser and nine transports during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
The SBD's strengths and weaknesses became evident. While the American strength was dive bombing, the Japanese stressed their Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers, which had caused the bulk of the damage during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
In the Atlantic Ocean the SBD saw action during Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942. The SBDs flew from USS Ranger and two escort carriers. Eleven months later, during Operation Leader, the SBDs saw their European debut when aircraft from Ranger attacked Nazi German shipping around Bodø, Norway.[13]
By 1944 the U.S. Navy began replacing the SBD with the more powerful SB2C Helldiver. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, a long range twilight strike was made against the retreating Japanese fleet, at (or beyond) the limit of the combat radius of the aircraft. The force had about twenty minutes of daylight over their targets before attempting the long return in the dark. Of the 215 aircraft, only 115 made it back. Twenty were lost to enemy action in the attack, and 80 were lost as one by one they expended their fuel and had to ditch into the sea.[14] In the attack were 26 SBDs, all of which made it back to the carriers.
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was the last major engagement of the carrier-borne SBDs. Marine squadrons continued to fly SBDs until the end of the war. Although the Curtiss Helldiver had a more powerful engine, a higher maximum speed and could carry nearly a thousand pounds more in bomb load, many of the dive bomber pilots preferred the SBD, which was lighter and had better low-speed handling characteristics, critical for carrier landings.
The Dauntless was one of the most important aircraft in the Pacific War, sinking more enemy shipping in the Pacific than any other Allied bomber. Barrett Tillman, in his book on the Dauntless, claims that it has a "plus" score against enemy aircraft, meaning it was credited with more victories over enemy planes than losses from enemy action. This is considered to be a rare event for a nominal "bomber".[15]
A total of 5,936 SBDs were produced during the war. The last SBD rolled off the assembly lines at the Douglas Aircraft plant in El Segundo, California, on 21 July 1944. The Navy placed emphasis on the heavier, faster and longer-ranged SB2C. From Pearl Harbor through April 1944, SBDs had flown 1,189,473 operational hours, with 25% of all operational hours flown off aircraft carriers being in SBDs. Its battle record shows that in addition to six Japanese carriers, 14 enemy cruisers had been sunk, along with six destroyers, 15 transports or cargo ships and scores of various lesser craft.[16]
United States Army Air Forces
The USAAF sent 52 A-24 Banshees in crates to the Philippines in the fall of 1941 to equip the
Referring to themselves as "Blue Rock Clay Pigeons" (after a brand of trap shooting targets), the 91st BS based at Malang attacked the enemy-held harbor and airbase at Bali and damaged or sank numerous ships around Java during the Dutch East Indies campaign.[17] After the Japanese downed two A-24s and damaged three so badly that they could no longer fly, the 91st received orders to evacuate Java in early March 1942.
The A-24s remaining in Australia were assigned to the
The A-24B (equivalent to the U.S. Navy SBD-5, with the omission of the arrestor hook) arrived in 1943 with the more powerful 1,200-hp Wright R-1820-60 Cyclone engine, a more powerful engine than either the A-24 or A-24A. As a result, the A-24B could fly slightly faster and higher than the earlier models. The A-24B lacked the small air intake on the top of the engine cowling present on the earlier models and that is an easy way to distinguish the B model. The 407th Bomb Group, assigned to the 11th Air Force, flew A-24Bs against the Japanese held island of Kiska, Alaska, during July and August 1943.
A handful of A-24s survived in the inventory of the USAAF long enough to be taken over by the
The first production Dauntless sent into action was the "SBD-3", which was produced for the French Naval Aviation. A total of 174 Dauntlesses were ordered by the French Navy, but with the fall of France in the spring of 1940 that production batch was diverted to the U.S. Navy, which ordered 410 more.
The
- Free French squadrons received 40 to 50 A-24Bs in Morocco and Algeria during 1943.
- French Naval Aviation (Aeronautique Navale) received 32 in late 1944 for Flotilles 3FB and 4FB (16 SBD-5s for each).
Squadron I/17 Picardie used a few A-24Bs for coastal patrol. The most combat-experienced of the Banshee units was GC 1/18 Vendee, which flew A-24Bs in support of Allied forces in southern France and also experienced how deadly German flak was, losing several aircraft in 1944. This squadron flew from North Africa to recently liberated Toulouse to support Allied and French resistance troops. Later, the unit was assigned to support attacks on cities occupied by the Germans on the French Atlantic coast. In April 1945 each SBD-5 averaged three missions a day in the European theater. In 1946 the
French Navy Dauntlesses were based in Cognac at the end of 1944. The French Navy Dauntlesses were the last ones to see combat, during the
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force received 18 SBD-3s and 23 SBD-4s and No. 25 Squadron RNZAF used them in combat over the South Pacific. Under the original plan, four Squadrons (25, 26, 27 and 28) of the RNZAF were going to be equipped with the Dauntless but only 25 Squadron used them. The RNZAF soon replaced them with F4U Corsairs.
Variants
- XBT-2
- prototype, airframe was a production Northrop BT-1 heavily modified and redesignated as the XBT-2. Further modified by Douglas as the XSBD-1.
- SBD-1
- Marine Corps version without self-sealing fuel tanks; 57 built.
- SBD-1P
- reconnaissance aircraft, converted from SBD-1s.
- SBD-2
- Navy version with increased fuel capacity and different armament but without self-sealing fuel tanks, starting in early 1941; 87 built.
- SBD-2P
- reconnaissance aircraft, converted from SBD-2s.
- SBD-3
- began to be manufactured in early 1941. This provided increased protection, self-sealing fuel tanks, and four machine guns; 584 were built.
- SBD-4
- provided a 24-volt (up from 12 volt) electrical system; In addition, a new propeller and fuel pumps rounded out the improvements over the SBD-3. 780 built.
- SBD-4P
- reconnaissance aircraft, converted from SBD-4s.
- SBD-5
- The most produced version, primarily produced at the Douglas Aircraft plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Equipped with a 1,200-hp engine and an increased ammunition supply. A total of 2,965 were built, and a few were shipped to the Royal Navy for evaluation. In addition to American service, these saw combat against the Japanese with No. 25 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force which soon replaced them with F4Us, and against the Luftwaffe with the Free French Air Force. A few were also sent to Mexico.
- SBD-5A
- as A-24B, for USAAF but delivered to USMC; 60 built.
- SBD-6
- The final version, providing more improvements, including a 1,350 hp (1,010 kW) engine, but production ended in the summer of 1944; 450 built.
- A-24 Banshee (SBD-3A)
- USAAF equivalent of the SBD-3 without arrestor hook; 168 built.[19]
- A-24A Banshee (SBD-4A)
- USAAF equivalent of the SBD-4; 170 built.
- A-24B Banshee (SBD-5A)
- USAAF equivalent of the SBD-5; 615 built.
Operators
- Chilean Air Force operated A-24B Banshees.[20][21]
- French Air Force[22]
- French Navy[22]
- Royal Air Force received aircraft for evaluation from the nine originally tested by the Fleet Air Arm.[20]
- Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm received nine former United States Navy SBD-5s for evaluation.
- United States Army Air Forces
- 339th Bombardment Group(Dive), as operational training unit in 1942-1943
- United States Marine Corps
- United States Navy
Notable accidents
- On 7 December 1943, during a joint U.S. Navy–U.S. Marine simulated close air support exercise near Pauwela, Maui, Territory of Hawaii, the pilot of a U.S. Navy SBD-5, BuNo 36045[26] of squadron VB-10,[27] initiated a slight right-hand turn and deployed dive brakes in preparation for a bomb run, but his aircraft was struck by a second VB-10[27] SBD-5, 36099,[26] that did not have dive brakes deployed. Both aircraft crashed, and a bomb knocked loose from 36045 fell in the midst of a group of marines and detonated, killing 20 and seriously injuring 24. Both SBD pilots parachuted to safety, but both SBD gunners died, one after an unsuccessful bailout attempt. The collision was attributed to poor judgment and flying technique by both pilots.[26] Aviation Archaeology Investigation & Research gives the date of this accident as 6 December.[27]
Surviving aircraft
The hyphenated numbers are original U.S. Army Air Forces Serial Numbers (AAF Ser. No.); four or five digit numbers are original U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) Bureau Numbers (BuNo).
New Zealand
- On display
- SBD-4
- 06853 – Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum in Christchurch.[28]
Solomon Islands
- On display
- SBD-?
- Unknown – Vilu Military Museum in Guadalcanal.
United States
- Airworthy
- A-24A
- 42-60817 – based at the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon as an SBD-3.[29][30]
- A-24B
- 42-54682 – based at the
- SBD-4
- 10518 – based at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.[33][34]
- 10694 – based at the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[35][36]
- SBD-5
- 28536 – based at the
- 54532 – based at the Commemorative Air Force – Airbase Georgia in Peachtree City, Georgia[39][40][41]
- On display
- A-24B
- 42-54582 – National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.[42]
- 42-54654 – Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona.[43]
- SBD-2
- 02106 – National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.[44] Veteran of the Pearl Harbor attack and the Battle of Midway.
- 02173 – Ford Island, Hawaii.[45]
- SBD-3
- 06508 – New Orleans, Louisiana.[46]
- 06583 – National Museum of the Marine Corps at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.[47]
- 06624 – Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It is on loan from National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola.[48]
- 06694 – USS Lexington (CV-16) museum in Corpus Christi, Texas. It is on loan from National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola.[49]
- SBD-4
- 06833 – National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida in its recovered condition in a simulated underwater exhibit.[50]
- 06900 – San Diego, California. It is on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola.[51]
- 10575 – Battle of Midway Memorial at Chicago, Illinois.[52]
- SBD-5
- 36173 – Patriot's Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.[53]
- 36176 – Palm Springs Air Museum in Palm Springs, California.[54]
- 36291 - Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum in Titusville, Florida. It is on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola.[55]
- 36711 - Ford Island, Hawaii.[56]
- SBD-6
- 54605 – National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.[57]
- 54654 – San Diego, California.[58]
- Under restoration or in storage
- SBD-1
- 1612 – for display at the Air Zoo in Portage, Michigan.[59]
- SBD-4
- 10508 – for display at the Castle Air Museum at the former Castle Air Force Base in Atwater, California.[60]
- SBD-5
- 36175 – to flightworthiness at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[61]
Specifications (SBD-5)
Data from McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I[62]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 33 ft 1.25 in (10.0902 m)
- Wingspan: 41 ft 6.375 in (12.65873 m)
- Height: 13 ft 7 in (4.14 m)
- Wing area: 325 sq ft (30.2 m2)
- Airfoil: root: NACA 2415; tip: NACA 2407[63]
- Empty weight: 6,404 lb (2,905 kg)
- Gross weight: 9,359 lb (4,245 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 10,700 lb (4,853 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 260 US gal (220 imp gal; 980 L) in non-metallic self-sealing fuel tanks
- Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-1820-60 Cyclone9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 1,200 hp (890 kW)
- Propellers: 3-bladed Hamilton-Standardconstant-speed propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 255 mph (410 km/h, 222 kn) at 14,000 ft (4,300 m)
- Cruise speed: 185 mph (298 km/h, 161 kn)
- Range: 1,115 mi (1,794 km, 969 nmi)
- Ferry range: 1,565 mi (2,519 km, 1,360 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 25,530 ft (7,780 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,700 ft/min (8.6 m/s)
- Wing loading: 28.8 lb/sq ft (141 kg/m2)
- Power/mass: 0.128 hp/lb (0.210 kW/kg)
Armament
- Guns: ** 2 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) forward-firing synchronized machine gunsin engine cowling
- 2 × 0.30 in (7.62 mm) flexible-mounted Browning M1919 machine guns in rear
- Bombs: 2,250 lb (1,020 kg) of bombs
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Aichi D3A "Val"
- Blackburn Skua
- Breda Ba.65
- Brewster SB2A Buccaneer
- Curtiss SB2C Helldiver
- Fairey Barracuda
- Junkers Ju 87 Stuka
- Saab 17
- Vought SB2U Vindicator
- Vultee A-31 Vengeance
Related lists
- List of aircraft of World War II
- List of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962)
- List of military aircraft of the United States
- List of attack aircraft
References
Notes
Citations
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9897906-0-4.
- ^ Francillon, 1979
- ISBN 978-0-9897906-0-4.
- ^ "The Douglas SBD Dauntless & Curtiss SB2C Helldiver".
- ^ a b "Douglas A-24". National Museum of the United States Air Force.
- ISBN 0 690 00606 3.
- ^ "USS Enterprise (CV 6), America's Navy, Navy News Service". Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless Scout / Dive Bomber, Plane Talk". Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ a b "USAF UA Vejtasa bio." au.af.mil. Retrieved: 23 August 2010.
- ^ "Action Reports. CO Marine Scout-Bombing Squadron 241. June 12, 1942". Midway 1942 : Documents.
- ^ [The Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War Two, by Barrett Tillman, Naval Institute Press, 2006]
- ^ Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, pp. 215–228
- ^ Smith 2007, p. 186.
- ^ Potter 2005, p. 170.
- ISBN 1-59114-867-7.
- ^ "Navy's Final SBD Is Built: Type to be Supplanted by SB2C's." Naval Aviation News, 15 September 1944, p. 11.
- ^ Oktorino 2019, pp. 157 & 160
- ^ Yenne 1985, p. 46.
- ^ Mondey 1996, p. 127.
- ^ a b Smith 1997, p. 150.
- ^ Pęczkowski 2007, pp. 41–43.
- ^ a b Smith 1997, pp. 151–155.
- ^ Pęczkowski 2007, pp. 35–40.
- ^ Tillman 1998, p. 85.
- ^ Smith 1997, pp. 115–121.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84425-645-7, pp. 26–27.
- ^ a b c "USN Overseas Aircraft Loss List December 1943". Aviation Archaeology Investigation & Research. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 06853." pacificwrecks.com Retrieved: 6 March 2015.
- ^ "FAA Registry : N5254L" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Douglas A-24 Banshee/42-60817." Erickson Aircraft Collection Retrieved: 2023 May 23.
- ^ "FAA Registry : N93RW" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Douglas A-24 Banshee/42-54682." Lone Star Flight Museum Retrieved: 12 January 2018.
- ^ "FAA Registry: N4864J" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 10518." Yanks Air Museum. Retrieved: 1 March 2018.
- ^ "FAA Registry: N34N." FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 10694." SBD Dauntless. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
- ^ "FAA Registry : N670AM" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 28536." Planes of Fame Retrieved: 13 January 2020.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 54532." CAF Airbase Georgia. Retrieved: 12 January 2018.
- ^ Wood, Keith. "CAF Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless BuAer 54532" (PDF). Commemorative Air Force Dixie Wing. CAF Dixie Wing. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ "FAA Registry: N82GA" FAA.gov Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Douglas A-24 Banshee/42-54582." National Museum of the USAF. Retrieved: 12 January 2018.
- ^ "Douglas A-24 Banshee/42-54654" Pima Air & Space Museum. Retrieved: 15 July 2014.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 02106." Archived 7 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine National Naval Aviation Museum. Retrieved: 12 April 2012.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 02173." Pacific Aviation Museum. Retrieved: 7 March 2018.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 06508." National World War II Museum. Retrieved: 18 February 2013.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 06583" National Museum of the Marine Corps. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 06624." Air Zoo. Retrieved: 13 January 2020.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 06694." USS Lexington Museum. Retrieved: 12 April 2012.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 06833." National Naval Aviation Museum. Retrieved: 12 April 2012.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 06900." San Diego Air & Space Museum. Retrieved: 12 January 2018.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 10575." Chicago Marine Heritage Society Retrieved: 15 September 2022.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 36173." Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum. Retrieved: 12 April 2012.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 36176." Archived 17 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Palm Springs Air Museum. Retrieved: 12 April 2012.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 36291" Valiant Air Command. Retrieved: 7 June 2021.
- ^ "Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless" American Heritage Museum. Retrieved: 16 March 2023.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 54605." Archived 10 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved: 12 January 2018.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/54654." USS Midway Museum. Retrieved: 15 July 2014.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 1612." Air Zoo Retrieved: 17 February 2022.
- ^ "Douglas SBD Dauntless/Bu. 10508." Castle Air Museum. Retrieved: 1 March 2018.
- ^ "Military Aviation Museum Acquires an SBD-5 Dauntless". Warbirds News. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ISBN 0870214284.
- ^ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
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- Brazelton, David. The Douglas SBD Dauntless, Aircraft in Profile 196. Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1967. No ISBN.
- Brown, Eric, CBE, DCS, AFC, RN, William Green and Gordon Swanborough. "Douglas Dauntless". Wings of the Navy, Flying Allied Carrier Aircraft of World War Two. London: Jane's Publishing Company, 1980, pp. 52–60. ISBN 0-7106-0002-X.
- Buell, Harold L. Dauntless Helldivers: A Dive Bomber Pilot's Epic Story of the Carrier Battles. New York: Crown, 1991. ISBN 0-517-57794-1.
- Dann, Richard, S. SBD Dauntless Walk Around, Walk Around Number 33. Carrollton, Texas, USA: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 2004. ISBN 0-89747-468-6.
- Drendel, Lou. U.S. Navy Carrier Bombers of World War II. Carrollton, Texas, USA: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1987. ISBN 0-89747-195-4.
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- Oktorino, Nino (2019). Duel Para Elang - Pertempuran Udara di Atas Hindia Belanda (in Indonesian). Jakarta: PT Elex Media Komputindo. ISBN 9786230000997.
- Pęczkowski, Robert. Douglas SBD Dauntless. Sandomierz, Poland/Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2007. ISBN 978-8-38945-039-5.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-692-6.
- Smith, Peter C. Douglas SBD Dauntless. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: The Crowood Press Ltd., 1997. ISBN 1-86126-096-2.
- Smith, Peter C. The History of Dive-Bombing. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Aviation, 2007. ISBN 978-1-84415-592-7.
- Stern, Robert. SBD Dauntless in Action, Aircraft Number 64. Carrollton, Texas, USA: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-89747-153-9.
- ISBN 0-87021-569-8.
- ISBN 1-85532-732-5.
- Tillman, Barrett and Robert L. Lawson. U.S. Navy Dive and Torpedo Bombers of World War II. St. Paul, Minnesota, USA: Motor Books Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0-7603-0959-0.
- White, Alexander S. Dauntless Marine: Joseph Sailer Jr., Dive-Bombing Ace of Guadalcanal. Santa Rosa, California, USA: Pacifica Press, 1997. ISBN 0-935553-21-5.
- Wildenberg, Thomas. Destined for Glory: Dive Bombing, Midway, and the Evolution of Carrier Airpower. Annapolis, Maryland: U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1998. ISBN 1-55750-947-6.
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- Yenne, Bill. McDonnell Douglas: A Tale of Two Giants. New York: Crescent Books, 1985. ISBN 978-0-517-44287-6.
External links
- Warbird Alley: SBD
- The SBD Shipborne Dive Bomber
- Aero-Web.org: SBD-5 Dauntless
- Boeing history of SBD Dauntless Divebomber
- Douglas SBD Dauntless onboard the USS Yorktown (CV-10) at Patriot's Point Naval & Maritime Museum near Charleston, SC
- "Diving Artillery" , April 1942, Popular Science article on the first U.S. Army A-24 unit, with rare photos of the A-24
- SBD-2 Dauntless BuNo 2106 Cockpit Panorama, National Naval Aviation Museum, NAS Pensacola, FL Archived 5 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- Bombing Squadron Nineteen 1943-1944: The Voices of Bombing Nineteen