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Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330-900 G-VLDY "Eliza Doolittle" by d@veseton

Arriving from Miami as VS6

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Douglas SBD-4 Dauntless (A-24A Banshee) by The Roving Aircraft Historian

In World War II, both the carrier forces of the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy employed the same tactical mix of aircraft, using both torpedo-carrying aircraft and bomb-carrying dive bombers. By using both at once, the defenders would have to split their fire between the high altitude dive bombers and the low altitude torpedo bombers—either weapon would be deadly to enemy ships. Dive bombers had to be more rugged and maneuverable than torpedo aircraft, to survive the ninety-degree dives required of their mission.

At the beginning of World War II in 1939, the principal US Navy dive bomber was the Northrop BT-1, designed by two legendary aircraft designers—Jack Northrop and Edward Heinemann. The BT-1 was reliable, but underpowered, with a tendency to stall on approach to its carrier. Heinemann, now working for Douglas Aircraft, proposed a replacement, broadly similar to the BT-1 but with the more powerful Wright Cyclone. The proposed aircraft would also be more streamlined, have a larger tail, and be equipped with perforated dive brakes that would slow the aircraft in a dive and give the pilot more control. Since the propeller on the Cyclone was larger, a bomb carried on the centerline hardpoint was attached to a crutch that would swing forward and release the bomb clear of the propeller arc. The Navy liked what it saw and ordered Heinemann’s design as the SBD-1 Dauntless, which first flew in May 1940.

By the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, most US Navy and Marine Corps units were equipped with SBD-3 variants, which included crew armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, as well as .50 caliber machine guns in the wings for strafing purposes. SBDs were involved in the war from the start, and several were lost at Pearl Harbor—but as the carriers of the US Pacific Fleet escaped the Japanese attack, it meant that the Dauntless would soon be on the attack.

Over the next four years, the SBD became one of the most effective aircraft of World War II. Operating from both carriers and land bases, the Dauntless would account for more Japanese ships than any other aircraft, and flew fully 25 percent of all sorties of the US Navy in World War II. It would see action in every major battle of the Pacific Theater, including the battles of Coral Sea, Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign, Philippine Sea, and Leyte Gulf; the aircraft that had started the war in Pearl Harbor would end it attacking the Japanese home islands.

The basic design of the SBD did not change for the duration of the war: although the SBD-3 was supplanted by the SBD-5, the latter only had an uprated engine. Despite being given somewhat unflattering nicknames such as “Barge,” “Clunk,” and “Slow But Deadly,” referring to its indifferent speed, the Dauntless defied attempts to replace it; its intended replacement, the SB2C Helldiver, was never as popular or as capable. The SBD gained a reputation for being simple to fly and maintain, as well as surprisingly manueverable: a skilled Dauntless pilot could use the type’s lack of speed to his advantage, forcing attacking Japanese fighters into overshooting. If this happened, the Japanese pilot would find himself in front of the SBD’s wing-mounted .50 caliber machine guns, which could tear the lightly-built A6M Zero apart. Attacking from the rear was not an easy matter either, as the twin .30 caliber machine guns manned by the rear gunner were often loaded with incendiary bullets that could set the Japanese fighters afire. Even if the SBD was hit, it was found to be remarkably resilient to damage.

The end of World War II also meant the end of the Dauntless: tactics had changed, and the SBD would prove to be the last dive bomber produced for the US Navy. The SBD was withdrawn in favor of the AD-1 Skyraider. Other examples were flown by the Mexican Air Force until 1959. A total of 5936 Dauntlesses were built; 24 currently survive, with four aircraft airworthy.

Though painted as a US Navy SBD-3, this aircraft was actually built as an A-24A Banshee, 42-60817, a Dauntless built for the USAAF as a dive bomber. The A-24s were not liked by the USAAF because they were so slow, and after Banshees did very poorly against the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea in 1942, most A-24s were relegated to training duties. 42-60817 likely never left the United States, and after World War II, was sold off. It ended up being bought by the city government of Portland, Oregon, who modified it as a bug sprayer. It would remain there until 1965, when it was grounded.

By this time, there were very few Dauntlesses of any type left, and 42-60817 was acquired by the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida. It was restored to look like a SBD-3. As more actual SBDs became available, the museum was willing to loan out 42-60817, and the aircraft was acquired by the Erickson Aircraft Collection. It was restored back to flight status and, when not flying, was displayed at the Tillamook Air Museum. In 2016, it was one of many aircraft at Tillamook that relocated to Erickson's new facility at Madras, Oregon.

Though this angle does not show the markings, 42-60817 carries the tail markings and identification of a SBD-3 assigned to VS-6 aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6) during the Battle of Midway. The early war camouflage on this aircraft is almost flawless. We saw this aircraft in May 2024.