Douglas SBD
Dauntless
The most famous of the dive bombers used
by the US Navy, and it made history in the destruction of four Japanese carriers
at the battle of Midway. It also
served with distinction at Coral
Sea and in the Solomons campaign,
and continued to be used until late 1944. It had slotted dive brakes
that could be opened in the trailing edge of the wings to slow down its rate of
descent when making near vertical dives on the target.
A-24 Dive Bomber
The Army Air Force also used a version of the Douglas SBD, known as the
A-24. This version was nearly identical to the Navy's, except for a few minor alterations, including an inflated rear tire and no tail hook. In Army service, the A-24 was not as sucessful, and only used to a limited capacity in the Pacific by the 5th AF, 3rd BG in the South Pacific and the 7th AF in the Central Pacific, and 11th AF in Alaska.
