[1990.535.

001] Aircraft - 'SBD-3 Dauntless'

SBD-3 Dauntless

Accession Number Accession Date Creator Date Created Object Desciption

1990.535.001 02/11/1990 Creator 07/17/1942 Marines landed on Guadalcanal, Florida, and Tulagi commencing August 7, 1942, supported by surface combatants and USS Wasp, USS Saratoga, and USS Enterprise. By Aug. 15 Marine squadrons commenced combat operations from what would become Henderson Field. The land Battle of Guadalcanal would last until 9 Feb. 1943. SBD-3 Dauntless (Bureau Number (BuNo) 06508) was built by Douglas Aircraft Company inEl Segundo, California, and delivered to the Navy at San Diego on July 17, 1942. The plane was transferred to Carrier Aircraft Service Unit (CASU) 1, arriving at Pearl Harbor on August 15, 1942. The airplane subsequently embarked in the auxiliary aircraft carrier Copahee (ACV 12) on September 15, 1942, for transport to Guadalcanal destination, via Noumea, New Caledonia, which lay on the main supply route to Australia and served as a staging base for both Marine and Navy aircraft operating in the South Pacific. Copahee arrived there on September 28, 1942 and during the period October 7-11, cruised toward Guadalcanal to launch twenty Marine aircraft for Henderson Field. Though BuNo 06508 may have seen action almost immediately upon arrival on Guadalcanal, its history card indicates that it was assigned to Marine Scout Bombing Squadron (VMSB) 141 on November 10th. On December 3, 1942, the plane was reassigned to VMSB-132. Both squadrons operated as part of the "Cactus Air Force," from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. The land battle for Guadalcanal was supported by six officially recorded actions at sea, some of which were joined by Marine aircraft from Henderson Field: Battle of Savo Island (August 8-9); Battle of the Eastern Solomons (commencing August 24th); Battle of Cape Esperance (commencing October 11th); Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands (commencing October 26th); Naval Battles of Guadalcanal (commencing November 12th); and the Battle of Tassafaronga (November 30th). Throughout the period Navy surface combatants and Marine aircraft also struck at Imperial Japanese Navy warships and transport ships of "the Tokyo Express," trying to resupply their troops on Guadalcanal. VMSB-141 lost 26 of its 29 aircraft and five officers, including the CO and XO, to shelling by Japanese battleships on the night of October 13-14. On November 12th, the squadron took part in the Naval Battles of Guadalcanal, in which Navy surface units and Marine air blunted a major Japanese effort to reinforce their troops on the island. BuNo 06508 likely flew against the Japanese force at sea and then against those Japanese troops that did make it ashore. VMSB-141 left Guadalcanal on November 19th, but BuNo 06508 was not recorded as assigned to VMSB-132 until December 3, 1942. It flew missions through the month against Japanese forces until Japan's High Command finally authorized the evacuation of their remaining troops from Guadalcanal. VMSB-132 was relieved by VMSB-233 on December 24th, its aircrewmen moving first to Sydney, Australia and then to Espiritu Santo Island, Vanuatu, southeast of the Solomons. Creator Role

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On February 15, 1943 BuNo 06508 was ferried to Espiritu Santo and assigned to the Service Squadron of Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 11. The airplane served in MAG-11's headquarters squadron pool until April 23, 1943. On that date the SBD-3 was reassigned to Bombing Squadron (VB) 10, aboard the carrier Enterprise (CV 6), as a replacement aircraft. It is doubtful that BuNo 06508 saw further combat because early in May 1943, Enterprise was ordered back to Pearl Harbor. On June20th BuNo 06508 was transferred to Utility Squadron (VJ) 9, and flown back to the United States to the Overhaul and Repair facility at NAS North Island, where the SBD-3 remained through July and August 1943. Assigned to the Commander, Naval Air Force, Pacific Fleet (COMNAVAIRPAC) aircraft pool in September, BuNo 60508 was further transferred to NAS Glenview, Illinois, on September 23rd, and assigned to the Carrier Qualification Training Unit (CQTU) there inNovember 1943. Place of Origin Notes El Segundo, CA No tactic represented naval aviation's rise to preeminence during World War II more than dive-bombing, and no aircraft embodied the success of this tactic more than the Douglas SBD Dauntless. An innovative design, the aircraft incorporated perforated dive-flaps, which stabilized and slowed it during bombing runs that routinely consisted of seventy-plus degree dives. The initial production aircraft entered service in 1940, and by the time the U.S. entered World War II, ten squadrons operated the SBD. Though replaced starting in 1943, Navy and Marine Corps Dauntless pilots participated in many Based on the Northrop BT-1, of the Pacific war's most significant battles, achieving their greatest victory at Midway, where they sank four Japanese carriers. Though the plane was relatively slow and lightly armed, SBD pilots and gunners also shot down 138 enemy aircraft. By July 1944, a total of 5,936 examples of the aircraft had rolled off Douglas assembly lines, far more than were originally planned and a testament to the ruggedness and capability of one of the outstanding Navy attack aircraft of WW II. Three Dauntless aircraft are on public display at the Museum at this writing. Including SBD-3 BuNo 06508 the museum holds fourteen examples of the SBD, including SBD-1 (BuNo 1612), the seventeenth production Dauntless off the assembly line. Guadalcanal veteran BuNo 06508 and three others have documented combat histories. SBD-2 BuNo 2106 is the only known surviving aircraft from the Battle of Midway, and a pair of SBD-3s (BuNos 06624 and 06626) flew from USS Ranger (CV 4) during Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. All 14 aircraft were recovered from Lake Michigan. Based on the Northrop BT-1, five versions of the SBD were built. Initial orders were placed in April 1939. The Marine Corps chose the SBD-1 and the Navy the SBD-2, which differed from the former with respect to greater fuel capacity and different armament. The first generation of SBDs deployed late in 1940 and early 1941. In March 1941 the Navy started to receive the SBD-3, with self-sealing fuel tanks and increased weaponry. Subsequent variants included the SBD-4, with a 24-volt electrical system, and the SBD-5. The most produced of all SBD variants, the SBD-5 was powered by a 1,200 hp R-1820-60 radial engine and had a larger ammunition capacity. Over 2,400 SBD-5s were built, mostly at Douglas' Tulsa, OK plant. An SBD-6 was also in design but Dauntless production ended in 1944, in favor of the new SB2C Curtiss Helldiver. General and Variant Specifications: SBD-1 to SBD-5 Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Co. Dimensions: Length: 32 ft., 8 in.; Height: 12 ft., 11 in. to 13 ft., 7 in., Wingspan: 41ft., 6 in. Weight: Empty: 6,345 to 6,535 lb.; Gross: 9,519 to 10,700 lb. Power Plant: One 1,000 hp to 1,200 hp Wright R-1820-32, -52, or -60 radial engine Performance: Maximum Speed: ~250 M.P.H.; Rate of Climb: 1,500ft. /min.; Service Ceiling: 24,300 to 27,100 ft.; Maximum Range with Bomb Load (operating radius): Dive-bomber configuration: 456 miles; Scout bomber configuration: 773 miles. Armament: Two fixed forward-firing .30 or .50 cal. and one flexible-mounted rear-firing single or twin .30 cal. machine guns. Ordnance: Up to 1,500 lb. of ordnance

Crew: Pilot and rear gunner

[ Image Only ] Title: Format: Date: Description: Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless, BuNo 06508 jpeg 24/09/2008 View of the museum's SBD-3 Dauntless on display.

[1994.005.001] Aircraft - 'SBD-2 Aircraft, Bureau Number 2106' SBD-2 Aircraft, Bureau Number 2106
Accession Number Accession Date Creator Date Created Object Desciption 1994.005.001 13/01/1994 Creator 1940 Rolling off the Douglas Aircraft Company assembly line in El Segundo, California, in December 1940, SBD-2 Dauntless (Bureau Number 2106) was delivered to Bombing Squadron (VB) 2 at Naval Air Station (NAS) San Diego, California, on the last day of 1940. For the better part of the following year the aircraft flew with that squadron, logging hours flying from the deck of the aircraft carrier Lexington (CV 2) and participating in large-scale military maneuvers in Louisiana. During the first week of December 1941, with Lexington earmarked to deliver aircraft of a Marine scout bombing squadron to Midway Atoll, the aircraft was off loaded from the carrier to make room for the additional aircraft and left at Pearl Harbor when "Lady Lex" put to sea. Thus, on the morning of 7 December 1941, it was on Ford Island in the middle of Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. Put back aboard Lexington when she returned to Pearl, the aircraft embarked in the carrier to the South Pacific. On 10 March 1942, flown by Lieutenant (junior grade) Mark T. Whittier with Aviation Radioman Second Class Forest G. Stanley as his gunner, the aircraft joined 103 other planes from Lexington and Yorktown (CV 5) in a raid against Japanese shipping at Lae and Salamaua in New Guinea. Credited with pressing home his attack against a Japanese ship, Whittier received the Navy Cross. When Lexington returned to Pearl Harbor following the raid, the museum's SBD-2 was again put ashore and earmarked for transfer to Marine Scout Bombing Squadron (VMSB) 241 on Midway Atoll, arriving there with eighteen other SBD-2s on 26 May 1942, on board the aircraft transport Kitty Hawk (APV 1). On the morning of 4 June 1942, with 1st Lieutenant Daniel Iverson as pilot and Private First Class Wallace Reid manning the .30-caliber machine gun in the aft cockpit. the museum's aircraft was one of sixteen SBD-2s of VMSB-241 launched to attack Japanese aircraft carriers to the west of Midway. Approaching the enemy carrier Hiryu, the Marine planes came under fire from antiaircraft gunners and fighters of the enemy combat air patrol. Iverson, with two Japanese Zero fighters following him down in his dive, released his bomb at an altitude of 800 feet. During his egress from the target area, the pair of Zeroes on Iverson's tail were joined by two others, which pursued the Dauntless for miles. Enemy fire holed Iverson's plane 219 times, knocking out his hydraulic system and wounding Reid. One bullet came so close that it clipped Iverson's throat microphone chord. Nevertheless, the pilot managed to return to Midway, making a one-wheel landing on the atoll. His was one of only eight SBD2s of VMSB-241 to return from the attack against the Japanese fleet. For their actions, Iverson received the Navy Cross and Reid was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Returned to the United States, the museum's SBD-2 was repaired and eventually assigned to the Carrier Qualification Training Unit (CQTU) at NAS Glenview, Illinois. On the morning of 11 June 1943, with Marine 2nd Lieutenant Donald A. Douglas, Jr., at the controls, the aircraft ditched in the waters of Lake Michigan during an errant approach to the training carrier Sable (IX 81). Douglas was retrieved from the water by a Coast Creator Role

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Guard rescue boat, but his aircraft sank to the bottom of the lake. Recovered in 1994, the aircraft underwent extensive restoration at the museum before being placed on public display in 2001. Elements of its original paint scheme when delivered to the fleet are still visible on its wings and tail surfaces. A survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack and two combat actions, including the famous Battle of Midway, it is one of the most historic aircraft in existence anywhere in the world. Object Notes Place of Origin Notes (2) 100 G.P. Bombs with PAM numbers: 0045 and 0069 have been placed on SBD BUNO 2106. They were removed from the Carrier Deck Island. El Segundo, California No tactic represented naval aviation's rise to preeminence during World War II more than dive-bombing, and no aircraft embodied the success of this tactic more than the SBD Dauntless. An innovative design, the aircraft incorporated perforated dive-flaps, which stabilized and slowed it during bombing runs that routinely consisted of seventy-plus degree dives. The initial production aircraft entered service in 1940, and by the time the United States entered World War II, ten squadrons operated the SBD. During World War II, Dauntless pilots participated in all five of the war's great carrier battles, achieving their greatest victory at Midway, where they sank four Japanese carriers. Though their mount was slow in speed and lightly armed, SBD pilots and gunners also shot down 138 enemy aircraft. By July 1944, a total of 5,936 examples of the aircraft had rolled off the Douglas assembly line, far more than were ever originally planned and testament to the amazing capabilities of the outstanding aircraft of the Pacific War. The museum holds fourteen examples of the SBD, including SBD-1 (BuNo 1612), the seventeenth production Dauntless off the assembly line. Four aircraft have documented combat histories. SBD-2 (BuNo 2106) is the only known surviving aircraft from the Battle of Midway, SBD-3 (BuNo 06508) flew from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, and a pair of SBD-3s (BuNos 06624 and 06626) flew from USS Ranger (CV 4) during Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. All 14 aircraft were recovered from Lake Michigan. Specifications Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Company Dimensions: Length: 32 ft., 8 in.; Height: 13 ft., 7 in., Wingspan: 41ft., 6 in. Weight: Empty: 6,345 lb.; Gross: 10,400 lb. Power Plant: One 1,000 horsepower Wright R-1820-52 engine Performance: Maximum Speed: 250 M.P.H.; Service Ceiling: 27,100 ft.; Maximum Range with Bomb Load: 1,345 miles Armament: Two fixed forward-firing .50-in. guns, one flexible-mounted rear-firing .30-in. guns, 1,200 lb. of ordnance Crew: Pilot and gunner Multimedia

[ Image Only ] Title: Format: Date: Description: 1994.005.001 jpeg 22/07/2010 left hand side view

[ Image Only ] Title: Format: Date: Restored .30-in Machine Gun in Rear Cockpit of SBD-2 jpeg 2001

Description: View of restored .30-in. machine gun in rear cockpit of SBD-2 (Bureau Number 2106) at the time of the aircraft's recovery from Lake Michigan.

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Rear Cockpit of SBD-2 jpeg 1994

Description: View of the rear cockpit of SBD-2 (Bureau Number 2106) at the time of the aircraft's recovery from Lake Michigan.

[ Image Only ] Title: Format: Date: Description: Restored Cockpit of SBD-2 jpeg 2001 View of the restored cockpit instrument panel of SBD-2 (Bureau Number 2106).

[ Image Only ] Title: Format: Date: SBD-2 Cockpit at Time of Recovery jpeg 1994

Description: View of the cockpit instrument panel of SBD-2 (Bureau Number 2106) at the time of the aircraft's recovery from Lake Michigan.

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Close-Up of SBD-2 Recovered from Lake Michigan jpeg 1994

Description: Close-up view of SBD-2 (Bureau Number 2106) as it appeared when recovered from Lake Michigan in 1994.

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SBD-2 Recovered from Lake Michigan jpeg 1994

Description: Side view of SBD-2 (Bureau Number 2106) as it appeared when recovered from Lake Michigan in 1994.

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SBD-2 Battle Damage (Tail) jpeg 1942

Description: View of the tail of SBD-2 (Bureau Number 2106) showing battle damage inflicted during the Battle of Midway. This photograph was taken on Midway Atoll.

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Battle Damage to SBD-2 (Side) jpeg 1942

Description: View of the port side of SBD-2 (Bureau Number 2106) showing battle damage inflicted during the Battle of Midway. This photograph was taken on Midway Atoll.

[ Image Only ] Title: Format: Date: Battle Damage to SBD-2 (Side) jpeg 1942

Description: View of the port side of SBD-2 (Bureau Number 2106) showing battle damage inflicted during the Battle of Midway. This photograph was taken on Midway Atoll.

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VMSB-241 Group Photograph jpeg 1942

Description: The pilots of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron (VMSB) 241 pictured on Midway Atoll. First Lieutenant Daniel Iverson, who flew the SBD-2 on display in the museum, is pictured third from left in the second row. The "Xs" note pilots killed in action during the Battle of Midway.

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SBD-2 on Display jpeg 2004

Description: SBD-2 (Bureau Number 2106), a veteran of the Battle of Midway, pictured on display in the museum. Note the section of the vertical stabilizer left unrestored to show the various paint schemes that adorned the aircraft.