My father was an SBD pilot who saw combat at Midway, Battle of Santa Cruz, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Truk Lagoon, as well as many other missions against Japanese ground installations. He was awarded the Navy Cross, Silver Star, 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 2 Air Medals as well as 10 Battle Stars. He preferred to fly the SBD (Slow But Deadly) over its successor, the SB2C (Son of a Bitch Second Class).
@@svgproductions72 He was on the Hornet (CV8) and when it was sunk at Santa Cruz he was assigned to the new Lexington (CV16). He was shot down at Truk and then rescued by the USS Tang. He was also mentioned quite a few times in the book "Mission Beyond Darkness". In July of 1944 he was assigned to test work at Inyokern, CA where he test fired the Tiny Tim and Holy Moses rockets before they were deployed to the fleet.
@@svgproductions72 Actually, he wasn't on the Hornet when it was attacked. He was part of VS-8 attacking the Japanese carrier Shokaku when the Hornet was hit. He was credited with hitting the Shokaku with a 1000 pound bomb for which he was awarded one of his DFCs. . Upon returning to the Hornet he was attacked by a Zero. The Zero wounded his rear gunner before my dad was able to shoot it down. When they got back to the Hornet it was dead in the water, listing and unable to land its planes. My dad was able to find the Enterprise and land on it with his wounded gunner which probably saved his life. His gunner had lost so much blood that when Enterprise's plane handlers approached his SBD, he said "Look that plane is bleeding!"
So was my dad! However, he was injured in a bomb run training exercise. They made their run and while trying to go back into formation, the plane lost power and they had to make an emergency landing. Upon hitting the runway, the plane broke up. Both he and the pilot had to be cut out of the plane. He then transitioned over to PBYs as a radioman and gunner. He flew in the blister on Coastal Patrol.
Much better than the earlier Vindicator (which early war pilots nicknamed 'Wind Indicator') and much more loved by their pilots than the Helldiver that was not very well loved by it's pilots. The USN kept trying to phase out the SBD but it was so reliable and rugged (and a pleasure to fly) they kept it in service much longer than expected. In the book 'Mission Beyond Darkness' one pilot remembered after landing on a carrier that wasn't his (it was nighttime and ANY deck was welcome-a lost IJN pilot even tried landing) he was yelled at for not folding up his wings by the plane handlers that weren't familiar with the SBD.
I think a good number of pilots believed that the SBD was better than the SB2C. That’s an interesting story, I never heard of that! I’ll definitely take a look at the Vindicator as well
Years ago a friend described the Dauntless SBD as a _'flying T-34'_ to me and that thought kinda stuck with me. Like, it's obviously not entirely accurate, but the parallels are certainly there. Kinda not much of a looker compared to its contemporaries, some weird design choices, outperformed to an absurd degree by later machines and sorta matched badly against its immediate opposition, but damn if it didn't put in the work. Much like the T-34 is often portrayed in broad strokes as _'the tank that won WW2',_ a similar case could be made for the Dauntless as _'the plane that won the war in the pacific'._
@@chiplane3976 thanks! Yeah this video was from a few years ago! I changed my ways since, no more music throughout! Be sure to check out my other videos
I was watching a History channel programme that mentioned a pilot called John Powers who received the MoH for his strike against the Shokaku. It sounded almost like a suicide strike. I had a look online to read a bit more about it and was wondering if he had a radioman/gunner on this mission as I couldn't see any mention?
Pretty sure the SBD remained a part of the fleet air wings right up to the end of the war, they tried to replayed it with the SB2C but it like the early corsair it was a terrible carrier plane when it came to getting aboard the boat so they mostly stayed with SBDs or went to flying Hell cats or Avengers.
The only thing I could add is that the SBD could out turn the Zero. Because it could pull more Gs in a turn. While it was common to pull 6 Gs in a dive pull out there was times it did 8 without damage. When my dad joined the Navy pilots were trained to fly every plane on the ship. This was changed later in the war. F6F Hellcat pilot.
Steve thanks for your comment! I remember in a History Channel Dogfights episode Swede Vejtasa in a SBD out-turned Zeros in a lopsided dogfight and won. Your dad flew in Hellcats? Currently wrapping up video production about the F6F right now, I’d would be interested in learning about his service!
@@svgproductions72 My dad rarely talked about his service. What we know came from his logbooks. And service records. Got his carrier rating on 6/4/1942. Should have been on the USS Hornet but it was sunk before he made it. Served on the USS Essex. Then on the replacement Hornet through the end of the war. He past away in. 2005. He took a picture of his 2nd plane before it was pushed overboard . 3 cylinders blown off by flak over Truk.
@@steveb6103 wow! What a story, do you know what squadron he was in? One of my sources breaks photos out by squadron so it’s possible I can find some photos for you
Many thanks for this great show. WHY do I see so many images of SBD's diving on IJN carriers from an angle to the carrier's centerline (length wise) ? I woud assume that diving from the stern of the target lining up on to its center line, towards the target's bow would give a dive bomber pilot much more chance to correct for wind and for evasive actions by the ships ? Also, I did not see many images showing SBD's making a "shoulder roll" just before entering the dive, although such roll would be the preferred way ? This opposed to Stuka bombers often seen rolling over the shoulder. Could some one plse explain this ?
If you look in the comments, one of the commenters mentioned his father was one of the pilots during the Battle of Midway that struck one of the Japanese carriers with a bomb!
Why did Douglas choose the Wright Cyclone engine d=for the SBD, when the Grumman Wildcat used a P&W Wasp? Surely the maintenance requirements of both engines complicated service provision on early WW2 aircraft carriers? The Douglas Devastator used a P&W, so why the shift to Wright?
That’s right! One of the few warbirds in the US Navy at the time that didn’t have folding wings. That contributed to their limited us on escort carriers
@SVG Productions Thanks for the response, sorry but I don't remember the original source. If I recall, the broad wings the SBD used to lift it's heavy self and payload provided surprising manueverability at low speeds. Two .50's forward and two .30's afterward, plus the legendary rugedness - it's possible. I'll be subscribed so I won't miss your confirm/debunk video.
@@scottjuhnke6825 I found the photo! These are SBD-5 Dauntless dive bombers from Marine Scouting Squadron 3 (VMS-3) "Devilbirds" in flight near the Virgin Islands. Based at Marine Corps Air Station Bourne Field, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Atlantic theater camouflage circa 1943
Your comment is not specific enough to provide guidance to make better videos; It is not constructive. Do you have another video on the SBD you recommend?
