During the latter half of the Solomons Islands campaign small numbers of aircrew of the Royal New Zealand Air Force flew the SBD Dauntless dive bomber into battle alongside their American allies. Using worn-out aircraft provided by the US Marines, 25 Squadron RNZAF mastered the use of the Dauntless and took their place in the battle line on Bougainville in 1944, flying numerous missions against the Japanese still fighting on that island. They then took the fight to the regional bastion of Rabaul, adding a very creditable chapter to the battle honors of the SBD.
Sources:
SBD Dauntless - Peter Smith
SBD Dauntless Units of World War II - Barrett Tillman
SBD Dauntless in Action - Robert Stern, Don Greer & Kevin Wornkey
Peter Mossong's Royal New Zealand Air Force Pacific WWII Page
rnzaf.hobbyvista.com/index.html
"Operations by Nos. 25, 30, and 31 Squadrons" from Royal New Zealand Air Force - Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War - Squadron Leader JMS Ross
Found in the New Zealand Electronic Text Collection:
nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/schol...
26 сен 2023
