At first glance, the performance specs might have left a little to be desired of in the SBD design but it was soon proven to be a steady performer even when called upon to battle the fabled Japanese fighters. Top speeds of 250 miles per hour could be reached along with a ceiling of just around 25,500 feet with a range of well over 1,000 miles. A total of 2,250lb of external ordnance was capable.Ĭapabilities for the SBD were adequate considering the type, with power derived from the single Wright-brand R-1820 series air-cooled engine rated at over 1,000 horsepower (and achieving progressively better returns as new engines were introduced throughout her production life). The real meat and potatoes for the SBD was in her ability to carried a substantial bomb load that could be supplanted by depth charges if need be. The empennage was a traditional assembly with a single vertical tail surface. Wings were of low-wing monoplane types situated under the fuselage and featured the noticeably large perforated dive flaps so consistent with the series. The pilot doubled as the bombardier and also manned fixed-forward gun systems which (eventually) would feature two 12.7mm (.50 caliber) heavy machine guns. The rear cockpit contained a trainable gun position (7.62mm type machine guns) and played a major defensive role in the survival of many an SBD system and crew. The glazed cockpit could accommodate two personnel - the pilot in a forward area and the gunner in a rear cockpit, seated back-to-back. The Douglas SBD would build for itself a history of resilience despite its inherent limitations in design - a history that very few other aircraft of the war would be able to match - and be responsible for the sinking of thousands of tons of Japanese shipping.ĭesign was conventional with the large radial engine mounted in the extreme forward portion of the fuselage, just forward of the cockpit. Despite its classification and appearance, the SBD Dauntless could more than handle its own against the lightly armored Japanese fighters in the Theater. Though a product of the middle-to-late 1930's, the type continued to soldier on even as more advanced warplanes were appearing out of American factories as the war progressed. The Douglas DBS Dauntless dive bomber was a key cog in the America Navy war effort throughout the Pacific during World War 2.
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