SBD Dauntless

Douglas · United States · first flew 1940 · bomber

The Douglas SBD Dauntless was the US Navy's standard carrier-based dive bomber for the first half of the Pacific war, famed for its perforated dive brakes.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	10.09 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Perforated split dive brakes on the trailing edge of the wing
Two-seat cockpit under a long greenhouse canopy with a rear gunner
Low straight wing with squared-off tips and a radial-engine nose

The holed dive-brake flaps, two-seat greenhouse canopy and radial-engine nose on a straight low wing identify it.

Specifications

The SBD Dauntless has a length of 10.09 m (33 ft).
It has a wingspan of 12.66 m (42 ft).
Its maximum speed is 410 km/h (255 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

First flown in 1940, the Dauntless used distinctive holed split flaps as dive brakes to make steady, accurate dive-bombing attacks. Rugged and stable, it earned the affectionate backronym 'Slow But Deadly'.

Variants

Successive marks through the SBD-5 uprated the Wright Cyclone engine and equipment. The US Army flew a land-based equivalent as the A-24 Banshee.

Where you'll see it

Primarily a US Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, the Dauntless devastated the Japanese carrier fleet at the Battle of Midway. The Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm received only a handful for evaluation and never used the type operationally.

Related aircraft

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