The Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War Two

by Tillman, Barrett

• ISBN13: 9781591148678
• ISBN10: 1591148677
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-29
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr

Summary

The U.S. Navy's SBD dive bomber, popularly known as the Douglas Dauntless, was well named. It made its mark in aviation history by sinking more enemy carriers than any other aircraft. At the Battle of Midway, the Dauntless turned the tide of war in the Pacific with the destruction of four Japanese carriers. Though considered nearly obsolete when the war began, the SBD was still in service at war's end. It was the only American navy aircraft to fly in all five of the naval engagements fought exclusively by aircraft carriers, and it was credited with sinking the first Japanese fleet submarine and dropping the first bombs on Japanese-occupied soil. Active in the Atlantic as well, the Dauntless sank Vichy French shipping at Casablanca and German vessels in Scandinavian waters.

Table of Contents

foreword	vii
preface	ix
birth of the dauntless	2	(16)
into combat	18	(12)
coral sea	30	(26)
midway	56	(36)
guadalcanal	92	(34)
eastern solomons	126	(18)
santa cruz	144	(18)
the other ocean	162	(10)
pacific offensive	172	(16)
the last battle	188	(22)
appendix a surviving dauntlesses	210	(6)
appendix b dauntless specifications	216	(3)
notes	219	(4)
bibliography	223	(4)
index	227