I recently discovered that my grandfather was a rear seat gunner on these during WW2. I knew he was in the war but didn’t know in what capacity. My Dad told me that his Dad (my grandfather) only ever talked about the war two times before he passed away. I was just a baby at the time. And now it fascinates me to learn more about this aircraft. I even have an old photo of him when he was training at a base somewhere in California in the 1940s.
I'm a Brit in the UK but would like to say that those US pilots flying SBD Dauntless dive bombers were a hell of lot of brave guys. Well Done for your service!
@@briancooper2112 The Few! Yes Thank You cousin, at that time we were alone but just, only just managed to stand up to Goering's Luftwaffe. Never In The Field Of Human Conflict Was So Much Owed By So Many To So Few!
My father flew an SBD in WWII from the aircraft carriers USS Hornet (CV8) and the USS Lexington (CV16). In addition to the Battle of Midway, he also saw combat at the Battle of Santa Cruz, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, as well as attacks on Japanese installations at Truk Lagoon, Hollandia, Palau, Wake Island, Wolei, the Marshall Islands, and the Caroline Islands. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 2 Air Medals.
Your father is a hero where I’m from (Truk) if it wasn’t for operation Hailstone and those brave men in 1944 the Japanese was on the verge of wiping us off our islands.
On one of his bombing raids at Truk, my father was shot down by ground anti-aircraft fire. He was able to ditch his SBD outside of the lagoon where he and his gunner were rescued by Commander O'Kane and the USS Tang submarine. O'Kane details this rescue in his book "Clear the Bridge".
Great father and husband. I can't say he was fearless, but I think he accepted what he was doing as very dangerous but did what he had to do. I don't think he feared death because he told a story about his dive bombing attack on the IJN carrier Shokaku during the battle of Santa Cruz. His squadron (VS-8) was told how important it was to takeout their carriers. He said that if is dive didn't go well he was prepared to crash his SBD into the carrier with his bomb. Fortunately, his dive went well and hit the Shokaku with a 1000 lb. bomb near its stern. He didn't tell his rear gunner about this until long after the war when he called him to wish him a happy birthday on October 26th. (Not his birthday.) He gunner asked "what do you mean?" He then told him what he was prepared to do during the attack. He told another story about when he was shot down over Truk Lagoon. He was in his raft with his gunner when the wind started pushing them back towards the Japanese who were firing at them. He told his gunner that he couldn't be captured because he knew some things that he had to keep from the Japanese. (He was friends with the Admiral's operations office who told him about the upcoming invasion of Saipan.) He showed his 45 cal. automatic to his gunner and said "I know things the Japanese can't have. I've got 5 rounds for them and one for me." His gunner responded "i think I'm going to be sick. Mr. K." He and his gunner were rescued at dusk by Commander Richard O'Kane and the USS Tang submarine.
Though seemingly contradictory to the famous 'Slow But Deadly', it was also referred to as 'Speedy', a pronunciation of SBD. The Marines used them with great effect in the Philippines, providing close air support to Army forces.
My dad was a Radioman and Gunner September of 1943. During a Training Exercise in Jacksonville FL, after the practice bomb was dropped, while going back up to join their formation, the SBD lost power and they had to make a crash landing without power. Upon hitting the Emergency Landing Field, the plane split between he and the pilot. Both had to be cut out of the wreckage. After being released from the hospital, he went into the PBY and flew in the Blister as a crew member doing Coastal Patrol and Rescue Missions off the East Coast of the USA.
MAG 32, my fathers sqaudron,were the first to do Close Air Support on a large scale in the Philippines in the SBD. Dad's sqaud leader was MOH recipient John L Smith. They provided close air support on the drive to Manila.
DAUNTLESS HELLDIVERS, by Harold L. Buell, one of a handful of books written by actual WW2 combat vets, that 'puts you in the cockpit' of the venerable Douglas SBD (& Curtiss Helldiver) during tense combat missions. A true 'white knuckle read' !
During the Battle of the Philippine Sea, on his return flight from the "Mission Beyond Darkness', Buell panicked and ignored a wave off from the USS Lexington's landing officer, fouliing the flight deck while killing 2 of Lexington's plane handlers. How do I know this? My father who was also, low on fuel had to wait for Lexington's deck to be cleared so he could land his SBD. Buell's selfish act killed 2 and endangering the lives of many others. I also have read Buell's book and I as well as other WWII historians take issue with his accounts. A more accurate account of this strike on the Japanese fleet is in the book "Mission Beyond Darkness" by Lt. Commander Joe Bryant and Phillip Reed.
P.S. A big SALUTE to your brave father ! Did he ever talk about THE THRILL OF THE DIVE ? YEOW !! And thanks for the tip on: MISSION BEYOND DARKNESS. I will order it from my library tomorrow. ((FYI: My Dad was an Army FAC, ETO, Normandy to Vienna, who hardly ever talked about HIS Great Adventure.))
From This older Dive Bomber set the groundwork, and standard for the Helldiver Most of us think the Helldiver was great(late '44-45) but this is what made sure that an ACTUAL, Proper dive bomber came onto flight decks properly to succeed it Leyte Gulf became the only major battle the Slow But Deadly Dauntless never served on a flat-deck, but was there with the USMC From Coral Sea to Midway, from the Eastern Solomons to the Philippine Sea, the humble SBD became America's most successful dive bomber
My father flew an SBD dive bomber in combat from the decks of the USS Hornet (CV-8) and the USS Lexington (CV-16) In addition to the Battle of Midway, he also saw combat at the Battle of Santa Cruz, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, as well as attacks on Japanese installations at Truk Lagoon, Hollandia, Palau, Wake Island, Wolei, the Marshall Islands, and the Caroline Islands. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 2 Air Medals. He flew the SDB primarily in combat but had also flown the SB2C Hell Diver, the F4F Wildcat, the F6F Hellcat, the F4U Corsair, the TBF Avenger, and the F7F Tiger Cat. After the war he also flew the F2H Banshee. He hated the SB2C and called it a "Son of A Bitch 2nd Class". He loved and trusted the SBD (Slow But Deadly) which probably saved his life a number of times but his all time Navy plane was the F7F because of its raw power.
@@garyhooper1820 It did have a forward .50 cal available to the pilot as well as the observer’s gun and was quite maneuverable. A book I have on the Coral Sea and Guadalcanal battles mentioned it.
They were designed to target Warships - Warships are an entire military base worth of command, personel, weapons, defences and equipment stacked within the constraints of a single, mobile building. In the worst possible case scenario the enemy manages to spread AA guns to the perimiters of their base, scatter crew and equipment and launch Interceptor aircraft which is what most land bases were doing as a matter of 'simple' precaution this usually wasn't the case for the Warships because a ship would have to maintain these with resources which were also kept onboard this size limited structure and the AA batteries would have to be able to keep up with the ship. So the SBD rather than having to fight their way through Interceptor aircraft, evade the AA batteries set up at optimal firing angles, locate and brop their 'small' bombs on strategic targets, possibly strafe other targets then fight their way free the SBD attacked from directly overhead, having to evade AA firing at awkward angles then drop that single 'small' bomb through multiple levels of command, personell, equipment and whatever Interceptor aircraft hadn't been launched, killing and destroying anything in its path and possibly sinking the warship to boot then beat a hasty retreat from the single structure that was now chaos.
I recently discovered that my grandfather was a rear seat gunner on these during WW2. I knew he was in the war but didn’t know in what capacity. My Dad told me that his Dad (my grandfather) only ever talked about the war two times before he passed away. I was just a baby at the time. And now it fascinates me to learn more about this aircraft. I even have an old photo of him when he was training at a base somewhere in California in the 1940s.
I'm a Brit in the UK but would like to say that those US pilots flying SBD Dauntless dive bombers were a hell of lot of brave guys. Well Done for your service!
Your people in battle of Britain were hero's too.
@@briancooper2112 The Few! Yes Thank You cousin, at that time we were alone but just, only just managed to stand up to Goering's Luftwaffe. Never In The Field Of Human Conflict Was So Much Owed By So Many To So Few!
My father flew an SBD in WWII from the aircraft carriers USS Hornet (CV8) and the USS Lexington (CV16). In addition to the Battle of Midway, he also saw combat at the Battle of Santa Cruz, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, as well as attacks on Japanese installations at Truk Lagoon, Hollandia, Palau, Wake Island, Wolei, the Marshall Islands, and the Caroline Islands. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 2 Air Medals.
Your father is a hero where I’m from (Truk) if it wasn’t for operation Hailstone and those brave men in 1944 the Japanese was on the verge of wiping us off our islands.
On one of his bombing raids at Truk, my father was shot down by ground anti-aircraft fire. He was able to ditch his SBD outside of the lagoon where he and his gunner were rescued by Commander O'Kane and the USS Tang submarine. O'Kane details this rescue in his book "Clear the Bridge".
@@BP-1988 I’ll give this book a look sounds interesting.
How was your childhood? Did he accept any Kind of fear?
Great father and husband. I can't say he was fearless, but I think he accepted what he was doing as very dangerous but did what he had to do. I don't think he feared death because he told a story about his dive bombing attack on the IJN carrier Shokaku during the battle of Santa Cruz. His squadron (VS-8) was told how important it was to takeout their carriers. He said that if is dive didn't go well he was prepared to crash his SBD into the carrier with his bomb. Fortunately, his dive went well and hit the Shokaku with a 1000 lb. bomb near its stern. He didn't tell his rear gunner about this until long after the war when he called him to wish him a happy birthday on October 26th. (Not his birthday.) He gunner asked "what do you mean?" He then told him what he was prepared to do during the attack. He told another story about when he was shot down over Truk Lagoon. He was in his raft with his gunner when the wind started pushing them back towards the Japanese who were firing at them. He told his gunner that he couldn't be captured because he knew some things that he had to keep from the Japanese. (He was friends with the Admiral's operations office who told him about the upcoming invasion of Saipan.) He showed his 45 cal. automatic to his gunner and said "I know things the Japanese can't have. I've got 5 rounds for them and one for me." His gunner responded "i think I'm going to be sick. Mr. K." He and his gunner were rescued at dusk by Commander Richard O'Kane and the USS Tang submarine.
Though seemingly contradictory to the famous 'Slow But Deadly', it was also referred to as 'Speedy', a pronunciation of SBD.
The Marines used them with great effect in the Philippines, providing close air support to Army forces.
My dad was a Radioman and Gunner September of 1943.
During a Training Exercise in Jacksonville FL, after the practice bomb was dropped, while going back up to join their formation, the SBD lost power and they had to make a crash landing without power.
Upon hitting the Emergency Landing Field, the plane split between he and the pilot. Both had to be cut out of the wreckage.
After being released from the hospital, he went into the PBY and flew in the Blister as a crew member doing Coastal Patrol and Rescue Missions off the East Coast of the USA.
MAG 32, my fathers sqaudron,were the first to do Close Air Support on a large scale in the Philippines in the SBD. Dad's sqaud leader was MOH recipient John L Smith. They provided close air support on the drive to Manila.
DAUNTLESS HELLDIVERS, by Harold L. Buell, one of a handful of books written by actual WW2 combat vets, that 'puts you in the cockpit' of the venerable Douglas SBD (& Curtiss Helldiver) during tense combat missions. A true 'white knuckle read' !
During the Battle of the Philippine Sea, on his return flight from the "Mission Beyond Darkness', Buell panicked and ignored a wave off from the USS Lexington's landing officer, fouliing the flight deck while killing 2 of Lexington's plane handlers. How do I know this? My father who was also, low on fuel had to wait for Lexington's deck to be cleared so he could land his SBD. Buell's selfish act killed 2 and endangering the lives of many others. I also have read Buell's book and I as well as other WWII historians take issue with his accounts. A more accurate account of this strike on the Japanese fleet is in the book "Mission Beyond Darkness" by Lt. Commander Joe Bryant and Phillip Reed.
Agreed. Rules are to be followed. War is a MFr. Still a FASCINATING book by a dive bomber pilot in many other respects.@@BP-1988
P.S. A big SALUTE to your brave father ! Did he ever talk about THE THRILL OF THE DIVE ? YEOW !! And thanks for the tip on: MISSION BEYOND DARKNESS. I will order it from my library tomorrow. ((FYI: My Dad was an Army FAC, ETO, Normandy to Vienna, who hardly ever talked about HIS Great Adventure.))
That Douglas wing configuration is evident on other Douglas aircraft, A-20, C-47, etc.
From This older Dive Bomber set the groundwork, and standard for the Helldiver
Most of us think the Helldiver was great(late '44-45) but this is what made sure that an ACTUAL, Proper dive bomber came onto flight decks properly to succeed it
Leyte Gulf became the only major battle the Slow But Deadly Dauntless never served on a flat-deck, but was there with the USMC
From Coral Sea to Midway, from the Eastern Solomons to the Philippine Sea, the humble SBD became America's most successful dive bomber
Count me out of that "we all." The Dauntless is always the best in my mind.
My father flew an SBD dive bomber in combat from the decks of the USS Hornet (CV-8) and the USS Lexington (CV-16) In addition to the Battle of Midway, he also saw combat at the Battle of Santa Cruz, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, as well as attacks on Japanese installations at Truk Lagoon, Hollandia, Palau, Wake Island, Wolei, the Marshall Islands, and the Caroline Islands. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 2 Air Medals. He flew the SDB primarily in combat but had also flown the SB2C Hell Diver, the F4F Wildcat, the F6F Hellcat, the F4U Corsair, the TBF Avenger, and the F7F Tiger Cat. After the war he also flew the F2H Banshee. He hated the SB2C and called it a "Son of A Bitch 2nd Class". He loved and trusted the SBD (Slow But Deadly) which probably saved his life a number of times but his all time Navy plane was the F7F because of its raw power.
@@BP-1988 That's awesome! People like him gave us victory.
Excellent.
I believe because of the limited number of fighters, during the Coral Sea battles, the SBD was used as Combat Air Patrol alongside the Wildcats.
It was used for patrol and recon, had more range I believe.
@@garyhooper1820 It did have a forward .50 cal available to the pilot as well as the observer’s gun and was quite maneuverable. A book I have on the Coral Sea and Guadalcanal battles mentioned it.
Yes - in this role they were normally deployed low on anti-torpedo plane patrol.
IJN dreaded seeing these overhead.
My aunt told me she in the war worked at the plant producing the SBD
The very first model airplane I ever made
Not the first, but one of my favorites, the 1/48th scale Monogram kit with working flaps and bomb release.
The aircraft that turned the tide of the WW2 at the battle of Midway.
SBD,one of most beautiful airplane of wws
After All These Years I Didn't Know the Wings of the SBD Dauntless Didn't Fold Up For Carriers Use.
The Dauntless brought the Naval Avation Panche of the US Navy to the Japanese fleet.
Ed Heinemann designed it. Also the A-4D "Scooter."
Balls from thungsten carbite
SBD..... Silent But Deadly.... there... I said it.
Slow but deadly
Why did the SDB do so well in Navy service but fail in USAAF service.
They were designed to target Warships - Warships are an entire military base worth of command, personel, weapons, defences and equipment stacked within the constraints of a single, mobile building.
In the worst possible case scenario the enemy manages to spread AA guns to the perimiters of their base, scatter crew and equipment and launch Interceptor aircraft which is what most land bases were doing as a matter of 'simple' precaution this usually wasn't the case for the Warships because a ship would have to maintain these with resources which were also kept onboard this size limited structure and the AA batteries would have to be able to keep up with the ship.
So the SBD rather than having to fight their way through Interceptor aircraft, evade the AA batteries set up at optimal firing angles, locate and brop their 'small' bombs on strategic targets, possibly strafe other targets then fight their way free the SBD attacked from directly overhead, having to evade AA firing at awkward angles then drop that single 'small' bomb through multiple levels of command, personell, equipment and whatever Interceptor aircraft hadn't been launched, killing and destroying anything in its path and possibly sinking the warship to boot then beat a hasty retreat from the single structure that was now chaos.
No notice on this one.
Robinson Carol Brown Paul Robinson Jose
Destroyer destroyed The first submarine trying to sneak into pearl. It was a ship not sure it was a destroyer
Wow this is literally a reading of the Wikipedia page not even worded differently too much
Very low effort