Douglas SBD Dauntless (2. WK): Bücher - Geschichte

The Douglas Dauntless was the US Navy's frontline dive-bomber in the early days of WWII. Even after the larger and more powerful Helldiver joined the fleet in the later stages of the war, the Dauntless remained in the fray, flying from the decks of escort carriers, which were too small to permit the operation of the later aircraft, as well as continuing to serve from the decks of fleet carriers.
The Dauntless took part in many of the most notable battles of the war in the Pacific, including Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal.

Carefully researched war-era photos are augmented with color images of current-day preserved aircraft, capturing the details of this flying legend. Part of the Legends of Warfare series.

Unquestionably the most successful dive-bomber ever to see frontline service with any air arm, the Douglas SBD Dauntless was the scourge of the Japanese Imperial Fleet in the crucial years of the Pacific War. The revolutionary all-metal stressed-skin design of the SBD exhibited airframe strength that made it an ideal dive-bomber, its broad wing, with horizontal centre section and sharply tapered outer panels with dihedral, boasting perforated split flaps that doubled as dive brakes during the steep bombing attacks.

Contents: The Scout-Bombing Mission - Early Combat - Coral Sea and Midway - Guadalcanal and the Solomons - Central Pacific and the Philippines - Banshees and Foreign Dauntlesses - Perspective - Appendices.