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Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a naval Dive Bomber and was the US Navys main dive bomber from mid 1940 to late 1943. The Douglas SBD Dauntless, which earned the nickname Slow, But Deadly entered service with the USN and USMC in 1940. Powered by a 1,000 HP, 9-cylinder, Cyclone radial engine the SBD was capable of a maximum speed of 250 MPH. The Dauntless could stay airborne for a long time with its 1,300 mile range and slow cruising speed, The Douglas SBD Dauntless was capable of delivering a 1,200 pound bomb load. Because of its slow speed the SBD needed armament to discourage attack by enemy fighters. Two forward firing machine guns and either one or two rear firing guns mounted in the gunners cockpit behind the pilot, gave the SBD enough firepower to make it a challenging target for enemy fighters. The aircraft was also operated by the United States Army as the A-24 Banshee |
| Dauntless Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings WW1 Aviation Art |
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Midway - The Setting Sun by Ivan Berryman. Depicting Dauntless and Devastator attacking the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi during the Battle of Midway. |
Pressing Home the Kill by Randall Wilson. Dauntless Dive Bombers Dive on the Battleship Musashi in the Sibuyan Sea, October 1944. |
Midway: The Turning Point by Stan Stokes. The Battle of Midway in June of 1942 marked the turning point in the War in the Pacific, and the Douglas SBD Dauntless was the aircraft which provided the punch in this decisive victory for America. The SBD, which earned the nickname Slow, But Deadly, entered service with the USN and USMC in 1940. Powered by a 1,000 HP, 9-cylinder, Cyclone radial engine the SBD was capable of a maximum speed of 250 MPH. The Dauntless could stay airborne for a long time with its 1,300 mile range and slow cruising speed, and it was capable of delivering a 1,200 pound bomb load. Because of its slow speed the SBD needed armament to discourage attack by enemy fighters. Two forward firing machine guns and either one or two rear firing guns mounted in the gunners cockpit behind the pilot, gave the SBD enough firepower to make it a challenging target for enemy fighters. The Japanese plan for invading Midway, a strategically-located small island about 1,100 miles northwest of Hawaii, involved the use of a decoy fleet which would feign an invasion of the Aleutians, while the main fleet consisting of approximately 100 ships and four aircraft carriers would carryout the invasion. Based on intelligence reports the US Navy was ready for Adm. Yamamoto this time. The American force totaled 25 ships including the carriers Hornet, Enterprise, and Yorktown. Air power was about even, because the U.S. could count on nearly 100 land-based aircraft on Midway itself. About 1/3rd of the U.S. air power was represented by SBDs. During the first exchanges, American attacks on the Japanese invasion fleet with both land-based and carrier-based aircraft were repulsed with substantial losses. These low-level torpedo attacks focused the attention of both Japanese fighter pilots and AA gunners on the horizon. Lacking effective radar, the Japanese fleet would prove to be unprepared for a high altitude attack by swarms of SBDs on June 4, 1942. The timing proved perfect as the Japanese carriers were laden with fully fueled and armed aircraft being readied for a second wave. As depicted in Stan Stokes dramatic painting the 1,000 pounder of Paul Lefty Holmbergs SBD penetrates the carrier deck of the Soryu while Holmberg pulls out of his dive. Right behind Holmberg is another SBD of VB-3 from the USS Yorktown. SBDs from the Yorktown and its sister ship the Enterprise destroyed three Japanese carriers in a matter of minutes during this battle. While the Yorktown was later lost in the Battle, all four Japanese carriers were eventually destroyed including many of Japans most experienced naval aviators. The rugged and effective Dauntless, the only USN aircraft to remain in service through the entire war, was responsible for destroying more enemy shipping than any other aircraft during WW II. |
Midway - Attack on the Soryu by Anthony Saunders. Brimming with overconfidence, few on board the Japanese carrier Sōryū noticed the SBD Dauntless bombers gathering overhead. Within a matter of minutes a few courageous US Navy pilots would change the course of history. Anthony Saunders' new action-packed painting recreates the scene from the Battle of Midway as the SBD Dauntless pilots pull out of their death-defying dives having delivered their 1000lb bombs perfectly on target with three direct hits on the Japanese carrier. Already there is utter chaos aboard the Sōryū as exploding ammunition and igniting fuel erupt onto the flight deck from the hangars below. Secondary explosions rip through the ship, fires rage beyond control and her hull shudders to contain the violent inferno. The Sōryū is doomed. |
Victory at Midway by Stan Stokes. The SBD (Slowly but Deadly) Dauntless dive bomber was one of the most effective combat aircraft of WWII. Flown in large numbers by the USN throughout the war, the SBD was responsible for the destruction of a significant tonnage of enemy ships. During the Battle of Midway, SBDs surprised three of the Imperial Japanese Navy carriers. Caught off guard on June 4th 1942 with their fighter cover searching for low flying torpedo bombers, and with the decks of their carriers littered with aircraft being refitted for another strike, Dauntless aircraft from the Enterprise and Yorktown attack and destroy the three carriers. |
Midway The Turning Point by Robert Taylor. Dauntless of the SS carrier Enterprise prepare to attack the Japanese Fleet at Midway, June 1942. The success of their bold and Devastating action changed the course of the war in the Pacific. |
Battle of the Coral Sea by Robert Taylor. Commemorating the Battle of the Coral Sea, Robert Taylor has chosen to portray the sinking of the Shoho in this dramatic painting. When Commander Weldon Hamilton, leading one of the Lexington's Dauntless squadrons, spotted the Shoho at 1040 on the morning of May 4th 1942, the Japanese carrier's fate was sealed. Within minutes she was hit by the full force of the Lexington's dive bombers and torpedo aircraft, aided by the Yorktown's attack group. Smothered by a dozen bomb and seven torpedo hits, she was sunk within thirty minutes of the first sighting. |
Midway - Strike Against the Akagi by Robert Taylor. A SDB Dauntless from the USS Enterprise attacks the Japanese carrier Akagi during the Battle of Midway. |
| Top Aces for : Dauntless | ||
| A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking the pilots name. | ||
| Name | Victories | Info |
| Stanley W Vejtasa | 11.00 | The signature of Stanley W Vejtasa features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Dauntless Pilot and aircrew signature details |
Dick Best Our estimated value of this signature : £35 | Dick Best Lt. Commander Dick Best led attacks on Wake Island and Marcos Island and flew escort flights for the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo as Commanding Officer of VB-6. Commanding VB-6 on June 4, 1942 he led his squadron of SBD dive-bombers against the Japanese carriers Akagi and Hiryu and was consequently awarded the Navy Cross. |
Commander Harold L Buell Our estimated value of this signature : £40 | Commander Harold L Buell Pacific Theater Dauntless pilot. |
Captain Bill Christie Our estimated value of this signature : £45 | Captain Bill Christie Pacific Theater Dauntless pilot. |
Captain Robert M Elder USN Our estimated value of this signature : £50 Died : 2008 | Captain Robert M Elder USN Robert M. Elder was born in Saskatchewan, Canada on December 5, 1918. He attended the University of Washington in Seattle as a Naval ROTC student, where he majored in Aero Engineering. Elder commenced his flight training at Pensacola, and was commissioned as an Ensign in the USNR in May of 1941. In June, Elder was assigned to Bombing Squadron 3, the Black Panthers, who were at that time were equipped with Douglas Dauntless S1313-3 bombers, and were assigned to the USS Saratoga (CV-3) based in San Diego. With the attack on Pearl Harbor, Elder and his squadron mates from V13-3 would be soon be involved in the heat of battle in the Pacific. Elder flew numerous bombing missions during the Battle of the Coral Sea. During the Battle of Midway, V13-3 flying off the USS Yorktown, along with bombers from the USS Enterprise, sunk three Japanese aircraft carriers in a matter of minutes. This would prove to be the turning point in the War in the Pacific. Elder would later fly in both the Guadacanal and Easter Solomons campaigns. He was awarded two Navy Crosses, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and received two Presidential Unit Citations. Following the War, Elder remained in the Navy. He was one of the first graduates from the Navy's test pilot training school in 1950. He was also one of the first Naval aviators to fly jet aircraft, and he participated in developmental flights on both the F8F Bearcat and the F7F Tigercat. On the former Elder carrier qualified the aircraft. In 1953 Elder returned to combat duty with VF-191 flying off the USS Orinskany. Subsequently he commanded Carrier Air Group 12, the USS Waccamaw, and the USS Coral Sea. Following the Korean War, Elder continued to fly. In 1957 Bob was assigned as Director of the Flight Test Division at the Navy's Air Test Center at Patuxent River, Maryland. Here Bob personally conducted initial test flights on many of the Navy's new supersonic fighter aircraft including the F3 Demon, F-1 1 Tiger, the F-4 Phantom 11, the A-5 Vigilante, and the F8U-3 Crusader 11. Elder retired from the Navy in 1963. He then worked for the Northrop Corporation for 23 years, holding the positions of Chief Test Pilot, Director of Flight Operations, and Head of Flight Test and Evaluation. He was one of the driving forces behind the programs which evolved into the F/A- 18 Hornet. Bob also was founder of the Tailhook Association, and received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1964. During his amazing flying career, Bob Elder has flown more than 8,000 flight hours in 142 different types of aircraft. He has become carrier qualified in 35 different aircraft, and has made almost 1,000 carrier landings. Bob s also served as President of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. He died 12th September 2008. |
Commander Harry A Fredrickson Our estimated value of this signature : £35 | Commander Harry A Fredrickson Pacific Theater Dauntless pilot. |
 Jack Morrissey Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Jack Morrissey Jack Morrissey enlisted in the US Navy in June 1941, quickly rising to become Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class and was soon operating as a Naval Aviation Pilot flying the PBY Catalina. Posted to Midway Naval Air Station he fle combat operation PBY-5s throughout the Battle of Midway in June 1942, rescuing American airmn that had been shot down, and went on to fly the SBD Dauntless. During his service, he was shot down once but by the end of the war had managed to notch up over 4500 flying hours. He was awarded 3 Presidential Citations and left the service at the end of the war. |
Captain Ben Preston Our estimated value of this signature : £35 | Captain Ben Preston Pacific Theater Dauntless pilot. |
Commander Joe Riley Our estimated value of this signature : £45 | Commander Joe Riley Pacific Theater Dauntless pilot. |
Captain Arthur J Schultz Our estimated value of this signature : £40 | Captain Arthur J Schultz Pacific Theater Dauntless pilot. |
Captain Lawrence G Traynor Our estimated value of this signature : £40 | Captain Lawrence G Traynor Pacific Theater Dauntless pilot. |
 Captain Stanley Swede Vejtasa USN Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2013 | Captain Stanley Swede Vejtasa USN Commissioned in August 1939, Swede Vejtasas first combat assignment was in May 1942 whilst flying the SBD Dauntless with VS-5 aboard the USS Yorktown during the Battle of the Coral Sea. here he participated in the attack on the Japanese carrier Shoho, and flew anti-torpedo plane patrol, claiming three Zeroes. Switching to fighters with VF-10 flying the F4F Wildcat aboard the USS Enterprise he took part in the Battle of Santa Cruz, where he notched up 7 air victories on one flight in October. In March 1943 he flight-tested the new F4U Corsair in the combat zone. His final tally for the war was 11 aerial victories. He died on 23rd January 2013. |
| Dauntless Squadron details |
VB-6 Country : US | VB-6 |
VS-5 Country : US | VS-5 |
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