# American light bombers and reconnaissance aircrafts



## gekho (Dec 8, 2011)

Brewster SB2A Buccaneer

The Buccaneer is a prime example of how a design that looked good on paper in 1939 can be woefully lacking by 1941. Between the drawing board and the production line, the SB2A put on substantial additional weight that overwhelmed her 1,700 horse power engine and out dated air frame, resulting in a ship that proved to be, slow, sluggish, and with unpleasant handling qwerks. Though many other stats appear comparable to the Grumman TBF on paper, her inferior wing area, bomb load, and real world performance put her way behind the Avenger. The initial delivery of SB-2A- 2s 3s were quickly relegated to training duties. 162 non folding wing Buccaneers ordered by the Dutch were taken over by the Navy, christened the "SB2A-4," and used by the Marines as trainers for the first two years of the War. (That is the version featured in this film. Perhaps the high point of the Buccaneers service for the Navy was there use in the Marines first Night Fighter squadron, VMF(N) 5-31.

The British ordered the SB2A under Lend Lease as the "Bermuda," and quickly came to the same conclusion about her as the Americans, Most were quickly relegated to such duties as target tug towing, although there is a report that they were used with some success as a level bomber in the plane starved India-Burma campaign. 

Source: See Brewster SB2A Buccaneer Training Film Live Online


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## gekho (Dec 8, 2011)

The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company in the late 1930s for the Royal Air Force. The Battle was powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that gave contemporary British fighters high performance; however, the Battle was weighed down with a three-man crew and a bomb load. Despite being a great improvement on the aircraft that preceded it, by the time it saw action it was slow, limited in range and highly vulnerable to both anti-aircraft fire and fighters with its single defensive .303 machine gun.

During the "Phoney War", the Fairey Battle recorded the first RAF aerial victory of the Second World War but by May 1940 was suffering heavy losses of well over 50% per mission. By the end of 1940 the Battle had been withdrawn from combat service and relegated to training units overseas. For such prewar promise, the Battle was one of the most disappointing of all RAF aircraft.

Note: *I had no idea that the Fairey Battles served with the USAC, but this picture is an evidence, so any further information is welcome.*


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## Airframes (Dec 8, 2011)

Interesting pic. It seems to have a different engine installation, possibly/probably 'H' block, judging by the exhausts, and what appear to be possibly contra-rotating, twin-blade props. Strange!


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## rochie (Dec 8, 2011)

Airframes said:


> Interesting pic. It seems to have a different engine installation, possibly/probably 'H' block, judging by the exhausts, and what appear to be possibly contra-rotating, twin-blade props. Strange!


definatly a contra rotating prop, what an mongrol of a machine it looks as well


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## vikingBerserker (Dec 8, 2011)

I believe that is equiped with the Fairy Prince or Monarch engine, neither ever went into production. I cannot find anywhere where the US ever used one. Perhaps this was a demo to try and get sales????


EDIT: Just found some info:

"Battle K9370 was used to test the Fairey Monarch 2,000+ hp (1,490+ kW) aero-engine with electrically-controlled three-blade contra-rotating propellors in 1939. According to Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1946-47, the aircraft was shipped to the U.S.A. after 86 hours test time."

http://www.enotes.com/topic/Fairey_Battle

For whatever reason if you look hard enough, you can see where the 3rd blade has been "painted out" of the photo.


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## nuuumannn (Dec 8, 2011)

There's a thread about the Prince and Monarch engines, which contains info on examination of the powerplant by the US:

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/aviation/fairey-aero-engines-any-good-info-30710.html

Hey, VikingBerserker, If I can remember correctly one of the Fairey engines was under consideration for a possible powerplant for the P-47; it was going to be built by Ford, so the Battle was sent to the USA.

That's a neat pic of the Battle, Gekho


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## Wayne Little (Dec 9, 2011)

Not bad!


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## Airframes (Dec 9, 2011)

Good stuff David and Grant.


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## gekho (Dec 9, 2011)

In 1940 the U.S. Army Air Corps ordered 203 Curtiss O-52s for observation duties -- signified by the designation "O" -- and used them for military maneuvers within the continental United States. Upon America's entry into World War II, however, the U.S. Army Air Forces realized that the airplane lacked the performance necessary for combat operations overseas. As a result, the Army relegated the O-52 to stateside courier duties and short-range submarine patrols off the coasts of the United States. The O-52 was the last "O" type airplane procured in quantity for the Army. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Army Air Forces cancelled the "O" designation and adopted "L" for the liaison type airplanes that replaced it.

Source: Factsheets : Curtiss O-52 Owl


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## gekho (Dec 9, 2011)

The Curtiss A-25 Shrike represented the end of an obsolete concept -- the single-engine, two-seat dive bomber. A modified version of the U.S. Navy's new SB2C Helldiver, the U.S. Army Air Corps ordered 100 A-25s in 1940. Although initial testing revealed some problems, the A-25 went into production, and the U.S. Army Air Forces ordered 3,000 in February 1942. In March 1943, a USAAF board determined that single-engine, two-seat attack aircraft like the A-25 were too vulnerable to enemy fighters. They recommended canceling the production of this type and relying instead on more effective single seat fighter-bombers. Although A-25 production halted, 900 had already been built. The USAAF transferred 410 A-25s to the U.S. Marine Corps. Those that remained were redesignated the RA-25A (for "restricted" to non-combat use). Some flew as trainers or light personnel and cargo transports. Interestingly, Womens Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) used A-25s (and A-24s) to fly gunnery training missions. These flights involved towing a target sleeve on a long wire past ground anti-aircraft gunners, who then shot at the sleeve with live ammunition.


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## vikingBerserker (Dec 9, 2011)

Great info as always.


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## gekho (Dec 10, 2011)

The Helldiver was ordered into large-scale production in 1940, the prototype making its first flight on 18 December of that year. SB2Cs went into action for the first time on 11 November 1943 in a heavy raid on the major Japanese base of Rabaul, flying from the new Essex Class carrier Bunker Hill. This large, heavy, impressive and powerful dive-bomber was intended as an improvement on the SBD Dauntless, which it was to replace. However, during ithe SB2C's development it became apparent that there were serious problems with its design. Combat experience, especially at the Battle of the Philippine Sea, revealed that the Dauntless was in fact the superior aircraft. The Helldiver's handling was poor - in particular it had unsatisfactory low-speed stability, and dangerously poor stalling characteristics. It was also unstable in a high-speed dive, and therefore a less accurate bomber than the SBD. Since dive-bombing was the aircraft's raison d'etre, this fault alone was enough to make the SB2C an unacceptable replacement for the Dauntless. However, it was at this stage impossible to reverse the changeover to the Helldiver, and the Philippine Sea battle was the SBD's last major action as a carrier aircraft. Despite its initial lacklustre showing - and its inherent defects - the SB2C served as the sole shipborne dive-bomber of the US Navy from late 1944 until the end of the war, inflicting immense damage on enemy shipping and installations.


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## gekho (Dec 10, 2011)

The U.S. Navy would not accept the SB2C until 880 modifications to the design and the changes on the production line had been made, delaying the Curtiss Helldiver's combat debut until November 11, 1943 with squadron VB-17 on the USS Bunker Hill, when they attacked the Japanese-held port of Rabaul on the island of New Britain, north of Papua New Guinea. The first version of the SB2C-1 was kept stateside for training, its various development problems leading to only 200 being built. The first deployment model being the SB2C-1C. The SB2C-1 could deploy slats mechanically linked with undercarriage actuation extended from the outer third of the wing leading edge to aid lateral control at low speeds. The early prognosis of the "Beast" was unfavourable as it was strongly disliked by aircrews due to its size, weight, and reduced range than the SBD it replaced. In the first Battle of the Philippine Sea, 45 Helldivers were lost because they ran out of fuel on the return to their carriers. The litany of faults that the Helldiver bore included the fact that it was underpowered, had a shorter range than the SBD, was equipped with an unreliable electrical system and was often poorly manufactured. The Curtiss-Electric propeller and the complex hydraulic system had frequent maintenance problems. One of the faults remaining with the aircraft through its operational life was poor longitudinal stability, resulting from a fuselage that was too short by necessity of the SB2C to fit on aircraft carrier elevators. The Helldiver's aileron response was also poor and handling suffered greatly under 90 knots airspeed; since the speed of approach to land on a carrier was supposed to be 85 knots, this proved problematic. The 880 changes demanded by the Navy and modification of the aircraft to its combat role resulted in a 42% weight increase, explaining much of the problem.

The problems began to be solved with the introduction of the SB2C-3 beginning in 1944, which used the R-2600-20 Twin Cyclone engine with 1,900 HP and Curtiss' 4-bladed propeller. This substantially solved the chronic lack of power that had plagued the aircraft. The Helldivers would participate in battles over the Marianas, Philippines (partly responsible for sinking the Musashi), Taiwan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa (in the sinking of the Yamato). They were also used in the 1945 attacks on the Ryuku Islands and the Japanese home island of Honshū in tactical attacks on airfields, communications, and shipping. They were also used extensively in patrols during the period between the dropping of the atomic bombs and the official Japanese surrender, and in the immediate pre-occupation period. An oddity of the SB2Cs with 1942 to 1943-style tricolor camouflage was that the undersides of the outer wing panels carried dark topside camouflage because the undersurfaces were visible from above when the wings were folded. In operational experience it was found that the U.S. Navy's F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair fighters were able to carry an equally heavy bomb load against ground targets and were vastly more capable of defending themselves against enemy fighters.[18] The Helldiver, however, could still deliver ordnance with more precision against specific targets and its two seat configuration permitted a second set of eyes.

It was the advent of air to ground rockets which allowed the precision attack of ocean surface and shore based targets without the stress and performance issues of near-vertical dives that dive bombers had to endure[7] that ensured the SB2C was the last purpose-built dive bomber produced. Postwar, the SB2C remained in active service in the US Navy until 1947 and naval reserve units until 1950. Surplus aircraft were sold to the naval air forces of France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Thailand. Greek SB2Cs served in combat in the Greek Civil War with additional machine guns mounted in wing pods. French SB2Cs flew in the First Indochina War from 1951–1954.


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## gekho (Dec 10, 2011)

The O-46A was designed to operate from established airfields behind fairly static battle lines as in World War I; however, in 1939 a report was issued on the O-46A that stated it was too slow and heavy to outrun and outmaneuver enemy pursuit planes, too heavy to operate from small, wet, unprepared fields, and too large to conceal beneath trees. This report was a forecast of the future, for World War II, with its rapidly changing battle lines proved the need for light, maneuverable observation aircraft that could operate from unimproved airstrips. The Air Corps ordered 90 O-46As in 1935. At least 11 saw overseas duty; two were destroyed in the Japanese raid on Clark Field in the Philippines on Dec. 8, 1941. The remaining O-46s were declared obsolete in late 1942 and after that were used primarily in training and utility roles.

Source: Factsheets : Douglas O-46A


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## Wayne Little (Dec 10, 2011)

great series of shots...


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## gekho (Dec 11, 2011)

From its introduction to U.S. Naval service in 1936, through its continued international military use into the 1970's, to the recent retirement of the last civilian fire-bomber, the Consolidated PBY Catalina has served a distinguished career as one of the most rugged and versatile aircraft in U.S. history. It was created in response to the U.S. Navy's 1933 request for a prototype to replace the Consolidated P2Y and the Martin P3M with a new patrol-bomber flying boat with extended range and greater load capacity.

The Catalina was created under the guidance of the brilliant aero-engineer Isaac Macklin Laddon. The new design introduced internal wing bracing, which greatly reduced the need for drag-producing struts and bracing wires. A significant improvement over its predecessors, it had a range of 2,545 miles, and a maximum take-off weight of 35,420 lbs. In 1939 the Navy considered discontinuing its use in favor of proposed replacements. The Catalina remained in production, however, because of massive orders placed by Britain, Canada, Australia, France, and the Netherlands. These countries desperately needed reliable patrol planes in their eleventh-hour preparations for WW II. Far from replacing the PBY, the Navy placed its largest single order since WW I for an aircraft.

Over the years, numerous improvements were made to the design. An amphibious version, the PBY-5A, was developed in 1939, through the addition of a retractable tricycle undercarriage. The PBY-6A featured hydrodynamic improvements designed by the Naval Aircraft Factory. The Soviet Union produced a license-built version for their Navy called the GST and powered by Mikulin M-62 radial engines. Boeing Aircraft of Canada built the PB2B-1 and PB2B-2 ("Canso"), and a derivative of the PBY-5A was built by Canadian Vickers. In US Army Air Force service, the aircraft was known as the OA-10A (PBY-5A) and OA-10B (PBY-6A). The Royal Air Force's Coastal Command flew Catalinas under the designations Catalina Mk I/II/III/IV.

A total of approximately 4000 Catalinas were built between 1936 and 1945. Because of their worldwide popularity, there was scarcely a maritime battle in WW II in which they were not involved. The PBY had its vulnerabilities: it was slow, with a maximum speed of 179 mph, and with no crew armor or self-sealing tanks, it was highly vulnerable to anti-aircraft attack. However it was these weaknesses, coincident with the development of effective radar, and Japanese reliance on night transport, which led to the development of the "Black Cat Squadrons." These crews performed nighttime search and attack missions in their black-painted PBYs. The tactics were spectacularly successful and seriously disrupted the flow of supplies and personnel to Japanese island bases. The Catalinas also proved effective in search and rescue missions, code-named "Dumbo." Small detachments (normally of three PBYs) routinely orbited on stand-by near targeted combat areas. One detachment based in the Solomon islands rescued 161 airmen between January 1 and August 15, 1943, and successes increased steadily as equipment and tactics improved. After WW II, the PBY continued its search and rescue service in many Central and South American countries, as well as in Denmark, until the 1970's. The Catalina has also proved useful in civilian service: in scheduled passenger flights in Alaska and the Caribbean, in geophysical survey, and mostly, in fire-bombing for the U.S. Forest Service until the recent retirement of the last PBY. Through its long and varied service, the Consolidated PBY Catalina has earned its reputation as the workhorse of naval aviation.


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## nuuumannn (Dec 11, 2011)

SB2C "Son-of-a-Bitch Second Class" Helldiver on floats makes an ugly aeroplane even uglier!

Great pics!


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## gekho (Dec 11, 2011)

The XTBD-1 first flew on April 15, 1935 and nine days later was delivered to Navy for testing. It was designed to a specification for aircraft operating from a new class of carriers the Navy was launching, the first of which was the USS Ranger. On June 25, 1937 Douglas began delivery of 114 TBD-1s and by 1938 the type had proved very successful in trials and combat exercises. Upon its introduction, the Americans considered the Devastator the most modern and effective torpedo bomber perhaps in the world, and the design often referred to as "radical", but it was nowhere near as successful as the Japanese Imperial Navy's carrier-based torpedo bomber, the Nakajima B5N (Kate), which dealt fatal blows to the US Navy's, Lexington, Yorktown and Hornet. There were a number of "firsts" associated with the TBD; the "Devastator" was the first monoplane design ordered for service with the US Navy; it was the first with hydraulic (as opposed to "manual") folding wings; it was the first "all metal" aircraft ordered by the Navy. The carriers Saratoga, Enterprise, Lexington, Wasp, Hornet, Yorktown and Ranger were all equipped with the Devastator as the standard torpedo bomber. And, although Devastator production totaled only 129 aircraft, it achieved a notoriety completely out of proportion to its numbers.

It had a crew of three; a pilot, a gunner facing aft and a bombardier who sat in between. In combat, the bombardier lay prone just behind the engine, peering through a window in the bottom of the fuselage to release the torpedo or bomb. The Devastator was furnished with one forward firing Colt/Browning .30 caliber machine gun operated by the pilot. Depending on the circumstances (and the CO) the forward gun was replaced with a .50 caliber. Exterior indications of which gun was mounted could be determined by the presence of a blister behind the air intake on the starboard side. This blister was a breech fairing for the Colt/Browning .50 caliber M2. Another .30 caliber Colt/Browning was mounted in the rear gunners position. The engine was the Pratt-Whitney 1830-64 Twin Wasp rated at 850 hp. (634 kW). It's wings spanned 50 feet (15.24 m), taking up a lot of room in the cramped innards of a carrier. So, Douglas designed them to fold upwards reducing the space to 26 feet (7.92 m). The wheels folded backwards into the wing, though they were designed to protrude about 10" (254 mm) below the wing just in case the TBD had to make a wheels-up landing. The sleek 35' (10.67 m) fuselage was covered with a "greenhouse" canopy reaching over halfway to the tail.


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## gekho (Dec 11, 2011)

Near the beginning of the new decade (1940), naval intelligence indicated the TBD might be losing its combat edge to foreign designs and wheels were set in (slow) motion to find a replacement. There seemed to be no rush in spite of the wars heating up in Asia and Europe. A mere 3 years earlier, the Devastator had been state-of-the-art and it couldn't have become totally obsolete in that short of period, or so the thinking went. Two years later the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. At that time the Navy still had a hundred TBDs on the rosters, spread out among the aircraft carriers. By chance, the aircraft carriers were not in Pearl Harbor and escaped destruction when the Japanese assaulted "Battleship Row" on December 7, 1941.

But the Navy's squadron commanders were beginning to worry about some of the planes their men would take into battle, particularly the TBD with its top speed of 206 mph (332 km/h). Intelligence reports on the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen (Zero) indicated its top speed was well over 325 mph (523 km/h). The fact Japan had such a fast and nimble aircraft came as a great shock to American military planners who had been led to believe the Japanese had only inferior copies of European designs. The Devastator was scheduled to be replaced by the Grumman TBF Avenger. During the first five months of 1942, the TBD seemed to lead a charmed life. By February 1942, the carriers were making raids on island bastions in the Marshalls and Gilberts held by the Japanese which were largely successful and the Devastator gave a good account of itself during these battles. On May 7, TBDs were instrumental in the sinking of the Japanese carrier "Shoho" in the Battle of the Coral Sea.

It was during this time when defects were first noted in the Mark XIII torpedo used by the TBD. Many of these torpedoes were seen to strike the target yet fail to explode. Submariners were having the same problems with the Mark XIV Field ordinance men attempted to modify the weapon until the Navy Bureau of Ordinance in Washington sent a direct order forbidding any modifications and assuring everyone the Mk XIII torpedo was faultless. BurOrd stuck with this position in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. It seems the carrier groups took it at face value and looked for solutions in the maintenance and delivery of the weapon. Fortunately, the submariners persisted. Several problems with the torpedoes were eventually located. One problem was incredibly similar to the recent Mars Space Vehicle which "landed" 20 feet (6.1 m) after it impacted the surface due to a failure of technicians to convert altitude to metric units in the guidance computer programming.

The torpedoes had been tested with dummy warheads, that is, the space for the warhead had been filled with water when the torpedo was tested. No one apparently thought to ask how heavy the actual warhead would be, and the cost of the torpedoes entered the picture as a reason to curtail further testing of the torpedo. Due to the difference in weight of the dummy warhead and the actual warhead, the torpedo ran eleven to 14 feet below set depth. Several other problems prevented the weapon from working properly. These problems persisted for over two years because of the bone-headed attitude of BurOrd. Eventually, the top man in the Navy, Admiral Ernest King ordered BurOrd to get off its butt and test live torpedoes.


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## gekho (Dec 11, 2011)

However, long before the torpedo problem could be solved, operational problems doomed the TBD on the basis of a single mission. The mission began on June 4, 1942 when the TBDs were sent to attack the Japanese Imperial Fleet north of Midway Island and quite suddenly, the worst suspicions of Navy squadron commanders were confirmed. At 0700 hrs., Torpedo Squadron Eight (VT-8) of the aircraft carrier Hornet launched 15 TBDs, VT-6 of the Enterprise launched 14 TBDs. VT-3 on the Yorktown launched 12 TBDs. Due to cloudy weather, they lost their fighter escort and arrived at the scene of the battle without "top cover". Japanese A6M "Zeros" immediately attacked from the rear while the Imperial Fleet ships put up a wall of anti-aircraft fire from the front. The Zeros attacked while the TBDs were still more than 12 miles from the Imperial Fleet boats and one by one the TBDs splashed in. Not a single torpedo from these planes found a target. Of the 41 Devastators launched by the US Navy aircraft carriers, 37 failed to return to their ships. A loss rate of over 90%! After the Battle of Midway, the Navy struck the Douglas TBD "Devastator" from combat roles and it was relegated to training and communications roles. 

Source: Douglas TBD Devastator - USA


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## vikingBerserker (Dec 11, 2011)

I know it got a bad rap, but I did think that airplane was beautiful.


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## gekho (Dec 12, 2011)

The Curtiss SO3C Seamew was developed by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation as a replacement for the SOC Seagull as the United States Navy's standard floatplane scout. Curtiss named the SO3C the Seamew but in 1941 the US Navy began calling it by the name Seagull, the same name as the aircraft it replaced (the Curtiss SOC a biplane type), causing some confusion. The British Royal Navy kept the Curtiss name, (Seamew), for the SO3C that they ordered. One of the US Navy's main design requirements was that the SOC Seagull's replacement had to be able to operate both from ocean vessels with a single center float and from land bases with the float replaced by a wheeled landing gear.

From the time it entered service the SO3C suffered two serious flaws: in-flight stability problems and problems with the unique Ranger air-cooled V-shaped inline engine. The stability problem was mostly resolved with the introduction of upturned wing tips and a larger rear tail surface that extended over the rear observer's cockpit. The additional tail surface was attached to the rear observer's sliding canopy and pilots claimed there were still stability problems when the canopy was open. The canopy was often open because the aircraft's main role was spotting. While the in-flight stability problem was eventually addressed (although not fully solved), the Ranger XV-770 engine proved a dismal failure even after many attempted modifications. Poor flight performance and a poor maintenance record led to the SO3C being withdrawn from US Navy first line units by 1944. The older biplane SOC was taken from state-side training units and restored to first-line service on many US Navy warships until the end of World War II.

Source: Wikipedia


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## gekho (Dec 12, 2011)

In 1936, a group of wealthy residents of Long Island, including E. Roland Harriman, approached Grumman and commissioned an aircraft that they could use to fly to New York City. In response the Grumman Model G-21 was designed as a light amphibian transport. Grumman’s typically rugged engineering produced a high-winged monoplane of almost all-metal construction - the trailing half of the main wing and all of the flight control surfaces except for the flaps were fabric-covered. It was powered by two 450 horsepower (340 kW) Pratt Whitney R-985 Wasp Jr. nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engines mounted on the leading edges of the wings. The deep fuselage served also as a hull and was equipped with hand-cranked retractable landing gear. First flight of the prototype took place on May 29, 1937. The fuselage also proved versatile as it provided generous interior space that allowed fitting for either a transport or luxury airliner role. Having an amphibious configuration also allowed the G-21 to go just about anywhere, and plans were made to market it as an amphibian airliner.


There were a number of modifications of the Goose, but the most numerous were those by McKinnon Enterprises of Sandy, Oregon, who had twenty-one supplemental type certificates (STCs) for modifying G-21 series aircraft and who also manufactured four different conversions that were re-certified under a separate FAA type certificate (TC no. 4A24) as brand new "McKinnon" airplanes. The first was the McKinnon model G-21C which involved replacing the original R-985 radial engines with four Lycoming GSO-480-B2D6 piston engines. It was approved under TC 4A24 on November 7, 1958 and two examples were built in 1958-1959.

Source: Grumman OA-9 Goose | Facebook


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## vikingBerserker (Dec 12, 2011)

Nice


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## gekho (Dec 13, 2011)

Development of the Curtiss SC Seahawk began in June 1942, when the US Navy requested the company to submit proposals for an advanced wheel/float scout aircraft. The easily convertible landing gear configuration was required so that the aircraft could be operated from aircraft carriers and land bases, or be catapulted from battleships, and the type was required to replace the rather similar Curtiss Seamew and Vought Kingfisher which stemmed from 1937 procurements to satisfy a similar role. The Curtiss Model 97 design proposal was submitted on 1 August 1942 but it was not until 31 March 1943 that a contract for two XSC-1 (Model 97A) prototypes was issued.

An all-metal cantilever low-wing monoplane, the SC Seahawk had fold-able wings with considerable dihedral on their outer panels and strut-mounted wingtip stabiliser floats. The central float, which could also accommodate some auxiliary fuel, and the main wheeled landing gear units shared common attachment points. Power was provided by a Wright R-1820-62 Cyclone 9 radial engine.

The first prototype made its maiden flight on 16 February 1944, and was followed by 500 production SC-1 (Model 97B) aircraft which had been contracted in June 1943. All were delivered as land-planes, the stabiliser floats and Edo central float being purchased separately and installed as and when required by the US Navy. Delivery of production aircraft began in October 1944, the first equipping units aboard the USS Guam. A second batch of 450 SC-1s was contracted, but of these only 66 had been delivered before contract cancellation at VJ-Day. An improved version" was developed, changes including the installation of a 1063kW R-1820-76 engine, provision of a clear blown canopy, and a jump seat behind the pilot. The modified prototype, at first designated XSC-1A and then XSC-2 (Model 97C), led to receipt of a contract for similar production SC-2 (Model 97D), but only 10 had been delivered by the war's end. 

Source: Curtiss SC Seahawk - single-seat scout, ASW aircraft


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## gekho (Dec 13, 2011)

The first serial production Seahawks were delivered on 22 October 1944, to the USS Guam. All 577 aircraft eventually produced for the Navy were delivered on conventional landing gear and flown to the appropriate Naval Air Station, where floats were fitted for service as needed. Capable of being fitted with either float or wheeled landing gear, the Seahawk was arguably America's best floatplane scout of World War II. However, its protracted development time meant it entered service too late to see significant action in the war. It was not until June 1945, during the pre-invasion bombardment of Borneo, that the Seahawk was involved in military action. By the end of the war, seaplanes were becoming less desirable, with the Seahawk being replaced soon afterward by helicopters. Tri-color camouflage and markings on the Seahawk were in accordance with US Navy regulations from 1944, 1945 and later postwar regulations


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## gekho (Dec 13, 2011)

More Pics


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## gekho (Dec 14, 2011)

In October 1939, the US Navy issued a request for proposals for a new carrier-based torpedo bomber to replace the Douglas TBD-1 Devastator, which was clearly obsolescent even though it had only entered service two years earlier. The Navy requirement specified an aircraft with a crew of three; a top speed of 480 KPH (300 MPH); a warload of one 900 kilogram (2,000 pound) torpedo or three 225 kilogram (500 pound) bombs in an internal bombbay; armor protection; self-sealing fuel tanks; and a powered dorsal turret. Two finalists were selected in April 1940, with the Navy ordering two prototypes each of the Vought "XTBU-1 Sea Wolf" and the Grumman "XTBF-1". The first of the two Grumman XTBF-1 prototypes flew on 7 August 1941, with Grumman test pilot Bob Hall at the controls. It was not a promising beginning: Hall had to promptly land the aircraft again, since he immediately realized it was dangerously underpowered. Weight was reduced and Hall tried again the next day, with the same result. He managed to get airborne the day after that, but the aircraft suffered badly from yaw instability and the flight was somewhat hair-raising. Grumman engineers went back to the drawing board and made a number of changes, with the result that the XTBF-1 finally began to fly right. However, the first XTBF-1 was lost on 28 November 1941 when it caught fire, both aircrew bailing out safely. The second prototype performed its first flight on 15 December 1941, not long after the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy on 7 December.

The Navy was in such a hurry that the Grumman design had already been selected it for production in December 1940, months before first flight of the aircraft, after inspection of plans and a full-scale mockup. An initial order for 286 machines was placed at that time. The first production "TBF-1 Avenger" performed its initial flight on 30 December 1941, with formal Navy acceptance following on 30 January. A total of 1,123 TBF-1s would be built in all. The Avenger was Grumman's first torpedo bomber. It was a barrel-shaped, low-wing aircraft that a clear resemblance to a scaled-up Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter; the Navy was in a rush and so Grumman engineers leveraged off of an available design to get the job done. The Avenger's performance and handling qualities were good, and it was, like other Grumman aircraft, very rugged. It was powered by a single 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled Wright R-2600-8 Twin Cyclone radial engine with 1,270 kW (1,700 HP), driving a three-bladed variable-pitch constant-speed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propeller. Top speed was about 10% less than Navy spec, but since the aircraft met other specs very well, and since the performance drop had been due to additional Navy requirements, the lower speed was judged acceptable. The big wings folded up and back using a hydraulic system so they lay along the sides of the fuselage, an arrangement that Grumman had developed for the Wildcat that would be a mark of many Grumman carrier aircraft. The production aircraft's tailfin featured a sizeable fin fillet, added very quickly after the initial flights of the XTBF-1 to correct the yaw instability problem. 

Source: The Grumman TBF/TBM Avenger


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## vikingBerserker (Dec 14, 2011)

The last shot is awesome!

The Seahawk always looked like a hot rod to me.


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## gekho (Dec 16, 2011)

The Avenger had tailwheel landing gear, with all three gear retractable and with single wheels. The main gear hinged in the wing root to retract outward into the wings, with the gear splayed outward slightly to ensure the aircraft had a wide and stable track. The main gear could be deployed in flight to act as dive brakes; there were no covers over the wheels when they were retracted, since the covers have been judged to do little more than add weight. There was a stinger-type arresting hook that retracted back into the tail. The aircraft had a long weapons bay that could accommodate a torpedo; up to four 225 kilogram (500 pound) bombs; depth charges; or mines. In response to requests from aircrew, an auxiliary bombbay fuel tank with a capacity of 1,023 liters (270 US gallons) was later developed. The tank could be discarded in flight; since it wasn't self-sealing, it was generally drained first. In service, Avengers would also drop supply packs or canisters to ground troops, demonstrating the aircraft's flexibility. Each bombbay door consisted of two hinged panels that folded out to the side when opened. There was a window at the back of the bombbay for level bombing with a Norden bombsight, though it wouldn't see that much use in action. Along with the wing fold, the main landing gear, bombbay doors, and flaps were all hydraulically actuated, while the other flight surfaces were manually controlled. Grumman would have some trouble with the hydraulics, which suffered from the basic weakness of the technology: a tendency to leak. 

The Avenger carried a crew of three, including a pilot, bombardier, and radio operator, sitting under a long greenhouse canopy that ended in the dorsal turret, with a rear fuselage compartment beneath the turret. The bombardier sat inside the rear compartment, where he sighted through the open weapons bay and also handled the belly gun; there were also two tubes for dropping parachute flares and the like at the rear of the compartment. The radio operator sat behind the pilot and operated the turret gun. The first 50 production TBF-1s had auxiliary flight controls for the radio operator, though the concept proved impractical and the controls were deleted with the 51st machine. The crew could clamber into the aircraft through the rear of the greenhouse canopy, or through a small door on the right side of the fuselage, behind the wing.

Initially, Avengers were flown with slate gray colors on top and light gray colors on bottom, with red-and-white tail stripings and the US star insignia sporting a red "meatball" in the center. Red markings were eliminated in May 1942 to eliminate potential confusion with Japanese aircraft. Photographs survive of Avengers painted with fake gun ports on the wing leading edges, presumably as an intimidation tactic; pictures of Avengers with the fake guns are uncommon, suggesting that the trick didn't work all that well. The Avenger would be nicknamed the "Turkey", meaning it was a "big bird", the name not having any particularly insulting connotations in those days.


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## gekho (Dec 16, 2011)

The Avenger saw its initial combat, if with little distinction, during the Battle of Midway in June 1942, with six attempting to perform torpedo attacks on the Japanese fleet. Lacking air cover, five of the Avengers were shot down and only one making it back to base in badly shot-up condition. That was not getting off to a good start, but Navy aircrew were not very experienced with flying the type or using it properly in combat operations. They had to get up to speed fast, since within two months the Avenger had completely replaced the Devastator in first-line Navy service. The Avenger drew first blood during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August 1942, when a TBF-1 put a torpedo into the Japanese carrier RYUJO, which had to be scuttled after suffering further hits from Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers. Avengers and Dauntlesses made an effective team, and scored further successes in the battle for the Solomons through the remainder of the year. Avengers also saw combat for the first time in the European theater in November 1942, when they performed attacks on Vichy French naval vessels during Operation TORCH, the Anglo-American invasion of North Africa. Late production TBF-1s had longwave ASB radar, with a Yagi-style row antenna under each wing, to give them a foul-weather attack capability. The radio operator handled the radar; ASB was a primitive set, but it was adequate to find a ship-sized target at moderate ranges. Late production TBF-1s also had a few minor changes, such as rearrangement of rear-fuselage compartment windows.

One TBF-1 was modified to a single-seat configuration in hopes of using the design as the basis for a heavy fighter, the "FTBF-1". The idea was that the reduced weight would improve performance, but the weight reduction was small and the performance gain unimpressive; the project was abandoned, though after the war a second Avenger was, for whatever reason, modified to a cleaner single-seat configuration. Another TBF-1 was modified with a two-gun Martin turret, but it didn't work out, since with two guns there were more interruptions when the tailfin came into the line of fire. A TBF-1 was also fitted up with a set of lights around the cowling and the wing leading edges; the idea of the exercise, named Project YEHUDI after a popular stage magician, was to reduce the contrast of the aircraft during daylight flight so it couldn't be seen by a target except at close range. It worked as desired, with the detection range cut to a tenth of normal, but for whatever reasons the system wasn't approved for service.


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## vikingBerserker (Dec 16, 2011)

Odd that in the 16th pic dpwn, the bombays doors are not open.


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## gekho (Dec 17, 2011)

The Northrop Gamma 2F was an attack bomber derivative of the Northrop Gamma transport aircraft, developed in parallel with the Northrop Gamma 2C, (of which one was built, designated the YA-13 and XA-16. The Gamma 2F had a revised tail, cockpit canopy and wing flaps compared with the Gamma 2C, and was fitted with a new semi-retractable undercarriage. It was delivered to the United States Army Air Corps for tests on 6 October 1934, and after modification, including fitting with a conventional fixed undercarriage, was accepted by the Air Corps. A total of 110 aircraft were ordered as the A-17 in 1935. The resulting A-17 was equipped with perforated flaps, had fixed landing gear with partial fairing. It was fitted with an internal fuselage bomb bay that carried fragmentation bombs and well as external bomb racks. Northrop developed a new undercarriage, this time completely retractable, producing the A-17A variant. This version was again purchased by the Army Air Corps, who placed orders for 129 aircraft. By the time these were delivered, the Northrop Corporation had been taken over by Douglas Aircraft Company, export models being known as the Douglas Model 8.

The A-17 entered service in February 1936, and proved a reliable and popular aircraft. However, in 1938, the Air Corps decided that attack aircraft should be multi-engined, rendering the A-17 surplus to requirements. From 14 December 1941, A-17s were used for coastal patrols by the 59th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. In June 1940, 93 ex-USAAC aircraft were purchased by France, and refurbished by Douglas, including being given new engines. Not having been delivered before the fall of France, 61 were taken over by the British Purchasing Commission for the RAF and given the name Nomad. They were assessed as being obsolete and sent to South Africa for use as trainers. The remaining 32 aircraft from the French order were transferred to Canada, where they were also used as advanced trainers and target tugs. The last remaining A-17s, used as utility aircraft, were retired from USAAF service in 1944.


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## gekho (Dec 17, 2011)

Northrop used the Gamma transport as the basis of a private-venture design for a light attack bomber, identifying this as the Northrop Gamma 2C which, powered by a 548kW Wright SR-1820F radial engine, was acquired for evaluation by the US Army Air Corps in June 1934 under the designation YA-13. Subsequently re-engined with a 708kW Pratt Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp, this aircraft was redesignated XA-16 (Northrop Gamma 2F). Following tests of the YA-13 and XA-16, Northrop received $2 million contract for 110 attack bombers designated A-17, but because testing of the XA-16 had shown that the aircraft was over-powered, the Gamma 2.F was re-engined with a 559kW Pratt Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior, serving as the prototype for the A-17. Following the incorporation of several other modifications, the first of 109 production A-17 aircraft was delivered in December 1935. A contract was received in the same month for an improved A-17A, introducing retractable tailwheel landing gear and the 615kW Pratt Whitney R-1535-13 engine. Some 129 were built, initially by Northrop, but in 1937 Douglas acquired the remaining 49% of Northrop Corporation's stock, and it was the Douglas Company which completed production of these aircraft. Of the total, 93 served with the USAAC for only 18 months, then being returned to Douglas for sale to the UK and France. The Royal Air Force received 60, designating them Nomad Mk I, and all were transferred to the South African Air Force. Douglas also built this aircraft for export under the designation Douglas Model 8A, supplying them to Argentina, Iraq, the Netherlands and Norway. A batch of 34 Model 8A-5 aircraft was also built for Peru, 31 of them being commandeered by the US Army Air Force in early 1942 for use in an attack role. Armed with six 7.62mm machine-guns and able to carry up to 816kg of bombs, all were used in a training role under the designation A-33. 

Source: Northrop A-13, A-16, A-17, A-33 - attack aircraft


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## gekho (Dec 18, 2011)

The Curtiss SBC Helldiver was a U.S. Navy biplane with retractable landing gear that first flew in 1934. The Navy never ordered any additional aircraft other than monoplanes as combat aircraft after the SBC. The SBC Helldiver was originally ordered as a fighter, then an observation aircraft, then a combination observation bomber, and eventually as a dive bomber. It was modified by Curtiss with each role change proposed by the Navy. The SBC Helldiver originally was a single parasol wing design. This was found unsatisfactory when it was used as a dive bomber. The design was changed to a conventional biplane wing. More powerful engines were fitted to the airframe. Deliveries of the Curtiss SBC Helldiver to the U.S.N. began in 1939. Both the Americans and the British used the aircraft as trainers, for by this time they were outmoded by more modern aircraft. We are told that although the Helldiver did not contribute to the war effort as a combat aircraft, it had great value as a dive bombing training aircraft. A total of 257 Curtiss SBC Helldiver aircraft of all types were produced.


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## gekho (Dec 18, 2011)

Developed by General Aviation (the precursor of North American Aviation) to meet a US Army specification for an observation aircraft, the GA-15 represented a radical change in design for such a role in that, unlike its predecessors, it was a low-wing monoplane with an enclosed cockpit, seating a three-man crew. Powered by a 634kW Wright Cyclone engine, the prototype flew in mid-1935 and to provide an acceptable field of view for the observer a glazed nose position was located under the fuselage. North American put the type into production to meet a USAAC contract for 109 North American O-47A aircraft ordered in February 1937, later increased to 164. They were powered by 727kW Cyclones, while 74 O-47B aircraft had 790kW engines and additional fuel capacity. During World War II they served as trainers and target tugs.


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## vikingBerserker (Dec 18, 2011)

Excellent


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## gekho (Dec 19, 2011)

In the spring of 1938, a Northrop dive-bomber designated the BT-1 entered service with the US Navy. Its influence was felt over at the Douglas Company, where a new naval dive-bomber was designed and produced based on the Northrop design. Initially designated the XBT-2, the new design was later called the SBD when Northrop was bought out by the Douglas Company. Production began in 1940, and although the SBD had a general likeness to its Northrop predecessor, it was a completely different airplane. Testing of the prototype (with a 1,000-hp Wright Cyclone engine) revealed an exceptionally capable airplane.

In April 1939, the US Marine Corps and US Navy placed orders for the SBD-1 and SBD-2, respectively, the latter having increased fuel capacity and revised armament. The first SBD-1s entered service with the Marines' VMB-2 Squadron in late 1940, and the first SBD-2s joined the Navy in early 1941. The next variant to appear, the SBD-3, entered service in March 1941, and incorporated self-sealing and larger fuel tanks, armor protection, a bullet-proof windshield, and four machine guns. The SBD-4 followed with an upgraded 24-volt electrical system, and a few of these were converted to SBD-4P reconnaissance platforms.

The next, and most produced, variant was the SBD-5, which was built at Douglas's new Tulsa, Oklahoma plant. It had a 1,200-hp R-1820-60 engine and increased ammunition capacity. Over 2,400 SBD-5s were built, and a few were shipped to the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, under the designation Dauntless DB.Mk I, but these were never used operationally. Mexico also took delivery of a small number of SBD-5s. The SBD-6, the final variant, had an even more powerful engine and greater fuel capacity.

Meanwhile, the US Army, realizing that it did not have a dive bomber equal in capability to Germany's Ju 87 Stuka, ordered the SBD-3 in 1941, under the designation A-24. This aircraft was identical to the Navy airplanes except it did not have an arresting hook, and its tailwheel had an inflated tire instead of a solid rubber one. The A-24 was never found to be of great use during WWII, as its range and performance were inadequate for service in the South Pacific, and the dive-bombing mission was of little use elsewhere. Nevertheless, the A-24 (and later the A-24A, equivalent of the SBD-4; and A-24B, equivalent of the SBD-5) remained in service with the US Army Air Corps for several years after the war.

Source: Warbird Alley: Douglas SBD Dauntless


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## Gnomey (Dec 19, 2011)

Good stuff!


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## gekho (Dec 21, 2011)

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps SBDs saw their first action at Pearl Harbor. A total of 18 SBDs from the carrier USS Enterprise arrived over Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack, and Scouting Squadron Six (VS-6) lost six aircraft, while Bombing Squadron Six (VB-6) lost one. Most Marine SBDs of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 232 (VMSB-232) were destroyed on the ground at Ewa Mooring Mast Field. On 10 December 1941, Enterprise SBDs sank the Japanese submarine I-70. In February-March 1942, SBDs from the carriers USS Lexington, Yorktown and Enterprise took part in various strikes on Japanese installations in the Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, New Guinea, at Rabaul, on Wake and on Marcus Island. Later, SBDs painted to resemble Japanese aircraft appeared in the John Ford film December 7th (1943). The type's first major use was in the Battle of the Coral Sea, when SBDs and TBDs sank the Japanese carrier Shōhō. SBDs were also used as anti-torpedo combat air patrol (CAP) and scored several times against Japanese aircraft trying to attack Lexington and Yorktown.

Their relatively heavy gun armament—two forward firing .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns and either one or two rear flexible-mount .30 in (7.62 mm) AN/M2 machine guns—was effective against the lightly built Japanese fighters, and many pilot-gunner combinations took an aggressive attitude to fighters which attacked them. One pilot—Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa—was attacked by three Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters but managed to shoot two of them down and cut the wing of the third in a head-on pass with his wing tip. However, the SBD's most important contribution to the American war effort probably came during the Battle of Midway in early June 1942, when SBD dive bomber attacks sank or fatally damaged all four of the Japanese aircraft carriers, three of them in the space of just six minutes (Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, and later in the day Hiryū) as well as heavily damaging two Japanese cruisers (including Mikuma). At Midway, Marine SBDs were not as effective. One squadron, VMSB-241, operating from Midway Island, was not trained in the "Helldiving" technique; instead, the new pilots resorted to the slower but easier glide bombing technique, which led to heavy losses. The carrier-borne squadrons, on the other hand, were much more effective, combined with their F4F Wildcat fighter escorts. The success of dive bombing was due to two important circumstances: firstly, and most importantly, the Japanese carriers were at their most vulnerable, readying bombers for battle, with full fuel hoses and armed ordnance strewn across their hangar decks. Secondly, the valiant but doomed assault of the TBD squadrons from the American carriers had drawn the Japanese fighter cover away from the dive bombers, thereby allowing the SBDs to attack unhindered.


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## gekho (Dec 21, 2011)

Next, SBDs participated in the Guadalcanal campaign, both from American carriers and Henderson Field on Guadalcanal Island. Dauntlesses contributed to the heavy loss of Japanese shipping during the campaign, including the carrier Ryūjō near the Solomon Islands on 24 August, damaging three others during the six-month campaign. SBDs proceeded to sink one cruiser and nine transports during the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. During the decisive period of the Pacific Campaign, the SBD's strengths and weaknesses became evident. While the American strength was dive bombing, the Japanese stressed their Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers, which had caused the bulk of the damage at Pearl Harbor. In the Atlantic Ocean, the SBD saw action during Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa, in November 1942. The Dauntlesses operated from USS Ranger and two escort carriers. Eleven months later, in Operation Leader, the SBDs saw their European debut when aircraft from Ranger attacked German shipping around Bodø, Norway. Although it was becoming obsolete by 1941, the SBD was used until 1944, when the Dauntless undertook its last major action during the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
A VB-4 SBD-3 near Bodø, Norway, 4 October 1943.

However, some Marine squadrons in the Pacific used Dauntlesses until the end of the war. It had already been replaced by the SB2C Helldiver in the U.S. Navy, much to the dismay of the pilots, many of whom believed the "Slow But Deadly" Dauntless was a better aircraft than the Helldiver, which gained the nicknames "Son of a Bitch 2nd Class" and "The Beast". The Dauntless was one of the most important aircraft in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, sinking more enemy shipping in the Pacific war than any other Allied aircraft. In addition, Barrett Tillman, in his book on the Dauntless, claims that the Dauntless has a "plus" score against enemy aircraft, considered a rare event for a nominal "bomber". A total of 5,936 SBDs were produced in World War II. When the last SBD rolled off the assembly lines at Douglas Aircraft Company's El Segundo plant on 21 July 1944, it marked the final dive bomber which the Navy was to buy. The Navy placed emphasis on the heavier, faster and longer-range SB2C. From Pearl Harbor until April 1944, SBDs had flown 1,189,473 operational hours, with 25 percent of all operational hours flown off aircraft carriers being in Dauntless aircraft. Its battle record shows that in addition to six Japanese carriers, 14 enemy cruisers had been sunk, along with six destroyers, fifteen transports or cargo ships and scores of various lesser craft.

A handful of A-24 Banshees survived in the USAAF's inventory long enough to be taken over by the United States Air Force when that service became independent of the U.S. Army in 1947. The USAF instituted a new designation system for its aircraft, eliminating the "A-for-Attack" category. Twin-engined "A" types were redesignated as bombers (another Douglas product, the A-26 Invader becoming the B-26) while single-engined "A" aircraft were identified as fighters. As a result, the Banshee became known as the F-24, although the type was retired shortly thereafter in 1950.

Source: Douglas SBD Dauntless - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Gnomey (Dec 21, 2011)

Good stuff!


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## vikingBerserker (Dec 21, 2011)

Forever a classic


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Dec 24, 2011)

Excellent thread Gekho!!!


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## gekho (Dec 26, 2011)

In 1937, the Glenn L. Martin Company designed a new twin engined flying boat to succeed its earlier Martin P3M and supplement the Consolidated PBY, the Model 162. It received an order for a single prototype XPBM-1 on 30 June 1937. This was followed by an initial production order for 21 PBM-1 aircraft on 28 December 1937. To test the PBM's layout, Martin built a ⅜ scale flying model, the Martin 162A Tadpole Clipper with a crew of one and powered by a single 120 hp (90 kW) Chevrolet engine, this flying in December 1937. The first genuine PBM, the XPBM-1, flew on 18 February 1939. The aircraft was fitted with five gun turrets and bomb bays that were in the engine nacelles. The gull wing was of cantilever design, and featured clean aerodynamics with an unbraced twin tail. The PBM-1 was equipped with retractable wing landing floats that were hinged inboard, like the Catalina. The PBM-3 had fixed floats, and the fuselage was three ft longer than that of the PBM-1.

Source: Martin PBM Mariner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## gekho (Dec 26, 2011)

The first PBM-1s entered service with Patrol Squadron Fifty-Five (VP-55) of the United States Navy on 1 September 1940. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, PBMs were used (together with PBYs) to carry out Neutrality Patrols in the Atlantic, including operations from Iceland. Following the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, PBMs were used on anti-submarine patrols, sinking their first German U-Boat, U-158 on 30 June 1942. In total, PBMs were responsible, wholly or in part, for sinking 10 U-Boats during World War II. PBMs were also heavily used in the Pacific, operating from bases at Saipan, Okinawa, Iwo Jima and the South-West Pacific. The United States Coast Guard acquired 27 Martin PBM-3 aircraft during the first half of 1943. In late 1944, the service acquired 41 PBM-5 models and more were delivered in the latter half of 1945. Ten were still in service in 1955, although all were gone from the active Coast Guard inventory by 1958 when the last example was released from CGAS San Diego and returned to the US Navy. These flying boats became the backbone of the long-range aerial search and rescue efforts of the Coast Guard in the early post-war years until supplanted by the P5M and the HU-16 Albatross in the mid-1950s.

PBMs continued in service with the US Navy following the end of World War II, flying long patrol missions during the Korean War. It continued in front line use until replaced by its direct development, the P5M Marlin, with the last USN squadron equipped with the PBM, Patrol Squadron Fifty (VP-50), retiring them in July 1956. The British Royal Air Force acquired 32 Mariners, but they were not used operationally, with some returned to the United States Navy. A further 12 PBM-3Rs were transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force for transporting troops and cargo. The Royal Netherlands Navy acquired 17 PBM-5A Mariners at the end of 1955 for service in Netherlands New Guinea. The PBM-5A was an amphibian with retractable landing gear. The engines were 2,100 hp (1,566 kW) Pratt Whitney R-2800-34. After a series of crashes, the Dutch withdrew their remaining aircraft from use in December 1959.


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## gekho (Dec 26, 2011)

Survivors

The Mariner in the Pima Air Museum collection is the last one known to exist. It's an example of the last series built, the A series. These served in the anti-submarine role for the U.S. Navy and as air-sea rescue aircraft for the U.S. Coast Guard.

There is however another PBM-5 and it’s wresting on the bottom of Lake Washington. The PBM-5 currently rests in approximately 80 feet of water and 6 feet of silt near the south end of the lake. The Cedar River enters the lake nearby bringing a large volume of silt each fall and spring. Over the past 40 years the PBM-5 has been slowly covered. Only the occasional Navy salvage attempts keep the plane from being completely covered. Forty-eight years ago, Lt. Ralph Frame was taking the PBM from the naval station at Sand Point to a storage hanger at the south end of the lake to be mothballed. Frame landed safely but missed a tie-up buoy while taxiing to shore. Unable to turn around he ran the plane over a small pier damaging the flotation pontoon on the starboard wing. With uneven flotation the plane turned on its side. By the time the PBM hit the bottom it had completely flipped and came to rest in an inverted position..

Used for reconnaissance, rescue work and anti-sub patrols, PBMs were credited with sinking 10 German U-boats during W.W.II. The aircraft was powered by two 14-cylinder Wright R-2600 radial engines. Armament included bow and tail turrets, waist guns, and a 2000-pound bomb payload. A crew of seven to ten manned the plane. Twice the Navy has attempted to salvage this aircraft and both times personnel were injured in the attempt. The first attempt in 1990 cleared much of the silt from around the aircraft. Because it was unclear at the time weather the Navy had the right to salvage the plane form Washington State waters the attempt was abandoned. In this attempt a Navy diver became ill and died, reportedly of a heart condition. The second attempt came in 1996 after many debates over the legal right of salvage. The 1996 attempt resulted in one diver getting a case of decompression sickness. The Navy made an attempt to pick the plane up by its tail. The PBM was far too week to be lifted in this manner and broke apart. The detached section was brought to the surface and loaded on a barge. After this incident the Navy again abandoned the project. The location or condition of the tail section is unclear.

Source: http://www.nwrain.net/~newtsuit/recoveries/lkwash/pbm/pbm.htm


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## Wayne Little (Dec 27, 2011)

great pics...


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## vikingBerserker (Dec 27, 2011)

I agree, 2nd from the last looks like it has a crinkled nose.


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## gekho (Jan 13, 2012)

Powered by an Allison V-12 engine equipped with a single stage supercharger, the A-36 Apache was essentially an early model P-51 Mustang fitted with two dive brakes on each wing. Other modifications to the airframe included strengthening of the wings, movement of the bomb racks closer to the main landing gear for less wing “flexing” while the plane was taxiing, and the installation of small vent windows in the windscreen side panels. In addition, two .50 caliber machine guns were mounted in each wing, and two Browning M2 .50 cal. guns were mounted in the lower nose to fire through the propeller. Naturally, the A-36 inherited the Mustang’s clean aerodynamics; but why did North American turn the P-51 into a dive-bomber? To answer this question, we must look at the Mustang’s origins. In early 1940, the British asked the company to build Curtiss P-40’s under license from Curtiss. Rather than building another company’s design (especially one that was already considered obsolete), North American proposed building a fighter of its own. After some hesitation (the company had no fighter experience), the British agreed, and the first Mustang prototype (the NA-73X) flew on October 26, 1940. Flight tests were successful, and the British ordered 320 of the new planes, calling them Mustang I’s. Interestingly, the U.S. government kept two Mustangs for itself, calling them XP-51’s. Ultimately, the British received 650 Mustang I, Ia, and II’s through outright purchase and Lend/Lease distribution. By the time the Lend/Lease order was placed, U.S. pilots had flown the two XP-51’s and were raving about their performance. As a result, the U.S. retained 55 England – bound Mustangs for itself. The majority of these 55 airplanes were converted into to armed, high-speed reconnaissance aircraft, known as F-6’s. The rest were used as high-speed ground attack airplanes, and as low altitude escort fighters. The British used their Mustang primarily in the close air support role as well. 

Despite the Mustang’s effectiveness as a ground-support airplane, enthusiasm by the military leaders on both sides of the Atlantic was lukewarm at best. The British, although satisfied with their Mustangs, were apprehensive about relying on a foreign aircraft. They were concerned about the availability of parts and maintenance. Hence, they focused their efforts on developing their own fighters. At the same time, the U.S. Army was already buying P-38’s, P-39’s, and P-40’s. By 1942, there was no money in the defense budget for new fighters. It appeared that production of the Mustang was coming to an end. Fortunately, a few people recognized the Mustang’s potential. One of these Mustang “visionaries” was Major General Oliver P. Echols, who was instrumental in the Army’s successful retention of the 55 Lend/Lease Mustangs. General Echols noticed that there was money available in the budget for attack airplanes, and he brought this to the attention of North American’s “Dutch” Kindelberger. Kindelberger, in turn, approached Army Lt. General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold with the idea of turning the P-51 into a dive-bomber, knowing that Arnold had been an early proponent of dive-bombing tactics. 

Although Army doctrine held that dive-bombing was ineffective and dangerous, (because of the high dive and pull-out speeds), Arnold had managed to persuade the Army to procure a few dive bombers – the Douglas A-24, and the Vultee A-31 among them. If Arnold would go along with the idea of producing a Mustang dive – bomber, North American’s production lines would be kept open. Kindelberger managed to convince Arnold that, by replacing the British armament (two 20mm cannon in each wing) with .50 cal. machine guns, and adding dive flaps, the Mustang would fill the bill as a dive-bomber. Arnold was convinced, and the first A-36 flew on September 21, 1942. Only five hundred A-36’s were built. The results of flight tests conducted at Florida’s Eglin Army Air Field seemed to reinforce the Army’s doubts about dive-bombing, and the A-36. The A-36 dove at speeds approaching 500 mph; the brakes only reduced the speed to about 350mph. Unfortunately, one of the test airplanes crashed because it lost its wings during a vertical dive. Not surprisingly, Army officials decided that the airplane had great diving capabilities for a fighter, but dove too fast for a dive – bomber. As a result of all this, the Army restricted the plane’s dive-angles to 70 degrees. In addition, the evaluators at Eglin recommended that the A-36 be used mainly as a low-altitude attack airplane, and that the dive brakes be eliminated. This last recommendation may have given rise to the oft-repeated myth that all A-36’s had their dive brakes wired shut. Apparently, this recommendation was never adopted as official policy. 

Source: The Plane That Saved The Mustang: The North American A-36 Apache


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## johnbr (Aug 25, 2019)

* Grumman TBF-TBM Avenger art



*


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