Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless

Distant right side aerial views of 9 U. S. Navy Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless ({5-S-8, 5-S-9, 5-S-7, 5-S-3, 5-S-1, 5-S-2, 5-S-4, 5-S-14, and 5-S-18}), members of Scouting Squadron 5 from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Yorktown, flying in left echelon formation, ca. 1941.

Description: USS Santee (ACV-29) Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless scout-bombers and Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighters on the ship's flight deck during Operation Torch, the November 1942 invasion of North Africa. Note the yellow Operation Torch markings visible around the fuselage stars of some of these airplanes. Also note the distance and target information temporarily marked on the carrier's flight deck. Photographed by Lieutenant Horace Bristol, USNR. Some published sources state that this photo was taken on USS Sangamon (ACV-26). However, the camouflage pattern on her island definitely identifies the ship as Santee.

I am so used to the rear cover missing or fully open that when I see one with it closed it always takes me a second to realize what plane it is. Great pics!