Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
I got to find a book or two on this man. Just found out the Library reopened.Well there might be only one man that flew all three and Eric Brown ranked them:
- Ju 87
- Val
- Dauntless
That is not what I expected.Someone on this forum wrote that the Ju87 spent most of its wartime career not dive-bombing at all but instead attacked at treetop level or in a shallow dive.
These 3 planes seem to be the stand-out or at least the most famous dive bombers of the Second World War. These are the planes most likely to be known by non aviation experts (like me). I'm not too familiar with the ETO. I left out dive bombers of other nations. This is not a slight but no other db's get the same amount of press...but I am fond of the SBD.
Which is why I chose it!Great question. I've read that the D3A sank more allied warships than any other axis aircraft, and the SBD returned the 'favor' to the Japanese. You can calculate success many different ways however, such as total tonnage or number of ships sunk (or for that matter, the type of ship), which obviously makes it more complicated to compare the actual combat effectiveness of the aircraft in question. The publication Naval Aviation Combat Statistics - World War II provides the number and total tonnage of various Japanese warships/merchant ships which were sunk either in whole or in part by US Naval aviation during the war, but unfortunately does not specify the type of aircraft involved in their ultimate destruction. According to the report there were 492 Japanese vessels sunk solely by both land and carrier-based aircraft, which equated to 2,174,501 tons of shipping lost. A further 71 ships or 360,763 tons were sunk in combination with "other forces" (such as surface ships, submarines, and other allied aircraft).
The Dauntless' biggest claim to fame came during the Battle of Midway, when four Japanese carriers (Shoho, Soryu, Kaga, Akagi, and Hiryu) were sent to the bottom by its bombs.
Discounting the Pearl Harbor attack (where B5N torpedo bombers were used as well), the Aichi D3A is known to have singularly sunk the following allied warships:
(Source: Aichi D3A - Wikipedia )
- USS Peary, American destroyer, 19 February 1942 – Australia
- USS Pope, American destroyer, 1 March 1942 – Java Sea
- USS Edsall, American destroyer, 1 March 1942- Indian Ocean
- USS Pecos, American oiler, 1 March 1942- Indian Ocean
- HMS Cornwall, British heavy cruiser, 5 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
- HMS Dorsetshire, British heavy cruiser, 5 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
- HMS Hector, British armed merchant cruiser, 5 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
- HMS Tenedos, British destroyer, 5 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
- HMS Hermes, British aircraft carrier, 9 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
- HMAS Vampire, Australian destroyer, 9 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
- USS Sims, American destroyer, 7 May 1942 – Pacific Ocean
- USS De Haven, American destroyer, 1 February 1943 – Pacific Ocean (Ironbottom Sound)
- USS Aaron Ward, American destroyer, 7 April 1943 – Pacific Ocean (Ironbottom Sound)
- USS Brownson, American destroyer, 26 December 1943 – Pacific Ocean
- USS Abner Read, American destroyer, sunk by kamikaze 1 November 1944 – Pacific Ocean
- USS William D. Porter, American destroyer, sunk by kamikaze 10 June 1945 – Japan (Okinawa)
Calculating the combined tonnage of these ships for statistical purposes shouldn't be too difficult a task I believe.
Besides the destruction of shipping, the SBDs were also heavily involved in softening up enemy land installations and providing close air-support during the invasion of key Japanese strongholds throughout the pacific, something which the D3A had a more limited role in, being that the Japanese were primarily fighting in the defensive role by this stage of the war. The Dauntless' successes in these endeavors could certainly give it a statistical edge over it's Japanese counterpart if these numbers could be quantified in a usable way. Both aircraft have a reputation for nimbleness and because of this were somewhat effective in defensive combat with enemy fighters.
On the other hand, the JU 87 operated in many target-rich environments and destroyed a sizable number of ships, tanks, artillery, infantry personnel, ect., in its own right. If we use those metrics it could very well be considered just as or even more successful than the other two aircraft, when attempting to determine the overall effectiveness of destroying the war-fighting capability of the enemy in question. But it had a tough time defending itself against enemy fighters and losses were extremely heavy at times.
As you can see there's definitely lots to debate here....
The U.S.S. Indianapolis was indeed sunk by the the I-58. It was, however, struck by a kamikaze off Okinawa while Admiral Spruance was aboard. Admiral Spruance actually manned a fire hose himself, according to James D. Hornfischer's book, The Fleet At Flood Tide.The D4Y may have damaged U.S. warships both in conventional attacks and as Kamikaze, but they didn't sink any.
The D3A, on the otherhand, contributed to the sinking of the Lexington, Yorktown and Hornet plus the long list of ships Darren posted earlier.
The Indianapolis was sunk by two torpedoes from Commander Hashimoto's submarine, I-58.