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Douglas SBD-6 Dauntless 

The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a two-seat naval dive bomber manufactured in the United States from 1940 to 1944, aslso know as the "Dauntless".  The SBD designation identified this aircraft as the 1st Scout Bomber ("SB") developed for the US Navy by the Douglas Aircraft Company (which was given the company Designator of "D" by the Navy).  A land based variant designated the A-24 Banshee was also operated by the USAAC.  Per Reference [8] it was fitted with a two person cockpit housing the pilot (forward) and a rear gunner, with perferated dive flaps, and an external bomb rack/crutch under the fuselage which would allow any bomb dropped from the centerline position on the plane to swing past the arc of the propeller, when performing a dive bombing maneuver.  

The "-6" variant of the SBD was the final variant of the aircraft produced.  The SBD was originally ordered by the US Navy in the late 1930s with the first flight of the type occurring on 1 May 1940.  In addition to serving with the US Navy this type also served with the US Marine Corps, the Chilean Air Force, the French Air Force and French Navy, the Mexican Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force,and per Ref [8] the Moroccan Desert Police.  Additionally [per Ref 8] a small number of aircraft were also provided to the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy for evaluation purposes.

A total of 5,936 SBD/A-24 aircraft were built, in several different variants.  While in service with the US Navy they were the primary Scout and Dive Bomber aircraft operating off US carriers for the early part of the war in the Pacific, eventually being replaced in that role by the larger Curtiss SB2C dive bomber during the later half of the war.

As shown in the image below distinguishing features of this aircraft including;
SBD
[Original Image source is US Government - Public Domain - as annotated by this site]

SBD_3-view_B
                                                [Source: Ref [14b] - US Government/Public Domain]

SBD-5_3-view
                          [Source: Ref [8] - Public Domain]

The table below summarizes the current data collected on this type aircraft, identifying sources for the data

    SBD-6 Secondary Sources Notes
Primary Source   2
No of Crew   2
Engine:  
   Qty   1
   Model   R-1820-66 8
   Displacement  (cu in) 1820 8
   Power  
     Military (HP)
     War Emergency (HP)
    Normal (HP) 1200 8
    Take Off (HP) 1300 8
   Eng Dims  
     Length (ft) 3.96 8
     Width/Dia (ft) 4.59 8
     Height (ft)
   Base Engine Wt (lb) 1333 8
Propeller  
   # Blades   3
   Dia (ft) 10.83
   Manufacturer  
   Type  
Wing  
   Span (ft) 41.51
   Root Thickness (%) 15.0%
  (in) 18.6
   Total Area  (sq ft) 323.8
     Wing (less Ailerons & Flaps) (sq ft)
     Ailerons (sq ft)
     Flaps (sq ft)
Tail Area (sq ft) 93.21 3
   V Tail Area (sq ft) 22.45 3
     Fin (sq ft)  
     Rudder (sq ft)  
   H Tail Area (sq ft) 70.76 3
     Stabilizer (sq ft)  
     Elevator (sq ft)  
Total Control Surf Area (sq ft)
Length  
   Overall (ft) 31.01
   Fuselage (ft) 29.8
   Body  (ft) 30.91666667
     Body Depth (ft)
    Body Width (ft)
Fuel Tank Volume (gal) 260
   Wing Tanks (gal) 260
    FuselageTanks (gal)
Oil Tank Volume (gal)
Water Injection Fluid Tank Volume (gal)
Wetted Area (sqf) (sq ft) 447
Pwr Ldng (lb/HP) 7.43
Wing Ldng (lb/sq ft) 29.84
Struct. Des. GW  (lb) 7338
Ultimate Load Factor (G's) 14
Design Speed (mph) 425
Not to Exceed Speed (mph)
     
Total Struct Weight   2832
   Total Wing   1302
     Wing    
     Ailerons    
     Flaps    
     Fuselage Carry-Through    
   Tail   214
     H Tail   163
       Stabilizer    
       Elevator    
     V Tail   51
       Fin    
       Rudder    
   Body + Eng Section + LG  
   Body + LG   1288
   Body   836
     Fuselage    
     Engine Section    
   Landing Gear   452
     Mn Landing Gr   414
     Tail/Nose Aux LG   38
   Tail Hook   28
   Booms  
   Nacelles    
Total Propulsion Weight   2288
   Engine w/ Accessories   1396
   Engine(s) as Installed   1320
     Accessories   76
    Turbocharger(s)  
   Controls   31
   Propeller(s)   324
     2-Blade    
     3-Blade   324
     4-Blade    
   Starting System   49
   Water Injection System  
     Tanks    
     Piping Etc    
   Cooling System  
   Lube System   127
     Tanks    
     Piping Etc    
   Fuel System   361
     Tanks    
     Piping Etc    
Total Sys. & Eqpmt.   1333
   Instruments   58
   Surface Controls    198
   Hydraulics   95
   Electrical Equip   159
Electronics (Purple means incl in Furn/Gray in Useful Ld)   205
   Arm Prov/Equipment & Armor   246
    Furnishings   372
   Anti-Ice (If not in Furn)  
   Other /Misc  
     Hoisting Gear  
     Floatation Gear  
     Armor Plate    
     
Empty Wt   6453
Basic Mission Useful Load   3209
   Crew   400
   Equipment  
   Oil   120
   Fuel   1704
   Fuel & Oil Trapped in Systems  
   Water Solution for Engine Injection  
   Bombs/Torp Etc   500
   Radio (if Not Included in Empty Wt)  
   Nav Equipment  
   Oxygen System  
   Armament   400
     Guns & Ammo   400
       Guns   162
       Ammo   238
     Pyrotechnics    
     Camera    
     Other    
   Other Useful Load   85
Basic Mission GW   9662

Notes: This website has been developed with a number of low cost or free programs including Hot Metal Pro, KompoZer, MicroSoft Designer and Da Button Factory.com

Rev 3-16-25

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