This is a very welcome updated and expanded edition of a best selling book published in 1997. The author has produced a extensively researched complete history of the famous SBD Dauntless dive bomber, hero of the Battle of Midway . – Very Highly Recommended.
NAME: The Dauntless In Battle FILE: R3042 AUTHOR: Peter C Smith PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING: Hard back PRICE: £19.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWII, World War II, World War 2, World War Two, Second World War, Pacific Theatre, USN, USMC, Japanese, carrier fleets, carrier task groups, naval aviation, dive bombers, fighters, torpedo planes, carriers, escorts, SBD, Dauntless, Slow But Deadly
ISBN: 1-52670-460-9
IMAGE: B3042.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/sof9vgr PAGES: 240 LINKS: DESCRIPTION: This is a very welcome updated and expanded edition of a best selling book published in 1997. The author has produced a extensively researched complete history of the famous SBD Dauntless dive bomber, hero of the Battle of Midway . – Very Highly Recommended. The dive bomber was a popular aircraft type for several countries between the wars. The aircraft were not speedy, except in the dive attack. They worked well where their air force had established air superiority but they were vulnerable to determined fighter attack. The Royal Navy received the Blackburn Skua, which was an excellent design at the time it was offered, but it suffered from the dead hand of the RAF who still controlled all British military aviation at that time. The Royal Navy wanted a dive bomber to operate from aircraft carriers, which is what Blackburn wanted to deliver, but the RAF latched onto the RN's secondary requirement for an aircraft that could be used at sea as a fighter, until a better aircraft could be acquired to fill that role. The Skua did perform surprisingly well initially as a fighter, far better than the Blackburn Roc Fleet Fighter that was based on the Skua but mounting the heavy four gun power turret as its only armament, once more a result of RAF interference, inspired by their equally dismal Bolton Paul Defiant Bomber Destroyer. The four gun turret had a limited field of fire and the weight of turret and gunner significantly reduced an already poor speed. The US Navy and US Marine Corps were luckier in that they had fighter development underway that had already produced the Wildcat and was to continue with the more advanced and capable Hellcat and Corsair in the fighter and fighter bomber rolls, leaving the Dauntless to concentrate on dive bombing. Even so, its performance made it vulnerable to the light, fast, and nimble Japanese Zero fighter. It also produced luke warm enthusiasm when offered to the Royal Navy. The Dauntless did have its stronger points, being a rugged shipboard aircraft that could accept battle damage and still return to its carrier. What really made the Dauntless a battle winning aircraft was its crews. USN, USMC and NZAF crews demonstrated courage and determination that made the Dauntless the hero of actions in the Pacific against the Japanese. At Midway it dealt a death blow to Japanese naval aviation and secured victory for the Allies. It then served on through the island- hopping campaign that reached to the doorstep of the Japanese home islands. Whether it would have continued so strongly is debatable, had the Japanese been able to build replacement aircraft and crew them with experienced pilots. As it was, Midway marked the end point where the Japanese had skilled, fully trained and battle hardened pilots. From Midway, the Japanese lost aircraft and pilots faster than they could replacement them. The Kamikaze was an acceptance that the only way that Japan could continue was to train pilots well enough to take off, find a target and try to crash into it. There simply was not the time, or resources, to build enough aircraft and adequately train pilots, while the Allies grew stronger, out producing Japan in aircraft, and expanding its force of hardened pilots. The author is a leading specialist in his field and a hallmark is the level of research that he puts into the development of each book. His 1997 edition of the Dauntless history was regarded as the definitive work on the subject. This edition has taken the work to a new level. It is difficult to see how he, or any other author, will be able to better the work.