Douglas SBD Dauntless
Online reviews

www.modocharlie.com
Stratus acaba de lanzar una interesante y bien detallada monografía sobre los aviones de la serie SBD Dauntless en el mundo. Escrito por Robert Peczkowski e ilustrado por artur Juszczak, dispone de 136 páginas (88 de ellas en color) en formato B5, corresponde a la serie
amarilla de estas monografías y entrega un recuento del desarrollo de estos aviones Douglas con muchas imágenes -la gran mayoría inéditas- tanto de su etapa de desarrollo, participación en la Segunda Guerra Mundial con los EE.UU y en fuerzas aéreas foráneas.

En cuanto a la parte correspondiente a Chile, el autor Germán Lüer entrega detalles e imágenes desconocidas de estos aviones que operaron por pocos años en varios Grupos de Aviación de la FACh, de los cuales sólo quedó el recuerdo en imágenes y dibujos.

SAM
by Paul E. Eden

Mushroom Model Publications really has got the format of its regular series
down to a fine art. Among its latest books, Douglas SBD Dauntless sticks to
this established formula and, in so doing, presents a very fine monograph
indeed, especially for the modeller.
Few readers must remain unaware of these fine books, but in brief summary
this one covers the type¹s origins and evolution, variants, technical
features, some aspects of its operational deployment and summarises its
operations, albeit briefly. Yellow Series books are not intended to provide
service histories, focussing on the aircraft itself. The A-24 is also
covered, as are SBDs operated by export customers. I was pleased that the
New Zealand, British, French and Mexican Dauntlesses were known to me, but
the Chilean A-24s were a surprise! There are even two excellent colour
profiles and a couple of wing scrap views of them. In fact, the colour
artwork runs to 20 pages and is brilliantly rendered, as well as nicely
presented.
A huge number of colour and contemporary photographs constitutes a detailed
walkaround section, while a number of finely detailed drawings illustrates
the variants. The text is translated to perhaps a 90 percent perfect level,
and overall this is a fine book.

JP4, Italian Magazine

Air Modeller issue 15, Dec/Jan.

IPMSUSA.org
Reviewed By Keith Pruitt, IPMS# 44770

According to Mushroom Model Publications' catalog, "The Yellow Series are aircraft technical profiles, giving full details of the design and development of the subject type, with drawings and photographs clearly illustrating the technical aspects."

This book is the latest in that series, chronicling the Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber of World War II. The design began as the Northrop XBT-1, a dive bomber design requested by the US Navy. Because the aircraft was prone to buffeting in a dive, perforated flaps, which had been recently designed by NACA, were added. Serious problems in the flying characteristics of the BT-1 led to its withdrawal from service, and ultimately led to changes in the design. These were implemented in the XBT-2. There was a new engine and propeller introduced, as well as changes in the cockpit. Early in 1937, with Northrop in financial trouble, Douglas Aircraft took over the project, renaming it the XSBD-1. After wind-tunnel tests, the design was further changed, including fully retractable landing gear. With these changes, in April 1939, the Navy gave Douglas the first order for 144 SBD-1 aircraft.

Each of the variants is covered in great detail, including the A-24 Banshee version used by the USAAC. These are documented by historical reference and photographs. There are reports on the Dauntless units that were used by the US Navy and Air Corps, as well as the units of foreign users. There is a chapter on Unit Operation Principles, which is illustrated with a diagram of the proper dive procedure and the typical search pattern used during the October 1942 Battle of Santa Cruz.
There are numerous black and white photographs of various operational aircraft, as well as detailed cockpit photographs taken from the Pilot's Manual. There are detailed color walkarounds of an SBD-2 at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida, and an SBD-5 at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California. There are also color photographs of various SBDs in stages of restoration at various facilities. The photographs are divided into sections covering the fuselage, wings, dive flaps, landing gear, cockpit, and even the ordnance carried by the aircraft.
The Yellow Series is an outstanding, and enjoyable, selection for those history buffs that like to know the developmental story of the various aircraft. The book covers every aspect of the aircraft in exquisite detail. Modelers, particularly those that love to superdetail their models (Advanced Modeling Syndrome), will find it invaluable as a reference source. This book, and the whole Yellow Series, would have to be highly recommended!

Hyperscale.com
Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

New from Mushroom Model Publications is No 6125 in their Yellow Series and it covers the Douglas SDB Dauntless series.

The Dauntless came about from a 1934 request by the Bureau of Aeronautics and the US Navy to the American aircraft industry to tender for a new carrier-borne scout bomber. Following a long development and testing regime controlled by the legendary Ed Heinemann the Dauntless was to become the US Navys standard ship-borne dive-bomber from mid 1940 until November 1943 when the first operational Curtiss SB2C Helldivers began to replace it. Due to the Helldivers teething problems though the Dauntless was to continue being operated from carrier decks as well as shore bases well beyond that. Its role during the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Midway actions where it accounted for many of the Imperial Japanese Navys carriers has ensured its place in history.

The book follows the standard Mushroom Model Publications Yellow Series format. The first few chapters provide coverage of the Dauntless developmental and technical history from the experimental XBT-1 through to the SBD-6 in Navy service as well as its use by the USAAC where it was named the A-24 Banshee. Coverage is also provided of the SBD and A-24s use by other than US forces including Mexico, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Chile, and France. The first half of the book also provides a detailed technical description of the SBD, chapters on the US Navys unit operational principles as well as a comprehensive list of US Navy and USMC units it was assigned to and finally, a world wide list of survivors.

The second part of the book is a very complete walk-around comprising both black and white period drawings and photographs and contemporary colour photographs of surviving machines that have been restored and have been preserved in their original condition. This is a very large section of the book comprising some 68 pages and will prove invaluable to the modeller.

The third and final part of the book is made up 20 pages of excellent colour profiles of the SBD and A-24 and it covers all of the finishes it wore in US Navy and USMC service from the early yellow wing era to the tri-colour schemes of the of the
SBD-6. Profiles of Royal New Zealand Air Force, USAAC, Mexican Air Force, Chilean Air Force, Royal Navy, and the French Aeronavale are also included in this section.

The book has been printed in Poland. It is B5 in size (240 x165 mm) and comprises 136 pages printed on good quality glossy paper (88 of which are in colour) between cardboard covers.

This book is more of a modelling reference than it is an operational history of the SBD and as such will appeal more to the modeller than the armchair historian. The Mushroom Publications website at http://www.mmpbooks.biz/books/books-yellow.html lists it at GBP12.00 which is pretty good value considering what you get between its covers.

If you are contemplating a build of one of the new large-scale SBDs or one of the outstanding Accurate Miniature ones then you will find this book priceless.

Recommended.

ModelingMadness.com
Reviewer: Scott Van Aken

This new book from Mushroom Models Publications is on the Douglas SBD Dauntless, an aircraft that can be said to have literally changed the course of WWII in the Pacific. Thanks to the bravery and skill of its pilots, it was able to wreak havoc on the Japanese carrier fleet at Midway in mid 1942.

Though designed by the legendary Ed Heineman, it is a plane that nearly didn't make it into production. Its predecessor was the Northrop BT-1 and aircraft that by all accounts was somewhat scary to fly and one that had several vices. However, those were cured in the replacement BT-2/XSBD-1 and the aircraft went on to be one of the more viceless aircraft ever built. It was also incredibly rugged and served not only the US Navy, but the Army Air Force, France, Mexico, Chile and New Zealand.

The Mushroom Model book follows its now standard format by offering a short history of the type, with drawings showing the differences between the versions, though there really were not that many. There is then a very large section of close-up images, using some period photos, but mostly images of the rather surprising number of extant airframes. These latter images are all in full color and divide the airframe into sections. Modelers in particular will find this section most useful as the detail level is really quite high. This is then followed by 20 pages of large color profiles of the aircraft in the many schemes it carried while in service.

Those of you who are interested in these aircraft simply must add this volume to your shelves. This series of books is the first one I reach for when doing a model of the subject aircraft. You will not find a more complete reference like it.

InternetModeler.com
By Chris Banyai-Riepl

The latest from Mushroom is out, and it covers a very popular aircraft, the SBD Dauntless. With the recent release of all major Dauntless variants in 1/32 by Trumpeter, the need for a good reference on the type is quite welcome, and this one definitely fits the bill. Done in Mushroom’s Yellow Series, this title provides a type breakdown, from the SBD-1 through to the SBD-6, and includes the A-24A, A-24B, and F-24B. If you want an easily understood description of the type differences, this is the book to have. Accompanying the text description are the usual scale drawings, making the differences very easy to notice.
Following the type breakdown comes an operational section. Here we get to see some of the operational methods used by the US Navy during the Second World War, including search patterns. Also included is a breakdown of foreign operators of the Dauntless, of which there were a few. These include the handful given to England for testing, 69 to New Zealand, who used the type with great success operationally, 30 A-24Bs to Mexico under the Lend Lease program, twelve to Chile, also through Lend Lease, and finally France, who received 39 SBD-5s and 55 A-24Bs for the Aeronavale and Armee de l’Air, respectively. Each of these operator sections has some great photos complementing the text, opening up some interesting potential for your Dauntless model. Also helping (or hindering, depending on how your AMS is going) your model is the 67-page section of detail photos. Anything you want to know about is presented here, with most of the photos in color.
Speaking of color, the remaining pages of the book are filled with color profile illustrations of the Dauntless. Thirty-five side view illustrations, along with a handful of top views (and a single front view) highlight the varied colors worn by the Dauntless over the years and around the world. These include a very interesting civil Dauntless down in Mexico, registered XA-QUC and finished in a sharp-looking white with blue trim. I am sure that this, and others, will have many modelers reaching for another Dauntless kit to build.

Cybermodeler.com
By Ray Mehlberger

This latest book from Mushroom Model Publications (MMP) is in their usual 9” X 6 ½” soft-cover format that they use for their books on aircraft. It contains 136 pages.

MMP is based in England and these books are printed in Poland, but are in the English language. I am told this is to save production costs. A lot of the authors are Polish also.

The book covers the design and development of the SBD “Slow But Deadly” Dauntless, from the XBT-2 & XSBD-1 to the SBD-6 version. The Dauntless was the most significant and effective naval aircraft of WWII. In many ways an obsolescent design by 1941, the SBD nevertheless managed to sink a great many Japanese warships and was instrumental in the U.S. victories at Midway and elsewhere. For all of its performance limitations it served throughout the Pacific war, and was used effectively by the French in the later stages of the European war. It was used half-heartedly by the USAAF as the
A-24, this service never appreciated the potential of dive bombing.

All versions of the SBD and the A-24 are described and illustrated. There are 70 black and white photos, 106 color photos of restored Dauntless’ (most are walk-around type).
There are thirteen 1/72nd scale line drawings, 11 data charts, a cut-away drawing, eight illustrations out of SBD tech manuals and 30 full color profile paintings. Three of these profiles are two-views and one of them is a three-view.

There are brief details of service with all users: USN, USAAF, New Zealand, France, Mexico and Chili. The color profiles illustrate the markings of all users.

This is rather popular aircraft subject with modelers. They will find it an invaluable reference source. Aircraft enthusiasts and historians will too.

My copy arrived with a 14 page catalog of other books that MMP publishes, both already available and ones to come in the future. There are some exciting titles coming in both aircraft and armor subjects.