Dauntless dive on target Douglas 'Dauntless' dive bombers nosing toward their target are veterans of the Pacific campaig...

Dauntless dive on target Douglas 'Dauntless' dive bombers nosing toward their target are veterans of the Pacific campaign, having performed with outstanding success. Replaced to a great extent by the newer Curtiss SB2C 'Helldivers', the redoutable SBD's have set an enviable standard for their successors to live up to. The new planes had several bugs at the start which had to be ironed out before revised models were sent to the fleet. With a 1,700 horsepower engine as against their predecessors'1,000 h.p. one, they have turned out to be pretty good and just as reliable as the old outmodel 'Dauntlesses'. First used in the November, 1943 raid on Rabaul, the 'Helldivers' began to replace the battle-scarred, tired SBD's thoughout the fleet in the sping of 1944. They were in time to get in on action every bit as exciting as that seen by the 'Dauntlesses' earlier in the Pacific.