Intrepid occupies a unique place in the history of naval aviation. Its success was attributed to many variables that other World War II bombers did not. Its loss rate was the lowest of all U.S. Navy aircraft in the Pacific War. The SBD crew won a staggering 138 air victories, 106 of which were zero sense. In the latter figure, 88 were shot down in 1942, 13 were shot down in 1943, and 5 were shot down in 1944. Although most of these successes are attributed to the U.S. Navy, it is officially recognized that the U.S. Marine Corps SBD squadron achieved 30 victories on Guadalcanal during the Battle of Midway in 1942 (again, these were mostly zero. Sense), there were 11 more battles of Central and Upper Solomon in 1943-44. These are incredible totals, but they are greatly affected by overstatement.

As Donald Nijboer explained in his book SBD Dauntless Vs A6M Zero-sen, Pacific Theatre 1941-44, extensive research by the respected Pacific War historians John Lundstrom, James Sawruk and Richard Frank shows that zero sense The actual number of shots in the first year of the war, the number of shots by SBD staff ranged from 5 to 9. In 1942, the IJN aircraft carrier group lost 57 zero sensors in air combat. From August 7th to November 15th, 1942, the land-based 11th Koku Kantai lost 72 zero sensors in air combat during the Battle of Guadalcanal. It is unrealistic for the US Navy and US Marine Corps SBD to destroy 88 fighter jets in 1942. This leaves only 42 zero senses destroyed by F4F, and 111 Wildcats are lost.

All bombers in World War II were vulnerable to fighter jets, no matter how many machine guns were installed. This means that they all need fighter escorts to survive. SBD is no exception. Although it has reasonable weapons and equipment, armor plates and self-sealing fuel tanks, and the squadron has implemented good formation tactics, it is still vulnerable to resolute attacks by fighters.

The large number of air-to-air victories attributed to the SBD crew is clearly an exaggeration. The IJNAF zero cents pilot was also guilty for various reasons. In most cases, air combat is short and chaotic, lasting a few minutes, and the shooting time for enemy aircraft is only a few seconds. However, in some cases, SBD will engage in a low-level running battle with ZeroSense, which lasts more than 20 minutes. At that time, it was not uncommon for more than one pilot or radio gunner to shoot at the same aircraft and file a claim. In many cases, pilots and radio crew gunners saw what they wanted to see. Zero Sen's lack of armor and self-sealing fuel tanks usually means that a flash of flame or smoke is considered a victory. Many zero sensors that were seen "exploding in flames" survived, only to extinguish the flames at a lower altitude.

Gun camera film is almost non-existent, and when it is available, the results are not always as certain as one would hope. Atmospheric conditions also play a role, because wet weather over Guadalcanal usually means that sharp turns of aircraft will produce steam trails that can be confused with smoke.

Aircraft identification is another issue. Like its American counterparts, the IJNAF carrier aircraft is powered by radial engines. Many times, SBD staff misunderstood the zero sense for B5N2 or D3A1. In an extreme case of misidentification, a U.S. Navy pilot reported seeing "Me 109" during the naval battle on Midway. A naval pilot from VB 3 said:

"The enemy obviously has a large number of fighters patrolling. They are obviously two types, the "0" fighter and possibly the Messerschmitt 109. The fighter at the top of my dive could not shoot me. I descended spirally all the way. Those are considered inline engine types. The pull-out engine was in full operation. I was hit by them twice.

The victory credit of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps depends to a large extent on the unit-level honor system, which is of course easy to abuse. Witnesses’ narratives are also problematic. During the Battle of Guadalcanal, the shortage of paper meant that records had to be constructed or reconstructed from memory. The wreckage of the aircraft used for verification does not exist, because the open ocean or impenetrable rainforest just swallowed them.

The victory requirements for the SBD crew are almost evenly divided between the pilot and the radioman gunner. For fearless pilots, the number of zero sensors they actually shot down is very small. There are many reasons for this situation. Ling Xian usually only shows himself as a target when passing the ball head-on, or if the SBD pilot is lucky enough to "bounce" one from behind.

The dive bomber did not have the speed to pursue the incoming Ling Xian. When the pilot does get zero cents in his gun sight, he is usually hindered by defective equipment. After the conflict with the IJNAF aircraft during the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 7, 1942, the VS 2 operation report provided evidence of this:

'The current telescope sight has proven to be completely unsatisfactory. Due to the sudden change in temperature and the subsequent condensation on the lens, it will fog up when diving from high altitude. In addition, the telescope sight is completely unsatisfactory for the fixed guns fired in action today. The battle takes place at such a low altitude, when viewed through the line of sight, the field of view is very limited and is rarely used to attack enemy aircraft.

In the Battle of Guadalcanal, SBD staff will be further hindered by poor living conditions and lack of training. When VMSB 132 arrived in Guadalcanal on October 30, 1942, the level of training completed by its crew was below the standard, as Lieutenant John McNealy 2 recalled:

"None of us has ever fired a machine gun on an SBD. None of us has ever dropped a live ammunition. None of us has ever flown a plane at night. None of us has ever flown an instrument before.

Combat fatigue, lack of food, disease, and continued air operations deplete the crew's strength and ability to perform missions accurately and firmly. The situation of Japanese pilots is no exception. As the battle drags on, their combat effectiveness has also been affected.

Officially, the highest-scoring SBD crew members were Lt(jg) John Leppla and his radio gunner ARM3c John Liska, who had 7 claims (4 by pilots) during the Coral Sea battle. Although impressive, this is another example of overstatement. No zero sensors were actually shot down by the SBD during the battle.

13 U.S. Marine Corps SBD squadrons shot down 44 enemy aircraft, most of which were shot down during the Battle of Guadalcanal. Among these claims, 35 were for the gunman, 6 were for the pilot, and 3 were shared.

For zero forest pilots, shooting down the SBD proved to be a difficult task. Time and time again, they claimed to have destroyed the severely damaged SBD and sent it back to their carrier or Henderson Airport. The reason for this is outlined in the following VB 5 operation report on May 8, 1942-the second day of the Coral Sea battle:

'The leak-proof tank is very effective. As many as 14 holes were found in one tank, and nine aircraft had one or more punctured tanks. Of these, only one caught fire or leaked. It is known that the armored seats of at least one aircraft can block enemy bullets, and the rear gun armor effectively blocks many bullets. It is also believed that the armored seat of an aircraft prevented or exploded a 20mm projectile.

Enemy fighters lost at least 63 SBDs, most of which-39 (official statistics)-were aircraft carriers from 1941 to 42. The remaining 24 were either shot down in an air battle during the Battle of Guadalcanal, or shot down in a naval battle in the Philippine Sea in June 1944. Unfortunately, although some of the IJNAF aces participated in the main aircraft carrier battle and Guadalcanal battle in 1941-42, the Japanese record did not record their personal victories.

SBD Dauntless Vs A6M Zero-sen, Pacific Theatre 1941-44 is published by Osprey Publishing and can be ordered here.

Image credit: US Navy, Carlos Menendez San Juan via Wikipedia and Jim Laurier, Gareth Hector via Osprey

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