Air Power

Douglas A-24 (US Navy SBD-3 Dauntless)

In the days before Pearl Harbor, when war appeared imminent, the Army Air Forces transported the 27th Bombardment Group to the Philippines from Louisiana with its aircraft to follow later. The 27th flew the A-24, the Army Air Forces' first dive bomber. In light of the German Air Force dive bombing successes in Poland and France, the Army Air Corps acquired the US Navy's SBD-3 "Dauntless" dive bomber which was already in production. The A-24 was the SBD-3 without the tail hook and with either a solid or a pneumatic tail wheel.

When war broke out the 52 aircraft being sent to the Philippines were diverted to Australia to be assembled there. Most of the 27th's pilots were flown back to Australia to assemble their airplanes and fly them to the Philippines. The enlisted men, however, remained in the Philippines and became members of the 1st Provisional Air Corps Regiment, fighting the Japanese ground troops. All of the survivors were subjected to the Bataan Death March

The A-24s that arrived at Brisbane, Australia, in late December had been heavily used in Louisiana during maneuvers in September 1941 and still carried Louisiana mud on their wheels. In addition, they were missing trigger motors and solenoids, which prevented the firing of their forward guns, and the rear gun mounts broke easily. Many aircraft also had worn-out tires. The A-24s could not go into combat in the Philippines until these problems were corrected.

The Australians either machined the necessary solenoids or they fixed firing handles for the guns. The rear gun mounts were strengthened and Australian truck tires were used in place of American aircraft tires. By this time, however, the battle for the Philippines was almost over. The 27th Bombardment Group was slowly rebuilt into three squadrons, the 16th, 17th, and 91st. The 91st, equipped with 15 repaired A-24s, was the only squadron capable of flying to Java. They flew first to Darwin, Australia, and then to Malang, Java, arriving there on 17 February 1942. Out of the 15 Aircraft that began the trip to Java, only 7 were available for combat. The others were lost in accidents or were in need of repairs.

Over the next 10 days the 91st flew heroically against the best aircraft the Japanese possessed. The A-24s, however' had worn-out engines, no armor plate, no self sealing fuel tanks, and received no fighter protection. The pilots referred to them as "Blue Rock Clay Pigeons." The 91st squadron, nevertheless, attacked enemy ships in the harbor and the Japanese air base at Bali, as well as Japanese ships in the waters near Java, damaging and sinking numerous enemy ships. Two of the A-24s were shot down and three so badly holed they could no longer fly. In early March the order came to evacuate Java, ending a brief but valiant effort.

In New Guinea in 1942 the A-24 was relegated to noncombat missions after five of seven airplanes were lost and one was badly damaged on a mission over Buna, New Guinea. The A-24s were regarded by many pilots as too slow, too short-ranged, and too poorly armed.

Many of the remaining A-24s were used in the U.S. as training aircraft or to tow targets for aerial gunnery training.

SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 41 ft. 6 in.
Length: 33 ft. 0 in.
Height: 12 ft. 11 in.
Weight: 10,200 lbs. maximum (with 1,200 lbs. of bombs)
Armament: Two .50 caliber machine guns in the nose and twin .30 caliber flexible machine guns in rear cockpit; In Java, the A-24s carried Dutch 660 lb. bombs on the centerline and 110 lb. bombs on each wing.
Engine: Wright R-1829-52 of 1,000 hp.
Cost: $38,293

PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 250 mph/217 knots
Cruising speed: 173 mph/150 knots
Range: 950 miles with 1,200 lbs. of bombs
Service Ceiling: 26,000 ft.