SBD Dauntless: Naval History Special Edition

From the beginning of World War II, when flattops emerged as the Navy's capital ships, the SBD Dauntless proved essential as the principal striking arm of the the carrier's air group in the first two years of war, a testament to its versatility as scout and bomber, and to its particular potency against enemy warships.

"The naval dive—bomber was to prove the hammerhead of the naval war. The steeper the dive made in the attack, and the closer to the point of bomb release to the target, the les...