Hobby Master HA0207 USMC Douglas SBD-1 Dauntless Dive-Bomber - BuNo 1597, Squadron Commander of VMB-2 "Red Devils", San Diego, CA, 1940 (1:32 Scale)
"This nation will remain a neutral nation, but I cannot ask that every American remain neutral in thought as well. Even a neutral has a right to take account of facts, even a neutral cannot be asked to close his mind or close his conscience. I have said not once but many times that I have seen war and that I hate war; I say that again and again. I hope the United States will keep out of this war, I believe that it will. And I give you assurance and reassurance that every effort of your government will be directed toward that end. As long as it remains within my power to prevent there will be no blackout of peace in the United States."
- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, September 5th, 1939
The Dauntless was the standard shipborne dive-bomber of the US Navy from mid-1940 until November 1943, when the first Curtiss Helldivers arrived to replace it. Between 1942-43, the Dauntless was pressed into service again and again, seeing action in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Guadalcanal campaign. It was, however, at the Battle of Midway, that the Dauntless came into its own, singlehandedly destroying four of the Imperial Japanese Navy's frontline carriers. The SBD (referred to, rather affectionately by her aircrews, as "Slow But Deadly") was gradually phased out during 1944. The June 20th, 1944 strike against the Japanese Mobile Fleet, known as the Battle of the Philippine Sea, was the last major engagement in which it was used. From 1942 to 1944, the SBD was also used by several land-based Marine Corps squadrons.
Built as a two-seat, low-wing Navy scout bomber, the Dauntless was powered by a single Wright R1820 1200-horsepower engine. It became the mainstay of the Navy's air fleet in the Pacific, suffering the lowest loss ratio of any U.S. carrier-borne aircraft. A total of 5,936 SBDs were delivered to the Navy and Marine Corps between 1940 and the end of its production, in July 1944.
This particular 1:32 scale replica of a USMC Douglas SBD-1 Dauntless dive-bomber then piloted by the Squadron Commander of VMB-2 "Red Devils", who was deployed to San Diego, California, during 1940.
Sold Out!
Dimensions:
Wingspan: 15-3/4-inches
Length: 12-1/2-inches
Release Date: June 2014
Historical Account: "Red Devils" - On July 1st, 1937, Marine aviation was completely reorganized to conform to Navy requirements, and VB-4M became VMB-2. Still flying the BG-1, the squadron continued to take part in the annual Fleet Exercises, and in December 1940, the squadron began receiving the new Douglas SBD-1, the first mono-plane in Marine Corps service.
Arrival of the SBD also marked the first time that the Red Devil insignia was not carried on the squadron's aircraft, even though it was authorized to do so.