In the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway Island, the carrier based Dauntless dive bomber played an historic part in blunting the Japanese offensive that began at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Fulfilling the attack role assigned to it, the SBD, operating from the decks of the carriers Lexington, Yorktown, Wasp, and Enterprise, mortally damaged the main units of the Japanese carrier fleet. Not as well known is its impressive record for shooting down enemy aircraft when protecting the U.S. carriers. The Dauntless SBD had sunk more enemy combatant tonnage than all other arms of the service combined.
Wing span: 31-1/4″ scale:1/16