#avgeek #planespotting #USNavy #USAF #USMC: Douglas SBD Dauntless / A-24 Banshee carrier-borne and land-based dive-bomber saw extensive action in the Pacific. At Midway, SBDs damaged the IJN carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu, leading to loss of all four. 1/ TY @Sylvia70485099 ImageImageImageImage
2/ The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") first flew in 1940. Recognition: circular perforated dive brakes; wings: compact, sturdy, non-folding. Crew: 2. 5,936 built, 1940–1944. Used by USA, France and New Zealand. Let’s visit the different versions and check out details… #Models ImageImageImageImage
3/ SBD-1: 1,000 hp Wright R-1820-32 Cyclone; 6-volt electrical system. 2 x .50 cal guns on upper cowling + 1 x .30 cal rear-facing on semi-circular mount. 57 built, all in 1940. USMC only. Images: aviation-history.com/douglas/sbd.ht…⬅️. ImageImageImage
4/ SBD-2↖️↗️: 87 built, all in 1941. US Navy only. Added wing fuel tanks. Some converted to SBD-2P recon types. SBD-3↙️↘️: 584 built; 1941. Added 2 x .30 cal rear guns on semi-circular mount (so 2 x .50 + 2 x .30 = 4 machine guns total), more armor and self-sealing fuel tanks. ImageImageImageImage
5/ SBD-4: 780 built. Per airplanes3d.wordpress.com/2015/07/11/dif…, 24-volt electrical system for radar, etc., that was not factory-installed due to lack of available units. Some converted to SBD-4P recons. ImageImageImageImage
SBD-5: 2,965 built. 1,200 hp Wright R-1820-60 Cyclone; more onboard ammo. This SBD-5 is a flying machine and is at the Commemorative Air Force in Peachtree City, GA↖️. This one is on CV-10 Yorktown↗️↙️↘️, Charleston, SC. ImageImageImageImage
7/ The Douglas SBD-6 Dauntless: 450 built 1944. Engine improved to a 1,350 hp Wright R-1820-66 Cyclone. This splendid SBD-6 is at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC @NASM. More on the SBD-6: si.edu/object/douglas…. ImageImageImageImage
The Douglas A-24 Banshee was the USAAF’s version of the SBD but without a tailhook. SBD-3A was the A-24 (168 built), SBD-4A > A-24A (170), SBD-5A > A-24B (615). Only one A-24A and three A-24Bs survive. This A-24B↖️↗️ is at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio @AFmuseum. ImageImageImageImage
@AFmuseum 9/ The SBD was the US Navy’s most successful bomber. It sank six #IJN aircraft carriers, 14 cruisers, six destroyers and 15 transports/cargo ships, and many smaller vessels. Sources:
a. airplanes3d.wordpress.com/2015/07/11/dif….
b. pearlharboraviationmuseum.org/aircraft/dougl….
c. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_S…. ImageImageImageImage
@AFmuseum 10/ I enjoyed sitting in the SBD-5 at the Commemorative Air Force in Peachtree City, GA. Here are details. Here’s the front cockpit. It’s been modernized some, but you can get a better feel for layout, colors, size, view, etc. ImageImageImageImage
@AFmuseum 11/ Here’s the same SBD-5’s rear cockpit. My new friend demonstrated the rear .30 cals. The ring allows them to point anywhere to the rear and straight up too! The SBD is credit with shooting down more enemy planes than lost to enemy planes, a rare feat indeed. ImageImageImageImage
@AFmuseum 12/ Here's Chuck's @ChuckMcCormick1 excellent 2:00 minute clip of Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless starting, taxing, flying, landing, etc. This one is at Planes of Fame in Chino, California, about 1.5 hours E of Los Angeles, IIRC. @PlanesofFame.

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More from @USAS_WW1

Jan 27, 2023
#PoliceReform #TyreNichols #Tyre #Video #Riots - Bodycam footage pf Tyre Nichols' murder by 5 police officers is due for release tonight. Police across USA are bracing for riots and violence. But violence will only harm and destroy communities with NO benefit. Please don't do it.
#RodneyKing #TyreNichols + Memphis, HELL NO trend. 1992's Los Angeles Rodney King riots did great harm. This was both the immediate damage and massive subsequent economic devastation as companies and customers stayed away. What do #riots do to the communities they devastate?
3/ #PoliceBrutality #TyreNichols: People have every right to be angry. I'm angry. 😠😠😠But for once, the system actually seems to be working. The five #Memphis #police officers have been fired and arrested. Quickly.

1992 Rodney King Riots #StopTheViolence:
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Jan 27, 2023
#FirepowerFriday #WW2 #ships: #Germany's mighty and handsome 52,600-ton 8x15" battleship Tirpitz at speed↖️ and Tromso fjord, #Norway↗️. ↙️↘️Perhaps on November 12, 1944 when she was sunk by RAF Lancasters. Her clean lines betray a lack of AA. Photo: ACME.
2/ Per reddit.com/r/WarshipPorn/…, here's a #USNavy manual excerpt on Tirpitz identifying what is what.
3/ Tirpitz was, of course, the second and last ship of the Bismarck-class battleships. These diagrams from forum.worldofwarships.com/topic/199855-t…, etc., show her gentle evolution over time, especially ↖️↗️↙️where we see improvements in AA, radars and camo. ↘️ is similar to ↗️.
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Jan 26, 2023
T-34 #military #history – The apex of Soviet Christie suspension #tanks is the 33 mph T-34/85 with the L/55 D-5T 85mm main gun. Note: the larger vehicles (T-34/76, T-34/85, British A-27 and A-34) had five wheels a side).
#military #history – The most-famous Christie suspension vehicle is the Soviet T-34/76. It lacked the hybrid solid rubber tire road wheel/track configuration but just superb wide traction tracks helping it sprint over terrain its opponents couldn’t handle.
3/ #TankTuesday I'll post four T-34 interior shots in a moment as a reply to this later model T-34/85 with the larger gun, larger turret, and five-man crew instead of the original T-34/76’s four-man crew.
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#RussiaUkraineWar #Challenger2 #UkraineArmy Challenger 2 tank: 447 built 1998-2002. World's best tank? L/55 120mm barrel. Crew: 4. Armor: 2nd gen. Chobham. 63 long tons! 1,200 bhp; V12 diesel; 37 mph. Ukraine to get 14. Great video from @PhilLoder. 1/
@PhilLoder 2/ Challenger 2 has digital fire control computer, laser rangefinder, 8 periscopes and 2 x 7.62mm machine guns. How would it fare vs. #RussianArmy's T-72B3, T-90 / T-90M or T-14 Armata? @Burntime0101's great photos show Megatron emitting a smoke screen!
@PhilLoder @Burntime0101 3/ Challenger 2 is based on the similar looking Challenger 1 but shares only 3% of the parts! At the gun’s root is the big boxy Thermal Observation and Gunnery Sight II (TOGS II) for night vision. It relays to the gunner's and commander's monitors and sights. ImageImageImageImage
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Dec 21, 2022
#USNavy #USAF #avgeeks #aviationlovers - NATF-22? Yes, there could have been a navalized F-22 stealth a la F-14 Tomcat with swing wings, Mach 2.25 supercruise, heavier landing gear, and so much more. So why did the US Navy opt for the F-18 and F-35 instead? I'll tell you... 1/ Image
2/ Congress wanted the NATF-22 but the US Navy pushed back. The swing wings would have compromised stealth and added to the maintenance woes. As it was, the F-14 was already far too expensive especially in the absence of the #USSR's military, which is why the F-14 was retired. Image
3/ The naval F-22, aka Sea Raptor, would have been slower than the F-14 and cost more. The F-22's unit cost was, ballpark, $138 million. A navalized one surely would have cost at least 20% more based on F-14 vs F-15 costs. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_… Image
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Dec 18, 2022
#Hurricane #USNavy #OTD: December 18, 1944, Admiral Halsey catastrophically orders the US Navy’s vaunted TF38 into #TyphoonCobra. TF38 has seven fleet carriers, eight battleships, ~60 light carriers, cruisers, and destroyers. In all, USA loses three... 1/
2/ destroyers on Dec. 18 killing 790 sailors. USS Iowa @ussiowa, CL Miami, etc., damaged. Light carriers Langley and Cowpens (above tweet) roll through 70 degrees, sending airplanes overboard or into each other, starting big fires. 146 aircraft lost!!!
3/ In contrast, USA lost 123 aircraft in June 1944 Battle of the Philippine Sea. Destroyers Hull↖️, Monaghan ↗️ and Spence ↙️ sink. Maddox ↘️ and others are pounded but survive. 30 US Navy warships sunk or damaged total! #disasters #WW2 #Pacific #Weather
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