The Douglas SBD Dauntless was the dive bomber of choice for the United States Navy at the beginning of World War II. In fact, a group of SBDs arriving in Hawaii from the USS Enterprise at sea were caught in the attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941.
In US Army service, the type was known as the A-24 Banshee, but it saw limited service as many regarded the type as too slow, too short-ranged and too poorly armed for their needs.
Far more acclaimed in Naval Aviation service, the SBD is perhaps best known for it’s role during the Battle of Midway in June of 1942. In one day, attacking SBD Dauntlesses sank or fatally damaged all four Japanese carriers — three (Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū) within six minutes and the Hiryū later in the day.
Though joined later in the war by the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, many crews favored the “Slow But Deadly” (SBD) over the “Son of a Bitch, 2nd Class” (SB2C) as a dive bomber, though it was an older design.
This tattoo of an SBD Dauntless, ironically placed near a bellybutton on the stomach (a Navel Fighter?) was created by artist Nick Chaboya at Classic Tattoo Studio in Grass Valley, CA.
Please click on the image above or the link below for two larger images.
Click the above image for the full-size photo.
Join the Tattoos In Flight Army! - If you have or find any aviation-themed tattoos on the web, send the photo to us along with the name of the artist, studio, location, and a website! Send them along to tattoosinflight@gmail.com, or use the “submit” tool at the right.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
