This is a limited-edition kit and production may be discontinued at any time. This model comes disassembled and includes complete printed building instructions and comes packaged in a sealed box. Two custom-printed American pilot minifiguresĪll Brickmania model kits are made of new-condition LEGO bricks.The SBD-5 Dauntless - WWII Carrier-Based Scout/Dive Bomber kit comes with the following features: It was borderline obsolescent at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Engine: Wright R-1820-60 radial, 1,200 hpĪdditional information about this Brickmania building kit: The SBD Dauntless entered service in 1940.Two American pilot minifigures are also included along with an arrestor hook for landing on aircraft carriers. The Brickmania model features several of the key components on the Dauntless, including the iconic dive brakes, rear-facing machine guns, and three bombs. After releasing a 500- or 1,000-pound bomb, the crew experienced 4–6 G’s as the pilot pulled the aircraft out of its steep dive. If the Dauntless managed to survive harassment from enemy fighters, the warplane would open its dive brakes and descend at 70 degrees toward its target for 30 to 40 seconds, making it vulnerable to antiaircraft fire from the surface. Attacking the Dauntless from behind was difficult because of two rear-facing machine guns operated by the second crewman. The SBD-5 played a critical role at the Battle of Tarawa, supporting the beleaguered Marines as they struggled against the entrenched Japanese.Ĭrewed by two men, the Dauntless was considered “slow, but deadly”.

One just has to look at the wing design to note the obvious similarities. Its design roots stemmed back to a pair of 1934 Northrop designs: the US Army's A-17 and the US Navy's BT-1. victory at Midway is often considered one of the major turning points of World War II, along with Stalingrad and El Alamein. The Douglas SBD Dauntless scout/dive-bomber was an evolutionary, not a revolutionary aircraft design. These dive bombers sank four Japanese carriers at Midway in June 1942 while being relentlessly harassed by Japanese Zeroes.

By the time the SBD-5 was developed in 1943, the Dauntless had already distinguished itself in the Pacific Theater. The fifth iteration of the famed SBD Dauntless, the SBD-5 was the Navy’s primary dive bomber during the Second World War. About the SBD-5 Dauntless - WWII Carrier-Based Scout/Dive Bomber:

Douglas dauntless