1:72 Scale Hobby Master Diecast Model of the World War II Douglas SBD-4 Dauntless, 22-C-13, VC-22, USS Independence (CVL-22), April 14, 1943

This fully assembled diecast 1:72 scale model has a 6-1/2inch wingspan and comes with:

Die-cast metal.
Fully assembled.
Superb detailing in 1/72 scale.
Pre-painted with pad applied markings.
Flaps are permanently open to show red inside.
Weapons are not permanently attached.
Display stand included.
Option to display model with wheels up or down.
Minimum use of plastic.
Very collectable

The Dauntless was the standard shipborne dive-bomber of the US Navy from mid-1940 until November 1943 (when the first operational Curtiss SB2C Helldivers arrived to replace it). In 1942-43, at the Battle of the Coral Sea, in the bitter Guadalcanal campaign and most of all in the crucial Battle of Midway, the Dauntless did more than any other aircraft to turn the tide of the Pacific War. At Midway on 4 June 1942 it wrecked all four Japanese carriers, and later in the battle sank a heavy cruiser and severely damaged another. From 1942 through to 1945, in addition to its shipboard service, the SBD saw intensive use with the US Marine Corps, flying from island bases.

In the Guadalcanal Campaign the Dauntless - operating from US carriers and from Henderson Field on the island of Guadalcanal itself - took a huge toll of Japanese shipping. SBDs sank the carrier Ryujo in the battle of the Eastern Solomons, and damaged three other carriers in the battles of Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz. In the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 12-15 November 1942, SBDs sank the heavy cruiser Kinugasa and, supported by TBD Avengers, sank nine transports.

The Dauntless was older and slower than its Japanese opposite number, the Aichi D3A2 "Val" - but the SBD was far more resistant to battle damage, and its flying qualities perfectly suited it to its role. In particular - as its pilots testified - it was very steady in a dive.

When the more modern and powerfully-engined Helldiver went into action alongside the SBD it was soon realized - particularly at the Battle of the Philippine Sea - that the new aircraft was inferior to the Dauntless. But the Helldiver was already in large-scale production and it was too late to reverse the decision that it should supplant the Dauntless in shipboard service. The SBD was gradually phased out during 1944, and the 20 June 1944 strike against the Japanese Mobile Fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea was therefore its last major action as a carrier-borne aircraft.

History of VC-22

VC-22 Dauntless’, aboard USS Independence, first action was in September 1943 against the Marcus Islands. Then Wake Island, Rabaul and Tarawa where Independence was torpedoed and sent for repairs. Eleven months later VC- 22 Dauntless’ flew in the Philippines, Okinawa, Formosa and helped sink the battleship Musashi, four aircraft carriers and disabled a cruiser. VC-22 fought for another year and then Independence was used to carry troops home. July 1, 1946 CVL-22 was used in atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll and sunk as a target on September 11, 1948 by VC-22. USS Independence received eight battle stars for WWII service.