There are a total of 51 dive bomber attack aircraft entries in the military factory. It was also designed with a limited dive bombing capability of its own. The movie treats the devastator torpedo planes as if they were vindicator dive bombers. Dive bomber definition of dive bomber by the free dictionary. List of aircraft of the united kingdom in world war ii. Taken by itself, dive bomber is a routine tale of the efforts of navy doctors to find solutions to major issues facing aviators countering the effect of gforce on pilots, and functioning in a high altitude environment, written by naval aviator frank spig wead who would, himself, be the subject of a later film, john fords the wings of eagles, photographed in glorious technicolor, and teaming top wb draw errol flynn with two legendary actors, fred macmurray and ralph bellamy. In that time, many of you have generously donated to our.
The sbd was the united states navys main carrierbased scout dive bomber from mid1940 through mid1944. I put together this video at the request of an enthusiastic youtube viewer. Has some vintage aircraft and metropolitan airport scenes, today known as van nuys. The douglas sbd dauntless is a world war ii american naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by douglas aircraft from 1940 through 1944. Almost six thousand of these planes were built during the period as they were fairly vital to the allied victories in the pacific. Many of the tophatter aircraft were repainted from a colorful scheme to plain gray during the course of filming. The north american a36 apache listed in some sources as invader, but also called mustang was the groundattack dive bomber version of the north american p51 mustang, from which it could be distinguished by the presence of rectangular, slatted dive brakes above and below the wings.
It had a shortlived career, however, and did not become an enduring feature of war. Some american weapons fell short of expectations, however. Historic douglas sbd dauntless dive bomber youtube. The douglas sbd dauntless was the mainstay of the us navys dive bomber fleet for much of world war ii 19391945. Released 1941, dive bomber stars errol flynn, fred macmurray, ralph bellamy, alexis smith the movie has a runtime of about 2 hr min, and received a score of out of 100 on metacritic, which. I think that i saw an f4f3 in there but us navy is not my forte. Nov 07, 2019 the schedule includes a lot of popular favorites, but the most interesting entry this year might be the 1941 movie dive bomber. Briefly, an early model had been tested in the spanish civil war of 1937 and found useful. The roc was envisioned as a mobile observation post, engaging fleet shadowing aircraft that could report on ship movements whilst staying beyond the range of aa guns, or breaking up incoming torpedo and dive bomber attacks.
Excellent illustration of the livid color schemes applied to pre war us naval aircraft. Dive bomber is a movie that seems like it could be based on a true story, but the problem is its just not that entertaining of a story or film. Dive bomber 1941 official trailer errol flynn, fred macmurray movie hd a military surgeon teams with a ranking navy flyer to develop a highaltitude suit which will protect pilots from blacking out when they go into a steep dive. The tactic dated from an experimental allied sortie in world war i. Color movie with clips of rare, pre war vought sb2u vindicator and grumman f3f aircraft. The stuka was outdated shortly after the war started but it gets my two thumbs up for being the most feared by its fear factor alone. Douglas a24 banshee dive bomber reconnaissance aircraft. Vindicators still remained in service at the time of the battle of midway, but by 1943, all had been withdrawn to training units. The film is notable for both its technicolor photography of preworld war ii united states navy aircraft and as a historical document of the u. In fact, as a training base with many novice flyers struggling to learn how to fly, as depicted in the movie, this amount of spurious air activity overhead would be a dangerous flight safety situation. Fairey albacore torpedo dive bomber royal air force, royal navy fairey barracuda dive bomber. One notable example was a dive bomber developed by curtiss for the u. Doctrinally, dive bombers of both navies usually worked in close coordination with torpedo bombers and in many cases with level bombers and even highaltitude bombers. Battle of midway dive bomber pilot with direct hits on two.
What is fascinating about dive bomber is the planes and the scenery. The vultee a31 vengeance was the dive bomber of the allies. Selfsealing fuel tanks were a must as was armoring for selfpreservation of crew and aircraft. Tophatter squadron aircraft appearing in the movie, dive bomber.
This page is a related page to the warships of the battle of midway. Jan 12, 2020 id take the douglas sbd dauntless, with aichi d3a and junkers 87 not far behind. Various air to ground from aeroplane shots of bullets hitting ground targets. Like most older movies, dive bomber must be viewed in its historical context and not judged by the movie viewing standards of today. By and large, the aircraft that operated from the u. Im a fan of the old movies and a huge lover of aviation, so this purchase was made to have in the collection. Dive bomber, in early military aircraft, a plane that was designed to dive directly at a target, release bombs at low altitude, level off abruptly, and depart. Two short years ago we created this message box on our home page, asking for your help to keep this site up and running. Smithsonian channel if youve seen the new epic world war ii movie. Produced between 1940 and 1944, the aircraft was adored by its flight crews which praised its ruggedness, dive performance, maneuverability, and heavy armament. Dedicated to identifying aircraft throughout movies, television, and video games. Its not the most hemanly endorsement imaginable, but dive bomber must be the prettiest aviation movie ever made.
Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order 1toz. Here is a list of aircraft used by the british royal air force, royal navy fleet air arm, army air corps and british overseas airways corporation boac. She was the nemesis of the fascist army in the pacific. Nov 08, 2019 dive bomber norman dusty kleiss scored two hits on two different japanese carriers in one day at the battle of midway. Histories naval aviation histories naval aircraft scoutdive bomber aircraft. Ww2 dive bomber aircraft 19391945 military factory. The planes of the movie dive bomber yellowwings decals n 48050 1. The best dive bomber during world war ii while i think that the sbd dauntless was not only the best dive bomber but it certainly made the most important contribution to the usa in the pacific.
It continued its development of fighter, dive bomber and torpedo bomber aircraft. Ww2 dive bomber aircraft 19391945 aviation aerospace for a time, the dedicated dive bomber represented one of the greatest threats to land and seabased targets. Petty and firstflew in prototype form on february 9th, 1937, saw series introduction in november of 1938 and fought on until 1941 by which time it was made obsolete as a frontline solution. Dive bombers and combat aircraft of world war ii video. New single seat aircraft the usn eventually settling on the douglas ad skyraider series could handle both jobs, though the ads final reputation was made as the a1 bomb hauler, serving well into the viet nam years. An absolute must see for the prewar us naval aircraft buff. Errol flynn, fred macmurray, and ralph bellamy top the cast, but the real star is technicolorin particular, a special monopack developed to take the color process airborne without the cumbrous threestrip cameras used in the studios. It was known as the chesapeake in royal navy service. Fred mcmurray who did a lot of disney movies does a great job portraying life as a naval aviator in 1941. Normally errol flynn would have been the test pilot and visiting from paramount fred macmurray would be the doctor. While the supposed star of the movie is the vindicator sb2u dive bomber, these were replaced by more capable douglas sbd dauntless dive bombers by the time pearl harbor was attacked later in the same year this film was produced.
The scenes on the flight line at north island naval air station frequently show mass flyovers of aircraft, done no doubt for the movie cameras. The film is notable for both its technicolor photography of pre world war ii united states navy aircraft and as a historical document of the u. The northrop bt was a twoseat, single engine monoplane dive bomber built by the northrop corporation for the united states navy. Due to the advent of airtoground rockets, the sb2c was the last purposebuilt dive bomber produced. In short, for the usa it would be the dauntless, for japan the d3a, for germany and italy the stuk.
Mar 23, 20 i just watched the old movie dive bomber made in 1941 starring errol flynn and fred mcmurray. This movie is a fun story, plus an important piece of history. The men who made that history were the aviators of the navy and marine scout and bombing squadrons, and their war horse was the douglas sdb dauntless dive bomber. After hitler invaded poland in 1940 the stuka was used as a ground attack aircraft. The movie was first released to the world in the usa during august 1941.
Unused unissued material dates and locations unclear or unknown. This was just a few months before the attack on pearl harbor on 7th december 1941. The sbd is best remembered as the bomber that delivered the fatal blows to the japanese carriers at the battle of midway in june 1942. Nov 25, 2012 the dedicated torpedo plane and the dedicated dive bomber became a thing of the past. The real heroes of this film are the douglas tbd devestator torpedo bombers the ones with the big rounded tail surfaces, and the long graceful canopy. As with other american dive bombers of the period, the aircraft featured perforated dive brakes along its wing trailing edges to slow its drop when attacking. Ww2 dive bomber aircraft 19391945 aviation aerospace for a time, the dedicated dive bomber represented one of the greatest threats to land and seabased targets principally showcased in world war 2. Dive bomber is a 1941 american aviation film directed by michael curtiz and starring errol flynn and fred macmurray. If the plot was just a little less hokey and had used fewer of the cliched plot devices of the era, then i would have given it 5 stars. The vultee vengeance the allied wwii dive bomber developed. The sbd scout bomber douglas was the united states navys main carrierbased scout dive bomber from mid1940 through mid1944. How many are seen in the action and in the background scenes. Navys aircraft carriers after 1942 were markedly superior to their japanese counterparts.
It proved to be a formidable weapon in the pacific against the japanese naval forces. Chiefly the story of the evolution of the ju87, germanys feared stuka dive bomber. Americas deadly world war ii bomber that was slow but deadly marine and navy bomber pilots made history in the douglas sbd dauntless dive bomber, fondly known as. Blackburn skua b24 twinseat, singleengine dive bomber. This is the only film i know which features the uss enterprise aircraft carrier cv5 air group operations in color. Curtiss bf2c goshawks us navy photo as the united states navy built up its carrier force in the mid to late 1930s it continued to develop aircraft specifically designed to operate from aircraft carriers.
The new world war ii movie midway puts its focus on the heroic. This allows attacks on point targets and ships, which were difficult to attack with conventional level bombers, even en masse. Dec 14, 2016 dive bombers were extremely accurate for the time, being able to score directly on a moving tank, a narrow bridge, or a ship. The planes of the movie dive bomber, yellowwings decals 48050. The bomb gets the parent velocity and direction of the plane at the timing of the drop, which means where your plane poin. In that time, many of you have generously donated to our paypal account and we are forever grateful. Errol flynn does a great job and so does fred mcmurray.
I just watched the old movie dive bomber made in 1941 starring errol flynn and fred mcmurray. Because the defensive measures that ships took against each type of attacking aircraft were. That pt22 posing as an raf fighter is something else again. The battle of midway, a dive bombers perspective youtube. Dive bomber anchors a stellar veterans day schedule on. The time has come for my aviation movie post on dive bomber, about which i have written before in a different light only six years after devil dogs of the air, dive bomber provides a another snapshot of naval aviation in san diego, shortly before the pearl harbor attack. Jul 01, 2014 the battle of midway presentation for the tailhook convention, reno, nevada, 2011. At the end of the movie, errol flynn places a plaque on what is supposed to be fred macmurrays air group 3 dive bomber, but it is a red tailed plane from the uss yorktowns air group 5. Navy pilots to their new sb2c helldiver, a carrierbased dive bomber aircraft produced for the us navy. Like zeus splitting lightning from the sky, she came down from the sky, with fierce dive, lightning like bombs, thunder like roar and accurate destruction of the enemy. Coming attractions for you 2020s most anticipated movies. Glide bombing is a similar technique using shallower dive angles that does not require a sharp pullup after droppi. Id take the douglas sbd dauntless, with aichi d3a and junkers 87 not far behind. Diving towards the target simplifies the bombs trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact throughout the bomb run.
At the time, northrop was a subsidiary of the douglas aircraft company. It was the subject of considerable exploration in the 1920s by u. The two men must get past their personal differences in order to conduct the. Dusty scored the second hit, which ultimately sent this, the fourth japanese aircraft. Made during wwii by curtiss, this film was created to introduce u. How more accurate were dive bombers compared to regular ww2. Dive bomber takes for granted the fact that very shortly the usa will be in a shooting war. The blackburn skua b 24 was a preworld war 2 naval carriercapable twoseat, singleengine dive bomber fighter design of britain. Flag images indicative of country of origin and not necessarily the primary operator. Dive bomber norman dusty kleiss scored two hits on two different japanese carriers in one day at the battle of midway. The film actually seems like a overlong newsreel about the importance of aviation and its safety. But if you enjoy tween the wars aircraft and ww2 bombers, you get a real kick watching all the aircraft footage. Taken by itself, dive bomber is a routine tale of the efforts of navy doctors to find solutions to major issues facing aviators countering the effect of gforce on pilots, and functioning in a high altitude environment, written by naval aviator frank spig wead who would, himself, be the subject of a later film, john fords the wings of. All the warplanes featured in dive bomber were introduced in those six years, and most would soon be obsolete.
This is a scene from the film dive bomber, which shows how uss enterprise cv6 appeared in 1940 and early 41. Mar 01, 2008 this is a scene from the film dive bomber, which shows how uss enterprise cv6 appeared in 1940 and early 41. The sbd was also flown by the united states marine corps, both from land air bases and aircraft carriers. Americas deadly world war ii bomber that was slow but deadly marine and navy bomber pilots made history in the douglas sbd dauntless dive bomber, fondly known as slow.
Produced with full cooperation of the naval air corps, dive bomber was filmed on location at the navys air stations in san diego and pensacola, and aboard the aircraft carrier enterprise. There are a total of 15 battle of midway aircraft june 47, 1942 entries in the military factory. Dive bomber 1941 stream and watch online moviefone. The vought sb2u vindicator is an american carrierbased dive bomber developed for the united states navy in the 1930s, the first monoplane in this role. The douglas sbd dauntless divebomber warfare history. A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. This had more impact in the pacific war than any other allied or japanese dive bomber. My answer will discuss those three, plus a few other dive bombers.
What is unusual is the reverse casting in dive bomber. The planes of the movie dive bomber, yellowwings decals. Visually exciting wwii drama about two naval officers who are trying to understand and prevent altitude sickness. May 05, 20 the dive bomber was flying a straight course or nearly so, aiming corrections not evasive maneuvers in the dive, after bomb release and from the start of the pullout the plane pretty much continued on course with pilot greying out if not momentarily blacking out so any evasive maneuvers are going to be minimal at best.
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