The -5 chapter does conclude with some excellent color photographs of surviving Commemorative Air Force and Planes of Fame Air Museum airframes in flight and on the ground. They provide some definite inspiration for those looking to recreate something out of the ordinary for their model builds. The next two chapters for the SBD-4 and SBD-5 are mostly relegated to wartime black and white and color photographs, but as before- many are new to me. Included in both of these chapters are images centering around the Battle of Midway- some known and some new to me. The subsequent chapter on the SBD-3 follows the same format. The chapter concludes with fourteen color walk-around photos of the SBD-2 from the National Museum of Naval Aviation. The -2 chapter provides excellent close up black and white interior photos of all areas, as well as clear black and white and color images of these models in wartime shots. What you do get instead of shots of the exterior from various angles, as well as some excellent color photos illustrating the various paint schemes indicative of the -1, from the initial natural finish pre-war scheme to the change to the light gray camouflage paint of the early war. The SBD-1 chapter doesn’t show interior images other than the tunnel that the rear gunner would stow the rear single. Each chapter of each variant provides a description of the features significant to each one-including the modifications that were made in each successive model. The fact that the book contains so many photos I have never seen makes things even that much better.Īfter a brief introduction highlighting the development of the prototypes for the Dauntless, including some clear shots of the XBT-1 and XBT-2, we get chapters that break down each variant of the SBD- the -1, -2, -3, -4, -5, and -6, as well as an excellent chapter on the Army version of the Dauntless- the A-24 Banshee. The fact that his expertise could be married to the Slow but Deadly in the form of a new book on this truly significant dive bomber makes me truly happy. For as long as I have been modeling, I have also come to appreciate David Doyle’s excellent reference books on all matters of military subjects and they have become a go-to source whenever I wanted to learn more. In these 20+ years, I have collected any book on my favorite aircraft as I could grab up. I have been interested in the SBD Dauntless for as long as I have been modeling.
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