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USMC Douglas SBD Dauntless Dive-Bomber - Major Christian Lee, VMS-3 "Devilbirds," Virgin Islands, 1944 (1:72 Scale)
USMC Douglas SBD Dauntless Dive-Bomber - Major Christian Lee, VMS-3 Devilbirds, Virgin Islands, 1944

Oxford Diecast USMC Douglas SBD Dauntless Dive-Bomber - Major Christian Lee, VMS-3 'Devilbirds,' Virgin Islands, 1944




 
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Product Code: OXFAC022

Description Extended Information
 
Oxford AC022 USMC Douglas SBD Dauntless Dive-Bomber - Major Christian Lee, VMS-3 "Devilbirds," Virgin Islands, 1944 (1:72 Scale) "Why should we have a navy at all? There are no enemies for it to fight except apparently the Army Air Force."
- General Carl Spaatz, Commander of the US 8th Army Air Force, after WWII

The Dauntless was the standard shipborne dive-bomber of the US Navy from mid-1940 until November 1943, when the first Curtiss Helldivers arrived to replace it. Between 1942-43, the Dauntless was pressed into service again and again, seeing action in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Guadalcanal campaign. It was, however, at the Battle of Midway, that the Dauntless came into its own, singlehandedly destroying four of the Imperial Japanese Navy's frontline carriers. The SBD (referred to, rather affectionately by her aircrews, as "Slow But Deadly") was gradually phased out during 1944. The June 20th, 1944 strike against the Japanese Mobile Fleet, known as the Battle of the Philippine Sea, was the last major engagement in which it was used. From 1942 to 1944, the SBD was also used by several land-based Marine Corps squadrons.

Built as a two-seat, low-wing Navy scout bomber, the Dauntless was powered by a single Wright R1820 1200-horsepower engine. It became the mainstay of the Navy's air fleet in the Pacific, suffering the lowest loss ratio of any U.S. carrier-borne aircraft. A total of 5,936 SBDs were delivered to the Navy and Marine Corps between 1940 and the end of its production, in July 1944.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a USMC Douglas SBD Dauntless dive-bomber that was piloted by Major Christian Lee, who was attached to VMS-3 "Devilbirds," then deployed to the US Virgin Islands during 1944. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 6-1/2-inches
Length: 5-inches

Release Date: June 2012

Historical Account: "Guarding the Caribbean" - There were three Marine Scouting Squadrons prior to World War II; however, VMS-3 was the only squadron to retain the designation. The squadron served in Haiti from 1919 through 1934 and then spent its last ten years at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. During World War II they were the only Marine Corps squadron to operate east of the United States. They began the war flying the Grumman J2F Duck, transitioned to the OS2N Kingfisher and at the time of deactivation were flying SBD Dauntless dive bombers.

Features
  • Diecast construction
  • Spinning propeller
  • Accurate markings and insignia

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