Diecast Aircraft Information

MetalWings Diecast Aircraft Reference by Dauntless Aviation

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series
HA0165
Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless
"VB-16" USS Lexington, 1943

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

SBD-5 Specifications

Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Company

Crew: 2 (pilot, observer/gunner)

Dimensions
Length: 33’ 1”   (10.0m)
Height: 13’ 7”   (4.1m)
Wingspan: 41’ 6”   (12.6m)
Wing area: 325.0 sq. ft.   (30.0 sq. m)

Weights
Empty weight: 6,404 lb   (2,905 kg)
Gross weight: 10, 676 lb   (4,853 kg

Performance
Powerplant: 1 X Wright R-1820-60 1,200 hp
Range: 1,115 miles   (1,795 km)
Cruising speed: 185 mph   (298 km/h)   (161 kt)
Maximum speed: 255 mph   (410 km/h)   (221 kt)
Climb rate: 1,700 ft/min   (518 m/min)
Ceiling: 25,530 ft   (7,780 m)

Armament
2 X 0.50 inch MGs in upper nose
2 X 0.30 inch movable MGs rearward firing from rear cockpit
up to 2,250 lb of bombs – 1 X 1,600 lb or 1,000 center-line bomb – 2 X 325 lb under wing

USMC VB-16 consisted of 36 Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless operating from the USS
Lexington from September 1943 – June 1944. Starting in June 1943 the aircraft carried
the new tri-color national insignia with a red surround with false gun ports painted on the
wings leading edges. However in mid September 1943 the red surround slowly began to
be replaced by Insignia Blue. In November 1943 the U.S. Marines began their assault on
the Gilbert Islands and the SBD-5’s of VB-16 took part with some still wearing the red
surround.

General information about the SBD-5
The SBD-5 Dauntless was the best variant built with 2,965 aircraft being built. Even with
its upgrades there was one major stumbling block for this plane and that was its lack of
folding wings. As the USN built more and more carriers for their offensive against Japan
this problem became even larger. So after the invasion of the Marianna’s the USN SBDs
were assigned to secondary land based operations where they spent the rest of WWII.

THE DIVE BRAKES ARE
PERMANENTLY IN THE
OPEN POSITION

This new site is being updated regularly and it will be much improved before too long. Please be patient, give it time, and check back regularly. Opportunities for community collaboration are in the works for a little further down the road.

This is not a retail site. You cannot buy models here.

Thanks to Dauntless Aviation for providing web hosting and other support for this site. Real or sim pilot? Check out their stuff!

This is not an official site of any manufacturer or retailer. Information provided here may be incomplete or in error. Use at your own risk.

This is not an "advice" site. Please do not contact us asking about these models. Please contact a manufacturer or retailer with your questions or comments.

Please update your links!

Update HomePage links from the HMC website to either www.MetalWings.com or, preferably, www.dauntless-soft.com/MetalWings.
Update your page links to this page from HMCwebsite/HA0165.html to http://www.dauntless-soft.com/MetalWings/HA0165.asp

This site will be modified over time. We are well aware of its many issues, including missing images and bad formatting.