07/31/2019. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "Derived from the Northrop BT-1, the Douglas SBD Dauntless was the USN's main dive-bomber from 1940 until late 1943.

Prototype of the SBD was a production Northrop BT-1, redesignated XBT-2 for development purposes. By the time this machine had undergone engine and structural changes that made it virtually a new aircraft, while also the Northrop company had become the El Segundo Division of Douglas. It was therefore logical to give the new scout- and dive-bomber a Douglas, rather than Northrop, identity in its production form as SBD. Power plant was a 750 hp Wright R-1820-32 Cyclone nine-cylinder, single row, air-cooled radial engine. Armament consisted of two forward firing 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns and either one or two rear flexible-mount 0.30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns.

Production orders were placed on April 8, 1939, for 57 SBD-1s, BuNos. 1596 to 1631 and 1735 to 1755 (c/n 549 to 605). These were sent to USMC units, starting with Marine Bombing Squadron 2 (VMB-2 "Red Devils") late in 1940 and VMB-1 in 1941. On July 1, 1941 the squadrons became Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 232 (VMSB-232) and 132 (VMSB-132) respectively.

The pictured SBD-1 was delivered to VMB-2 at NAS San Diego, California, and it became the Squadron Commander's personal aircraft. On January 21, 1941, VMB-2 arrived with twenty SBD-1s at Ewa, Oahu, Hawaii, on board the USS Enterprise (CV 6). During the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, the pictured was one of the nine SBD-1s destroyed, out of the squadron's nineteen present."