This
new decal sheet f rom
Yellow
Hammer Decals includes markings for seven
different Navy and Marine 1/32 SBD-1/2/3 Dauntless's from 1941-1943.
The
first aircraft is a SBD-3 flown flown by LTJG Stanley "Swede"
Vejtasa with VS-5 from the USS Yorktown during the Battle of the Coral
Sea on May 8th 1942. The paint scheme for this aircraft is Blue Gray on
the tops and sides and Light Gray on the underside and red and white
horizontal stripes on the rudder. The number for this aircraft is
black 10.
The
second aircraft is a
SBD-2 flown by CDR Howard Young, Commander of the Enterprise Air Group
at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7 1941. The paint scheme for this aircraft is
Blue Gray on the tops and sides and Light Gray on the underside. On
the sides of the rear fuselage are the words "Commander of the
Enterprise
Air Group".
In late Sept 1941 CDR
Howard Young flew Lord Louis Mountbatten over Pearl Harbor during war
games simulating a bombing
attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Pacific Fleet. On Dec 7 Young flew
from the Enterprise to land at Ford Island during the Pearl Harbor
attack on Dec
7 1941 receiving fire from both sides with 5 of his aircraft being shot
down.
Click on
images below to see larger images
The
third
aircraft is a SBD-3 flown by LTJG William E. Hall VS-2, USS Lexington at the
Battle of the Coral Sea on May 8th 1942. The paint scheme for this aircraft is Blue Gray on
the tops and sides and Light Gray on the underside and red and white
horizontal stripes on the rudder and a red and white prop spinner. The
number for this aircraft is white S-8. LTJG William E. Hall received a
Medal of Honor for his actions in this aircraft.
The
fourth
aircraft is a SBD-3 from the USS Ranger during Operation Torch in November
1942. The paint scheme for this aircraft is
Blue Gray on the tops and sides and Light Gray on the underside. The
number for this aircraft is black 41-S-16. There
are Black Magic painting masks included for masking and painting the
yellow surround on the fuselage and wings around the national insignia. A
"top hat" artwork decal is also included for possible inclusion on the
right side of the canopy frame.
The
fifth
aircraft is a SBD-3 with VS-3 from NAS Oakland. The paint scheme for this aircraft is
an experimental camouflage scheme from September 30th 1941 and includes
Green on the tops and sides and Light Gray on the
underside. The number for this aircraft is white 2-S-9.
The
sixth aircraft is a
SBD-2 WMSB-232 from Ewa Mooring Mast Field on the Territory of Hawaii on
Dec 7 1941. The paint scheme for this aircraft is overall light
Gray. The
number for this aircraft is white 2-B-6.
The
seventh aircraft is a
SBD-1 WMSB-232 from Ewa Mooring Mast Field on the Territory of Hawaii on Dec 7
1941. The paint scheme for this aircraft is overall light Gray. The
number for this aircraft is white 2-MB-2. Although this
aircraft never got airborne during the Dec 7 1941 attack, the rear gunners were
manned by MTSgt Emil S. Peters. Pvt William C. Turner repeatedly ran to
fetch ammunition for the guns and he eventually suffered wounds for his actions
and passed away a few days later. TSgt William C. Turnage ran to take
his pales to supply the ammunition. A
photo after the attack shows this aircraft with many Japanese bullet
holes.
The instructions are clear
and include 3 views of each aircraft and an extra 2 pages of text
instructions with a small bit of info about six of the planes as well as
helpful tips for decal application and line drawings showing stencil
placement. The decals are beautifully printed on 3 decal sheets. One
complete set of stencils is included along with a tail hook stripe decal and
prop tip stripes in decal form.
You also get painting masks for
painting the yellow border on the 4th aircraft mentioned above.
A
very nice decal sheet that captures this often forgotten aircraft
that turned the tide of the War in the Pacific.
I
would like to thank
Yellow
Hammer Decals for providing me with this review sample.
Steve
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