HISTORY
DISTINCTION
The Museum’s SBD-5 is a World War II Combat Veteran that was manufactured in El Segundo, California and delivered on June 18, 1943. Following shipment to Espirito Santo in the combat zone, the aircraft was assigned to the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It flew over 30 combat missions with Squadron 25 off of the South Pacific island of Bougainville. In May 1944, it transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps. For the remainder of the war the aircraft served with six different Marine and U.S. Navy squadrons. After the war, it was sold to Warner Bros., where it appeared in several movies, including the movies Midway and War and Remembrance. It was acquired by the Museum in 1959 and restored to flight in 1987.
SPECIFICATIONS
| Status: Flyable |
| Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Company |
| Year: 1943 |
| Model: SBD-5 Dauntless |
| Registration Number: N670AM |
| Serial Number: 28536 / RNZAF 5062 |
| Crew: 2 |
| Max T/O Weight: 10,700 lb. |
| Span: 41 ft. 6 in. |
| Length: 33 ft. 1 in. |
| Height: 13 ft. 7 in. |
| Maximum Speed: 255 mph |
| Cruise Speed: 185 mph |
| Rate of Climb: 1,700 ft/min |
| Power Plant: 1, 1,200-hp Wright R-1820-60 Cyclone 9-cylinder air-cooled radial engine |
| Range: 1,115 miles |
| Service Ceiling: 25,530 ft. |
| Armament: Two fixed forward firing .50-cal & two flexible .30-cal rear machine guns |
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