The venerable Dauntless SBD, at the battle of the Coral Sea...
This one was flown by Lieutenant John Leppla during the battle in early 1942.
With his rear gunner D. K. Liska, they took off from the U.S.S. Lexington on the bombing mission that sunk the Japanese Carrier Shoho…the first major enemy ship sunk in WW2
”Scratch one Flat-top!” came the radio call, but Lt. Leppa also shot down four Japanese planes on that mission, while his rear gunner got another three himself.
The next day, when not enough fighters were available to defend the American Carriers from a Japanese counter-attack, Dauntless SBD’s were sent up as a desperate defensive screen…
Lt. Leppla dove into the formation of enemy torpedo planes headed for the Lexington... He shot down three of them, before saving the life of a fellow Dauntless pilot caught by a Zero. Flaming this one, his fourth kill of the battle, made for 11 air-to-air victories in less than 48 hours from old number 12. Astounding.
Swede Vejtasa of the Yorktown found himself in similar straights...his SBD was being stalked by 3 Zeros, but he managed to bag them all.
Considering the Zero outclassed American FIGHTERS of the day, these were stunning air-to-air victories for a plane never designed for it.
While the Lady Lex was eventually sunk and the Yorktown badly damaged, the tough old SBD Dauntless would again prove its worth at Midway.
Enjoy
This one was flown by Lieutenant John Leppla during the battle in early 1942.
With his rear gunner D. K. Liska, they took off from the U.S.S. Lexington on the bombing mission that sunk the Japanese Carrier Shoho…the first major enemy ship sunk in WW2
”Scratch one Flat-top!” came the radio call, but Lt. Leppa also shot down four Japanese planes on that mission, while his rear gunner got another three himself.
The next day, when not enough fighters were available to defend the American Carriers from a Japanese counter-attack, Dauntless SBD’s were sent up as a desperate defensive screen…
Lt. Leppla dove into the formation of enemy torpedo planes headed for the Lexington... He shot down three of them, before saving the life of a fellow Dauntless pilot caught by a Zero. Flaming this one, his fourth kill of the battle, made for 11 air-to-air victories in less than 48 hours from old number 12. Astounding.
Swede Vejtasa of the Yorktown found himself in similar straights...his SBD was being stalked by 3 Zeros, but he managed to bag them all.
Considering the Zero outclassed American FIGHTERS of the day, these were stunning air-to-air victories for a plane never designed for it.
While the Lady Lex was eventually sunk and the Yorktown badly damaged, the tough old SBD Dauntless would again prove its worth at Midway.
Enjoy
