As beautifully as the SBD performed during WWII, its critics point out that it was already obsolescent by the start of the war, and the Navy brass concurred; the Helldiver completely supplanted ...

What kept the SBD in service throughout the war was it's versatility and delays in getting the Helldiver into service. Even so, SBDs went from half of all carrier aircraft in mid 1942 to about six ...