|
The story
of the SBD Dauntless number 06624 of the US Navy
|
The story
of the SBD Dauntless number 06624 of the US Navy
Written by Richard Bauer
It was at the bottom of Lake Michigan for 50 years after going off the side of a ship and it looks like it. The Great Lakes are actually an inland fresh-water sea. Something like 20% of all the fresh water on the earth is in them. Lake Michigan is about 100 miles (over 160 km) wide so you can see that it is a big body of water. It is Navy serial number 06624, which is what we usually call it. The zero is significant because of the way the US Navy did its serial numbers. 6624 was a PBM so you have to include the zero. It was accepted late in 1942 (I think it was September) and sent from a base called Roosevelt Base at Long Beach, California to Norfolk, Virginia. Soon it was assigned to Scouting Squadron 41 (VS-41) embarked aboard USS Ranger (CV-4). Ranger was assigned to Operation Torch. 06624 participated in all normal carrier scouting squadron operations such as anti-submarine patrol, scouting, close air support, air defense suppresion, and opposing fleet operations. Because of the outstanding accuracy and effectiveness of Jean Bart's guns, a number of flights were made against it. 06624 participated in the one which opened up the forward end and caused much of the stern damage. It is my belief, based on official records, that 06624 dropped the bomb which opened up the port (left) forward side at main deck level. It still has some of the yellow paint surrounding the fuselage insignia. Soon after Torch, it was reassigned to VGS-29 aboard USS Santee. Santee was an escort carrier converted from a tanker and retained all of its tanker/replenishment oiler capability. Santee had also been at Torch. Afterward, it was sent to Recife, Brazil for operational testing of carrier-centered ASW task groups. The mission included ASW and blockade runner interception. We do not know what particular events 06624 was involved in. Some submarines were intercepted and at least one blockade runner, SS Kota Nopan, was intercepted and scuttled. Unfortunately, a US Navy boarding party was aboard when the charges blew and many were killed. Boarding rules throughout the Navy were changed. Overall, the test was regarded as a great success and CVE-centered operations began in earnest. Santee was sent to the Pacific where it operated as both an escort and fleet unit along with its three sister ships. Depending on which story you accept, it was the first ship or first fleet unit, or first carrier hit by a kamikaze. However, 06624 was close to a year old and the SBD-5 was already in service so 06624 was pulled from fleet operations and operated at Norfolk for a few weeks. We do not know what it did in particular. Then it was sent to NAS Glenview near Chicago, Illinois where the Navy had a Carrier Qualification Training Unit. Two coal-burning paddle-wheel passenger steamers had been converted into aircraft carriers. Both pilots and deck crews were trained in carrier launching and landing. 06624 operated there for about three months before going over the side of USS Wolverine in September of 1943 during a landing accident. The pilot was recovered but the plane (along with over 100 more through the war) was abandoned. Four or five years ago it was salvaged and sent to the Air Zoo by the National Museum of Naval Aviation (the Pensacola museum) for restoration and display. It will not be restored to flying condition since little of the original would be left. The Navy does not fly its museum planes, anyway. However, it will look very good. It will be finished in two years.
number 06624 'ships :
Class name/
Type Ranger - attack
carrier Photo Hull number/
Name(s) CV-4 Ranger Length 768. 96 ft Width 80 ft Draught 19. 42 ft Displacement 14 500 t Weapons height 127 mm guns ; 80
aircraft Power 53 500 hp Speed 29. 5 kts Crew 1 788 Range - Datas building began on September
26 1931 - launched on February 25th 1933 - Commissioned on
June 4th 1934
Class name/
Type Sangamon - escort
carrier Photo Hull number/
Name(s) CVE-26 Sangamon CVE-27 Suwanee CVE-28 Chenango CVE-29 Santee Length 552. 98 ft Width 74. 96 m Draught 30. 51 m Displacement 24 275 t Armement 1/ 2 127 mm guns ; height 40
mm guns; fifteen 20 mm guns ; 35 aircraft Weapons 13 500 hp Speed 18 kts Crew 1 000 Range - Datas launched on May 31st 1938 -
commissioned on October 30th 1940
USS Wolverine (IX-64) & USS Sable (IX-81)
Class name/
Type IX-81 Sable - training
carrier Photo Hull number/
Name(s) IX-64 Wolverine IX-81 Sable Length 534. 97 ft Width 58 ft Daught 15. 45 ft Displacement 6 564 t Weapons - Power 12 000 hp Speed 18 kts Crew 300 Range - Datas IX-64 Wolverine = built in
1912 IX-81 Sable = built in 1923
- bought on August 7th 1942 - commissioned on May 8th 1943 -
scrapped on July 7th 1948
