Military Aviation Museum Welcomes Douglas SBD Dauntless to Collection
From March 1 through 31 the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach will be displaying a Douglas SBD Dauntless in pre-restoration condition before it starts undergoing a multi-year restoration. The aircraft was recovered from Lake Michigan where it had rested in 177 feet of water since a training accident on January 20, 1944. The pilot, who had been attempting a landing on the training carrier USS Wolverine, survived the accident with just a few deep cuts to his forehead.
The Dauntless was the principal American dive bomber through much of World War II. On Saturday, March 27 at 1:00 p.m. Taras Lyssenko of A and T Recovery will speak about “The Rescue of the Once Lost World War II Navy Aircraft from Lake Michigan.”