County of dispay: Escambia County
Location of display: Radford Blvd, NAS Pensacola, Pensacola
Director: Capt. Sterling Gilliam, Jr
Phone: 850-452-3604
ONE WARBIRD'S TALE
"The SBD-2 Dauntless Dive-bomber, Bureau Number (BuNo) 2106, at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla., is an airplane with a story to tell
"Originally assigned to a Navy squadron, the Dauntless was in a hanger on Ford Island when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. As luck would have it, the aircraft was not damaged, and shortly thereafter, was loaded on board USS Lexington (CV-2), bound for the South Pacific. On March 10, 1942, Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade Mark T. Whittier and his rear gunner Aviation Radioman Second Class Forest G. Stanley flew BuNo 2106 in a daring raid against enemy shipping in the area of New Guinea for which LTJG Whittier later received the Navy Cross.
"The Dauntless was then transferred to Marine Scout Bombing Squadron (VMSB) 241, arriving on Midway Atoll in late May 1942, only days before the Battle of Midway.
"With First Lieutenant Daniel Iverson as the pilot and Private First Class Wallace Reid as rear gunner, BuNo 2106 was one of 16 SBD-2s of VMSB-241 that attacked the approaching enemy force during the Battle of Midway. 'The Marine scout-bomber pilots and aircrewmen of VMSB-241 made determined attacks on enemy shipping with great losses.' said Hill Goodspeed, the historian for the National naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla. The enemy also inflicted significant damage - BuNo 2106 was one of only eight of the squadron's SBD-2s to survive the battle.
"Some of the holes caused by enemy rounds are visible in the photo of the airplane (in gallery) taken on Midway Atoll, June 4, 1942. 1stLt Iverson, pictured standing on the wing on his battle-damaged Dauntless, was the recipient of the Navy Cross for his actions at Midway and his gunner, PFC Reid, received the Distinguished Flying Cross. (Each Marine later received the Silver Star for their actions in the skies over Guadalcanal).
"After the Battle of Midway, BuNo 2106 was returned to the United States, where it was repaired and assigned to the carrier qualification training unit at Glenview, Ill. On June 11, 1943, during an unsuccessful approach to the training carrier USS Sable (IX-81), the pilot of the aircraft lost power and had to ditch the Dauntless in Lake Michigan.
"After being submerged for 50 years, the aircraft was recovered from the lake's cold water in 1994 and following extensive restoration, is now on display at the National naval Aviation Museum." ~ Leatherneck, by Nancy S. Lichtman, January 2020