@ Santa Rosa, CA
September 2016
Among the warbirds flying at the Wings Over Wine Country Airshow was this SBD (Scout Bomber Douglas) dive bomber, the carrier aircraft with the pivotal role winning the Battle of Midway. First flown in 1940, a total of 5,936 SBDs were produced. The last SBD rolled off the assembly lines at the Douglas Aircraft plant in El Segundo, California, on 21 July 1944. In 1958, Planes of Fame founder Ed Maloney obtained the Planes of Fame Air Museum’s SBD Dauntless from a Hollywood film studio, minus its wings. This Dauntless was used in the movie Midway, with Charlton Heston being filmed in the cockpit. Restoration of the SBD by the Museum began in 1982 and was completed in 1987. Nikon D500 w/80-400mm.
