Why was dive bombing so effective?

Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb’s trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact throughout the bomb run. This allows attacks on point targets and ships, which were difficult to attack with conventional level bombers, even en masse.

How accurate is dive bombing?

Compared to level bombing, dive bombing provided vastly greater accuracy against a moving ship. As aircraft performance improved, greater loads were possible, and typically SBDs dropped 500- and 1,000-pound bombs from about 1,500 feet in 60- to 70-degree dives.

Was the Dauntless a good plane?

During its combat service, the SBD proved to be an excellent naval scout plane and dive bomber. It possessed long range, good handling characteristics, maneuverability, potent bomb load, great diving characteristics from the perforated dive brakes, good defensive armament, and ruggedness.

What is the most useful dive bombing tactic?

Dive attack of a Stuka during the Battle of Britain. The steep-dive attack was one of the most accurate ways of bombing.

What is dive angle?

A dive or nosedive is “a steep descending flight path”. The aircraft would then dive at a 60-90° angle, holding a constant speed of 500 to 600 km/h (270 to 320 kn; 310 to 370 mph), until it had gone some 90% of the way to the ground, releasing its bombs at a minimum height of 450 m (1,480 ft).

What replaced the Dauntless dive-bomber?

Helldiver
The Helldiver was developed to replace the Douglas SBD Dauntless. It was a much larger aircraft, able to operate from the latest aircraft carriers and carry a considerable array of armament.

Was the dauntless a good plane?

What does dive bomber mean?

Definition of ‘dive bomber’. dive bomber. You can refer to a plane that flies down low over a place in order to drop bombs on it as a dive bomber.

What was the first dive bomber?

The dive bomber as a distinct type of aircraft was a product of tests undertaken during the 1920s by the U.S. Navy. These demonstrated the advantages of bombing the lightly armoured upper decks of warships and resulted in the appearance of the first real dive bomber, the Curtiss F8C Helldiver, in 1929.

What is a dive bomber?

A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb’s trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact throughout the bomb run.

What is a German dive bomber?

The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from Sturzkampfflugzeug, “dive bomber”) was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe ‘s Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War and served the Axis forces in World War II.