I am in the mood to build Accurate Miniature's Dauntless, as a USAAF A-24. Is there a good online resource for showing the specific detail differences from the USN/USMC version - such as the tailwheel, the area where the arrestor hook "was no longer" and etc? How about colors? Was the interior of the dive brakes painted red on the Army versions? And was the A-24 ever deployed to Europe and/or North Africa (i.e., any possible color schemes besides OD and Gray?)
Thanks
The A-24s alternated with the SBD-3s on the El Segundo production line so I can't imagine that the internal colors differed between the two.
And I think you're pretty much stuck with OD and Gray. 42-54322 was natural metal but that was an A-24B which had a different cowling than the A-24s.
Although for something really different, you could build one of the A-24s used by Multnomah County as mosquito spraying aircraft postwar. I believe Barrett Tillman's book has a photo of those a/c.
Cheers,
Bert Kinzey's book on the SBD would cover A-24/SBD differences. The only combat for the A-24 I know of is in the South Pacific on New Guinea. The book "TheGrim Reapers, Story of the 3rd Bomb Group has accounts of them flying the A-24.
Some made it to Java, where they were shot to pieces along with the other Allied air forces in the NEI. An A-24 group, the 27th BG (L) was supposed to be in the Philippines, but only the personnel had made it prior to 8 Dec 41, the planes being diverted to Australia. A few lucky pilots from the 27th were evac'd to Australia to pick up their birds, with the hope of flying back to the Philippines. Some made it to Java, others to New Guinea.
That sounds intriguing.
I read that a few A-24s were actually in AAF/USAF service until 1950, as the F-24. Any idea how these post-war planes may have been painted and marked?
I can't find any pics but the Buzz Code was 'AA'. If it was carried on the fuselage side it would have looked like AA-XXX, the Xs being the last three digits of its serial number.
Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.
Buzz Code would have been "AA" before 1948 and "FA" afterwards. The system came about around the time of the end of the War.
Aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu indicates that the post-war Banshees were modified into drones and drone-director planes. Since they had post-war serial numbers, it's likely they were built as Navy Dauntlesses, drawn from surplus stocks, and modified to that purpose...more than likely going through a repaint while in depot. If it were my idea, I'd paint the drone version in a scheme rather like the RP-63 "Pinball" Kingcobra's, bright yellow or orange "shoot-me-I-dare-you!" colors. Not sure if the director planes had a special scheme of their own. Chances they were also high-visibility too.
Stephen "FPilot" Bierce/IPMS #35922 {Sig Quotes Removed on Request}
came about around the time of the end of the War.
According to Fahey, FA was used on the 'F-38' (P-38) until 1949 after which it was assigned to the F-94 series.
Best investment of $1.50 I ever made back in '66.
Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.
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