Prior to World War 2 (1939-1945), United States military aviation doctrine centered primarily on gaining complete air superiority over the enemy with a sound stock of "pursuit" fighters meeting the enemy head on. A secondary focus was provided to lightweight bomb delivery platforms and those that did emerge during the prewar period were typically shipped overseas to foreign customers like France, Britain, and the Dutch. However, all that changed when the Germans - through their Blitzkrieg of Western Europe - showcased the dive bomber in terrifying fashion through its shrieking Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka". The aircraft rained ordnance down on key targets and troop formations ahead of the main invading force - softening areas prior to involvement of ground elements. As such, the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) quickly shifted its focus to acquiring strike platforms for the dive bombing role all its own.
Army officials preferred to stay away from more complex twin-engined designs and favored development of a single-engine, monoplane wing form utilizing a crew of two or three. Defensive armament was a must to help defend what would most likely be a slow-moving airplane. Several initiatives were pushed including the Douglas A-17, the Curtiss A-18, and the Vultee A-19 though none were winners in the Army search until the service took on a small stock of U.S. Navy Douglas SBD "Dauntless" dive bombers in July of 1940. With a few revisions - namely the deletion of the carrier deck arrestor equipment and replacement of Navy radio kits - the SBD was reconstituted for the Army in the new A-24 "Banshee" form. While not the complete solution for the Army, the Banshee would suffice until a proper aircraft was adopted. The initial Army mark was the SBD-3 (SBD-3A) model of the Navy as the "A-24" and the Army order was absorbed into the existing Navy order of July 1940. Army versions also replaced the solid tailwheels with pneumatic types for land-based take-offs and landings.
The first Banshees arrived in U.S. Army hands for June of 1941 and these were outfitted with Wright R-1820-52 radial engines of 1,000 horsepower. The Banshee's initial assignment was with the 27th Bombardment Group (Light) of Hunter Field, Georgia and training began in earnest. Three squadrons were ultimately formed during the early part of the war.
With the Philippines under threat from Japanese invasion, A-24s were routed to the islands to help strengthen the American defense there. However, the swift Japanese advance forced the A-24s to be rerouted to Australia for final assembly. When unpackaged, the A-24s were quickly found to be in very used condition from their training period earlier. Australian personnel quickly rebuilt the aircraft and added makeshift fixes to weak spots and even altogether missing components. Such was the condition of these aircraft that some had their worn out aviation tires replaced with standard truck tires!
The 16th, 17th, and 91st Bombardment Squadrons were formed in Australia in preparation for the defense of Java. Fifteen A-24s set out though only seven were combat worthy by the time of their arrival (these also lacked the needed self-sealing fuel tanks and armoring). From this lot, the aircraft fought against the odds and generated a poor early showing - limited operational ranges, lacking appropriate firepower, and becoming fodder to enemy fighters when not provided with escorts. The aircraft did manage several direct hits on enemy ships during the campaign prior to the Allied evacuation of Java. The remaining A-24s in Australia were now formed into the 3rd Bombardment Group and the 8th Bombardment Squadron when assigned to the defense of New Guinea. Losses continued to mount as showcased in a July 1942 sortie which saw seven A-24s launched and only one return home.
Despite the emerging combat record, the Army committed to the A-24 with another order in July 1942 - primarily because their order for A-25 "Shrike" aircraft (the Army version of the Navy's Curtiss SB2C "Helldiver") was running into delays. March 1943 saw further A-24s added to the Army stock as some were pulled from the existing U.S. Navy inventory - these forms were designated as A-24A and were equivalent to the SBD-4A with increased bomb-carrying capacity and an additional rear cockpit machine gun (2 x 0.30 caliber machine guns on the flexible mount). 170 pf this newer mark were procured in all, joining the original 168 A-24 models. The final Banshee form was the A-24B which was the SBD-5A and its Wright R-1820-60 radial engine of 1,200 horsepower. The Army optimistically contracted for 1,200 of these aircraft but netted only 615 from the order by the middle of 1943 as the service began a departure from the need for a dedicated dive bombing platform - fighter-bombers and medium bombers seemed more than up to the task for the USAAF. Final Banshee deliveries occurred in December of 1943.
A-24Bs were flown against the Japanese at the Gilbert Islands and these provided much better results than previously seen with the line. By the end of their service tenures, A-24s served in the training role for pilots and gunners and were further used as tow aircraft for aerial targets. The USAAF passed on some of its A-24 stock to the USMC who could make proper use a direct bombing platform in the Close Air Support (CAS) role. Foreign operators of the Banshee went on to become Chile (A-24B model, 12 examples), France (Free French Forces, as many as 50 examples), and Mexico (28).
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Chile; France (Free French); Mexico; United States
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
✓Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.
✓Close-Air Support (CAS)
Developed to operate in close proximity to active ground elements by way of a broad array of air-to-ground ordnance and munitions options.
✓Special-Mission: Anti-Ship
Equipped to search, track, and engage enemy surface elements through visual acquisition, radar support, and onboard weaponry.
✓Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.
✓Training (General)
Developed ability to be used as a dedicated trainer for student pilots (typically under the supervision of an instructor).
RUGGED AIRFRAME
Inherent ability of airframe to take considerable damage.
EXTENDED RANGE PERFORMANCE
Capability to travel considerable distances through onboard fuel stores.
BAILOUT PROCESS
Manual process of allowing its pilot and / or crew to exit in the event of an airborne emergency.
CREW-MANAGED
Beyond a pilot, the aircraft takes advantage of additional crew specialized in specific functions aboard the aircraft.
TAIL GUN
Defensive rear-facing gun position to neutralize enemy targets emerging from the rear.
RETRACTABLE UNDERCARRIAGE
Features retracting / retractable undercarriage to preserve aerodynamic efficiency.
Length
32.8 ft (10.00 m)
Width/Span
41.6 ft (12.68 m)
Height
12.1 ft (3.69 m)
Empty Wgt
5,523 lb (2,505 kg)
MTOW
10,199 lb (4,626 kg)
Wgt Diff
+4,676 lb (+2,121 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the Douglas A-24A Banshee production variant)
monoplane / low-mounted / straight
Monoplane
Design utilizes a single primary wing mainplane; this represent the most popular mainplane arrangement.
Low-Mounted
Mainplanes are low-mounted along the sides of the fuselage.
Straight
The planform involves use of basic, straight mainplane members.
(Structural descriptors pertain to the Douglas A-24A Banshee production variant)
Installed:
1 x Wright R-1820-52 air-cooled radial piston engine developing 1,000 horsepower driving three-bladed propeller unit at the nose.
(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Douglas A-24A Banshee production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
STANDARD:
2 x 0.50 caliber M2 Browning heavy machine guns in nose
1 OR 2 x 0.30 caliber M1919 Browning medium machine guns on flexible mount at rear cockpit.
OPTIONAL:
Between 1,200 lb and 1,600 lb (model dependent) of externally-held ordnance (conventional drop bombs) at centerline and underwing hardpoints.
Supported Types
(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
Hardpoint Mountings: 3
Mounting Points
-
-
-
-
5
-
1
-
4
-
-
-
-
HARDPOINT(S) KEY:
X
15
13
11
9
7
5
3
1
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
COLOR KEY:
Fuselage Centerline
Fuselage Port/Wingroot
Fuselage Starboard/Wingroot
Wing/Underwing
Wingtip Mount(s)
Internal Bay(s)
Not Used
Note: Diagram above does not take into account inline hardpoints (mounting positions seated one-behind-the-other).
A-24 "Banshee" - U.S. Army variant of the USN SBD-3; sans arrestor equipment; 168 examples.
A-24A - U.S. Army variant of the USN SBD-4; 170 examples.
A-24B - U.S. Army variant of the USN SBD-5; 615 examples.
General Assessment
Firepower
Performance
Survivability
Versatility
Impact
Values are derrived from a variety of categories related to the design, overall function, and historical influence of this aircraft in aviation history.
Overall Rating
The overall rating takes into account over 60 individual factors related to this aircraft entry.
50
Rating is out of a possible 100 points.
Relative Maximum Speed
Hi: 300mph
Lo: 150mph
This entry's maximum listed speed (250mph).
Graph average of 225 miles-per-hour.
City-to-City Ranges
NYC
LON
LON
PAR
PAR
BER
BER
MOS
MOS
TOK
TOK
SYD
SYD
LAX
LAX
NYC
Douglas A-24A Banshee operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).
Max Altitude Visualization
Design Balance
The three qualities reflected above are altitude, speed, and range.
Aviation Era Span
Showcasing era cross-over of this aircraft design.
Unit Production (953)
953
36183
44000
Compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian).
>>
Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.
Images Gallery
1 / 3
Image from the National Museum of the United States Air Force of Dayton, Ohio.
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Image from the National Museum of the United States Air Force of Dayton, Ohio.
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Image from the National Museum of the United States Air Force of Dayton, Ohio.
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Chile; France (Free French); Mexico; United States
