Download or read book The Dauntless in RNZAF Service written by Cliff F.J. Jenks and published by Philedition. This book was released on 2015-09-30 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor the Pacific based squadrons of RNZAF began to receive modern US warplanes. Under the command of Squadron Leader T.J. McLean de Lange, No.25 Squadron was created on 31 July 1943, as the RNZAF's sole SBD Dauntless dive bomber squadron. In March 1944, No.25 began operations on Guadalcanal; objective Rabaul. In eight weeks 530 sorties were flown for the loss of only five aircraft. However, due to the outdated nature of the Dauntless, the Squadron was disbanded at the end of May and surviving pilots transferred to RNZAF Corsair squadrons. Revised edition 2015 which includes a page on the British SBD-5s.