Stateside Douglas A-24's ...

[Mark Allen M]

A few interesting A-24 schemes. Location seems to be the Pacific Northwest? Unit unknown (to me)
ebay listing here states their SBD's.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Douglas-SBD-Dau ... 567cb901b4
"Douglas SBD Dauntless 42-54380 & 42-80867 US Navy Aircraft Orig WWII Photo"

[jdvoss]

Mark,

Thanks so much for posting the A-24 photos!!! I am really interested as well as to where these aircraft were based. Hopefully someone can identify the base. I agree that the background of these photos reflect the geological features of the PNW.

JDV

[Rocketeer]

Great photos! Really like the ones with the crews.

[Mark Allen M]

A great reply from a member on the hyperscale forum.

"My thought is that these are from (most likely) the 312th BG at Rice AAF and Thermal AAF, CA prior to deploying to the SWPA. I did a search in aviationarchaeology.com of A-24 crashes from May to August 1943 (red bordered national insignia). The only unit during that time with A-24's that were anywhere near snow capped mountains (Sierra Nevada Mountains) was the 312th. All the rest were in FL, MS, and SC. The record of crashes for A-24s in the 312th just plain stopped in August, I'm thinking a re-equipment. And the ground surface at the bottom of the second photo could sure be desert."

Thanks for the research, sounds quite logical.

[res6kgcr]

Great photos Bill!

There from the 506th & 507th Fighter-Bomber Squadrons, 404th Fighter-Bomber Group at Burns AAFld, Ore. They were 620th & 621st Bombardment Squadrons (Dive) thus the A-24s. I think they are being held as strategic reserve in Oregon till the conclusion of the Aleutian Islands campaign since the group H.Q. and their sister Squadron are back in South Carolina, then they and many other units are off to combat theater's.

Best regards,

Tom

[Mark Allen M]

Thanks Tom, good research. Another set of photos correctly explained. Good stuff.

Mark (not Bill)

[tulsaboy]

Thanks for the A-24 pics! They are a forgotten part of the war. Douglas-Tulsa built a little pile of them.
kevin

[junkman9096]

I came up with the thought about the 312th BG that Mark mentioned. SC would explain the trees in the background and, having driven just last week through Central Oregon, my thoughts on them flying over desert is not far from the truth... I defer to the greater knowledge.

[Mark Allen M]

Some info here
http://www.winkton.net/pages/404.htm
http://www.winkton.net/pages/Aircraft%2 ... up%20(Dive).htm


George Wesley Phillips, Burns Army Air Field, Burns, Oregon Oct 1943
(fold3 archives)

[Invader26]

Quite a few A-24's in Australia in the 42-43 period even some flown by RAAF in Oz and PNG. Pics/history would be interesting>>