Dauntless goes on show at US Marine Corps museum

摘要

Following a five-year restoration, a Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless has been suspended from the ceiling in the Leatherneck Gallery at the National Museum of the Marine Corps (NMMC) in Quantico, Virginia. The dive-bomber, BuNo 06583, was recovered from the bottom of Lake Michigan for the National Museum of Naval Aviation (NMNA) during 1991, 48 years after it had been lost in a training accident while undertaking carrier qualifications from the USS Wolverine. The pilot escaped unharmed. Structural damage to the aircraft was relatively light, and 06583 was restored by a commercial contractor and placed on loan at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama. It was acquired by the NMMC in 2005 via a trade/exchange with the NMNA. Originally intended for display in the NMMC's WWII Gallery, after close inspection it was determined that a full restoration was required to exhibit the aircraft safely.