july 2016 AH 17OPPOSITE TOP & RIGHT: U.S. MARINE CORPS; OPPOSITE BOTTOM: IKE COPPERTHITE
veteran docent
Major Jack Elliott handled
ordnance for Marine Corps
SBDs during World War II.I[¹]VLQ[KTW[MLUWLQÅKI-
tions”? Why was it then sent
to Illinois to train aviators for
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may never know the answers
to those questions, but some
clues were found during the
restoration work.
“We began by taking the
aircraft down to its last rivet
and found a lot of interesting
anomalies,” said Niedner.
“We found some damage
in the starboard fuselage
between the horizontal
stabilizer and the wing. We
asked the Navy if we could
see some photos of the plane
after it was lifted from the
water. They showed a big
jagged hole about three feet
square on the starboard side.
I think a boat or ship got its
anchor caught on the plane
and tore a hole in it.”
Black Shadow did not
attempt to rebuild any of the
structural frames, but riveted
a large patch over the hole.
It was a smooth, neat job,
though the SBD’s structural
integrity was compromised.
“That’s where I got my metal-
work training,” Niedner said,
“be cause I had to make new
ribs. We built wooden molds
from the original blueprints
and put the metal into themolds. We actually had
to make everything from
Frame 12 to Frame 15. After
pounding the metal into the
desired shape, the new frame
was installed to replace the
missing part.” Niedner’s pride
in his work is evident. “When
you look inside that plane
now you see nothing but pris-
tine structure. There is a great
amount of personal satisfac-
tion for the people involved
in the restoration. We have
dealt with every type of metal
corrosion known to man, and
have learned that original
blueprints can be trusted
only so far and that Rosie the
Riveter did good work.”
Among other incongru-
ities, Niedner said, “We
found evidence that extensive
repairs had been made to
both pilot’s rudder pedal heel
trays.” There are no records
to indicate how the damage
occurred, but considerable
force would have been
required to bend these struc-
tures. It is possible the aircraft
had undergone severe stresses
during a dive, thus rendering
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Other discrepancies involved
fuel lines and nonstandard
additions to or omission from
the electrical system.
“From the beginning it was
our intention to restore the
SBD to be as perfect inside
and outside as possible,” he
continued. “We wanted it so
that any student of WWII
aircraft could enter the cock-pit and see every wire, cable,
switch and line exactly where
it was supposed to be. In
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dimensional blueprint of a
wartime Dauntless.”
The main landing gear
has been successfully cycled
manu ally. The dive-brake and
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nism is also operational.
“The centerline bomb
rack was still in the airplane,”
reported Niedner. “We have
restored the bomb rack and
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bomb for display. The wing
bomb stations were missing,
but we were able to locate
some damaged bomb rack
fairings in Phoenix, Ariz.,
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onto the wings. We had to
anneal, reshape and then
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gun mount in the museum’s
ordnance collection, but we
did not want to mount real
guns. It’s a pain having to do
physical inventory on them
every year.”
The Marine Corps
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caliber Brown ing machine
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the Dauntless’ rear cockpit
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cas for the front. The dive
bomber has been painted to
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Hender son Field by Lt. Col.
Richard Mangrum, CO of
>5;*WV)]O][\- Since this airplane was
originally assigned to that
squadron, it has returned
home in a way. After six years
of painstaking work by a
dedicated team, SBD-3 no.
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from the deep. The com-
pleted airplane can now
be seen in the museum’s
Leatherneck Gallery.
“We began by
taking the
aircraft down
to its last
rivet and
found a lot
of interesting
anomalies.”- Two weeks later it
was at the bottom of Lake
Michigan, where it remained
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In June 1991, the Navy
pulled the SBD out of the
lake and handed it over to
Black Shadow Aviation for
restoration in Jacksonville,
Fla. The airplane was pre-
pared for display, though little
was done toward returning
it to functional condition.
But Black Shadow’s crew
deserves recognition for sav-
ing the Dauntless from total
decay. Completed in June
1993, it was put on display
at the National Museum of
Naval Aviation in Pensacola.
Soon after that, however,
Pensacola gained a very rare
combat veteran SBD, no.
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Battle of Midway. The Navy
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the USS Alabama Memorial
5][M]U1V)XZQT \PM
well-traveled SBD-3 at last
came home to the Marine
Corps museum at Quantico.
At the museum’s resto-
ration facility, a team of
dedicated volunteers began a
painstaking examination of
the aircraft. Specialist Rick
Niedner, who has spent six
years on the restoration of
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Marine veteran who special-
izes in aircraft electronics.
“My association with the
U][M]U[\IZ\MLQV º
Niedner noted. “At the time
the restoration team was
small, only about seven of us.
I had the least experience in
metalworking, but I learned
fast. I wanted to do as much
as I could for the project. It
has taken far longer than we
ever imagined. We have been
working on this aircraft since
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Some perplexing mysteries
surround this Dauntless. For
one thing, why was a new
SBD pulled from service to
be sent to Jacksonville, where
it underwent what were listed