A short while after the Army acquired its first A-24s, 90 similar aircraft were diverted to the Army from Navy contracts. They were delivered to the Army between July and October of 1942. Since they were originally ordered under the terms of a Navy contract, these aircraft were temporarily assigned the Navy designation of SBD-3A for record-keeping purposes. For some reason, the Army never referred to these planes as A-24s, but instead kept the original contract SBD-3A designation throughout their service life. However, they received Army serials 42-6682 to 42-6671.
Serials of SBD-3A:
42-6682/6771 Douglas SBD-3A Dauntless from USN. c/n 1209/1228, 1284/1313, 1404/1433, 1517/1526.
Sources:
-
American Combat Planes, Third Enlarged Edition, Ray Wagner, Doubleday,
1982.
-
The Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War II, Barrett Tillman
- McDonnel Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume 1, Rene J. Francillon, Naval Institute Press, 1988.
