The A-24B-DE was the designation applied to sixty aircraft (42-60882
to -60941) that were ordered for the USAAF under Navy contracts but
were actually delivered to the Marine Corps as SBD-5As, where they
were assigned BuNos 09693/09752). They differed from standard SBD-5s
in having a pneumatic tailwheel and being fitted with Army equipment
and instruments. No arrester hook was ever fitted to these land-based
aircraft.
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.
