BuAer 54532 was delivered to the US Navy in April of 1944, and in August of 1944 was assigned to the Bureau of Aeronautics General Representative in Los Angeles where it was likely used as a personal transport aircraft until June of 1945 when it was transferred to the Bureau of Aeronautics Representative (BAR) in Baltimore. There is no evidence that this particular specimen made its way aboard a U
. Navy carrier and it was stricken from Navy inventory on February 8, 1947 as “transferred to another agency”. The “other agency” turned out to be the War Assets Administration (WAA), and when the Dauntless was registered in 1947 as NL1339V, later N1339V, the construction number was given as 6046, the SBD-5, BuAer 54532. A review of sale documents from the WAA however, list the serial number as 42-54532. N1339V was registered to none other than Andy Stinis of the Skywriting Corporation of America. Interviews with Stinis’ relatives indicate the Dauntless was initially purchased to be a high altitude Skywriter, but as the fuel consumption was more than double that of Skywriting’s AT-6’s, the airplane was sold. Dan Hagedorn provided information that N1339V was sold to CIA Mexicana Aerofoto on October 18, 1951 and six days later the US registration was cancelled as ‘exported to Mexico’. Mexicana Aerofoto registered the Dauntless as XB-QUC. From 1951 to 1966, the Dauntless racked up hundreds of thousands of miles flying as an aerial photo ship for CIA Mexicana Aerophoto. Flying with the company founded by Luis Struck, the pioneer of aerial photography in Mexico, the Dauntless was one of the aircraft Struck used to take countless photos for Pemex, the Mexican Oil Company, the Mexican Electricity Commission and even the U. Department of Agriculture in a study of the Mississippi Delta. After operating for many years with Mexicana Aerophoto, on January 11, 1966 the Dauntless was sold for $1600.00 to Ed Maloney of the Movie World Planes of Fame Museum, who displayed the SBD in his museum from 1966 until he sold it on March 4, 1971 to the very colorful Robert Griffin, one of the Confederate Air Force’s early donors who nicknamed the Dauntless “Speedy D”. Griffin, of San Antonio, was one of the CAF’s first Dauntless pilots and he is responsible for purchasing and donating not only the Dauntless, but the SB2C “Helldiver” and the FM-2 “Wildcat” which are currently in the CAF fleet. In 1975, the Dauntless finally made its way aboard an aircraft carrier, participating in the retirement ceremonies for Admiral Ralph W. Cousins, Commanding Officer of the Atlantic Fleet on board the USS Nimitz. The Dauntless, sporting a new paint job in the colors of Adm. Cousins, was hoisted upon the flight deck next to the Navy’s newest F-14 Tomcat fighter, which at the time was just entering the fleet. Admiral Cousins, credited with a hit on the Japanese Carrier Shoho during the Battle of the Coral Sea, was reportedly very pleased and surprised that “Speedy D” was aboard for the ceremony. In the late 70’s and 80’s, “Speedy D” soldiered on, but never having been properly restored, it was becoming the Hangar Queen of Harlingen, Texas, the CAF’s Headquarters. A decision was made by General Staff of the CAF to assign the Dauntless to a unit that could completely restore the airplane to pristine condition. In 1991, “Speedy D” was assigned to the Dixie Wing of the then Confederate Air Force, (now the Commemorative Air Force) to undergo an extensive multi year restoration. The Dixie Wing’s restoration team, led by Mike Rettke, Gerald Carlson, Tex Layton, many others spent many years restoring the Dauntless to a condition that would make the workers at El Segundo proud. On a cold February morning in 1999 “Speedy D” took to the air for the first time in almost a decade. With Mike Rettke at the controls, the Dauntless took to the air and actually lived up to it’s nickname, quickly outrunning the T6 “chase” plane that had assembled to assist with the maiden flight.
“Speedy D” has been to hundreds of airshows in the 10 years since it’s restoration and continues to fly to honor the memory of those members of the “Greatest Generation” that designed her, built her, and took her into battle. Other than a handful of museum examples, she is one of only two Dauntlesses that continue to fly. Let’s all hope she flies another 65 years. The current color scheme of our SBD-5 was in use at the time of the Battle of the Marianas, or "The Marianas Turkey Shoot." It is authentic right down to the smallest details and is operational today, flying to roughly 20 airshows per year throughout the Southeast and Midwest. (History as researched and written by Dixie Wing Colonel Keith Wood)
