Slideshow: American air arsenal of 1941

Vought-Sikorsky SB2U-1 Vindicator

When Vought submitted this design to the U.S. Navy for a new scout bomber in 1936, its competition was mostly biplanes. The Vindicator wasn’t up to World War II standards, but it was way more advanced than the old Curtis Goshawk biplane it replaced when it began operating off American carriers in 1937. It was soon phased out by the Douglas SBD Dauntless, but some Marine squadrons were still flying the Vindicator during the Battle of Midway.