On June 21, 1943, a United States Navy Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber defied gravity by balancing perfectly on its nose after a chaotic crash landing on an aircraft carrier flight deck.
Carrier landings during World War II were notoriously hazardous operations, requiring pilots to drop heavy aircraft onto a pitching, moving wooden deck. This bizarre, nose-up vertical pose happened when the aircraft’s tailhook failed to properly catch the steel arresting cables stretched across the deck, causing the heavy front engine to tip forward instantly as the brakes slammed hard. The incredible durability of the Dauntless design famously nicknamed Slow But Deadly frequently saved crews from horrific carrier disasters, allowing this specific crew to walk away safely from what looked like an impossible wreck.
Image via Library of Congress, no known restrictions
