SBD and A-20.
The Douglas production method meant that SBDs were almost literally stamped out, with cutting and bending at the same time on the single press. Other US firms introduced similar methods, but Douglas was the first, and perhaps the most aggressive because they'd been doing it the longest.
The SBD was also rugged and, apparently, fairly easy to work on.
The A-20 was another Douglas aircraft. The fuselage was produced in right and left halves to make it easy to install all other the equipment, wiring, control rods, hydraulics, etc. Then the two halves of the fuselage were bolted together.
I suppose that it was theoretically possible to unbolt the fuselage in the field for repairs, but I doubt that it was practical.
Was it the A-20, B-25, or something else where they standardize in a handful of fasteners so that mechanics only needed two screwdrivers or two sizes of sockets or something? You take a performance hit for that, but faster serious maintenance means higher readiness rates, which means higher sortie rates.
The Douglas production method meant that SBDs were almost literally stamped out, with cutting and bending at the same time on the single press. Other US firms introduced similar methods, but Douglas was the first, and perhaps the most aggressive because they'd been doing it the longest.
The SBD was also rugged and, apparently, fairly easy to work on.
The A-20 was another Douglas aircraft. The fuselage was produced in right and left halves to make it easy to install all other the equipment, wiring, control rods, hydraulics, etc. Then the two halves of the fuselage were bolted together.
I suppose that it was theoretically possible to unbolt the fuselage in the field for repairs, but I doubt that it was practical.
Was it the A-20, B-25, or something else where they standardize in a handful of fasteners so that mechanics only needed two screwdrivers or two sizes of sockets or something? You take a performance hit for that, but faster serious maintenance means higher readiness rates, which means higher sortie rates.