Ian BB,
Now, no more of this diffidence !
".....I hesitate to do so on the grounds that anything I (think) I know would always be secondhand...." Your Dad is (sadly) no longer with us: you must speak for him (and for your Stepfather and Godfather).
Although the RAF never had much (or any) time for Dive Bombers in the land war (unlike the Germans and Russians), both the USN (and to a lesser extent our FAA) could see the advantages of them at sea. After all, you mostly have a small target (where the d/b accuracy is needed) against a blank background (so not difficult to "pin-point"). What more would a d/b pilot want ?
Admittedly the skipper would put the helm hard over when he saw you coming, but I reckon that our bombs would leave the aircraft at terminal velocity (300 mph) at or about 3,000 ft. If they continued at that velocity, they would arrive in about 6-7 secs. But in fact they would further accelerate due to gravity (the bomb being much more streamlined than the aircraft) so now we are in dy/dx country. It's long time since I went to school (you work it out !) so shall we say 4-5 secs ?). You can't dodge far in that time in a 40,000 ton carrier !
The proof of that pudding was at Midway in June'42, when a Sqdn of SBD "Dauntless" stumbled on that Japanese battle group which had done the damage at Pearl Harbor. In 20 minutes or less, three of the four big fleet carriers were in flames and sinking (they got the fourth the next day). The back of Japanese air power in the Pacific was broken; all danger of an attack on the Western seaboard of the US had disappeared. There was no way back for Japan; the US yards could outbuild them three to one. And why the Americans don't make "Midway Day" an annual national celebration, I'll never know.
I still think the influence of "hazing" has been exaggerated. Of course it was puerile and objectionable (and was discussed at some length by several Pruners on this Thread at the time of my Carlstrom Field Posts). But surely, at each of the Arnold schools, there was only one "interface" when an RAF intake followed the last Army Air Corps one, and it could be an issue ?
"It eliminated more potential British and American pilots accidentally than the German Air Force did on purpose," (I don't buy that). "There was no reason for it at all" - Agreed !
Cheers, Danny.